Jon Hauerwas – “Some Ideas Are Better Than Others” – September 24, 2017
Proverbs 3:1-18 and Isaiah 30:21
You may recall that, in June of this year, the United States Supreme Court unanimously reaffirmed that there is no hate speech exception to the first amendment. In other words, even hateful and offensive viewpoints are protected by our nation’s Constitution.[1]I imagine that this is the case, at least in part, to free us from the tyranny of a wayward government. After all, it is our officials who would ultimately determine what kinds of speech could rightly be called hateful. And, if the government was able to curtail certain forms of expression, officials in parties wielding a substantial majority might be tempted to argue that dissenting opinions are, in fact, offensive.
As citizens of a democratic country, we are wise to remember that every day, in authoritarian lands around the world, those accused of expressing disrespectful sentiments toward those in power are jailed, tortured, and worse. This, coupled with the realization that there are vast differences of opinion regarding what is offensive, makes it more palatable to affirm the no hate speech exception in general. But, for those who have personally experienced or borne the brunt of hateful but protected speech, it is a different matter altogether.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are 917 hates groups in the United States. Critics dispute some of these. But, no matter how you count them, it appears that there is more than enough hate to go around. We’ve already established that hate speech is not a crime, and that beliefs alone do not merit government surveillance. This means that in order for law enforcement agencies to become involved, hateful thoughts must progress to some sort of plotting or action.[2]
Still, just because something is legal does not mean that it is good or moral, edifying or just. And hate speech, it seems, has a way of inspiring more than simply heated rhetoric. Just ask the group of counter-demonstrators who leapt to escape the fury of James Field’s, Jr. as he accelerated his vehicle into a crowd of complete strangers in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Ideas matter – which is why the author of Proverbs wrote in our first lesson this morning,“Trust in the Lordwith all your heart,and do not rely on your own insight.In all your ways acknowledge God,and God will make straight your paths.Do not be wise in your own eyes;fear theLord, and turn away from evil.” And because he, too, understood that ideas matter, Jesus said, “it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” For “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart” which serves as the source of every evil intention. Thus, while it may be legal, hate speech is far from harmless. On this matter, we cannot simply agree to disagree. Instead, we are justified in calling such speech what it is – radical, dangerous, and evil.
I once read an article by Craig Barnes, who serves as the current President of Princeton Theological Seminary. He writes, “we no longer believe in ideas that emerge from a coherent system of thought. We’ve read too many tweets, and believe that every idea has equal legitimacy.”[3]
He goes on to tell a story from when his daughter was in high school. “The head of her school said to an assembly of parents, ‘Here we tell our students there is no such thing as a bad idea.’ That went down pretty easily,” Barnes confesses,“until I began to think about it. No bad ideas? Actually, there are some terrible ideas, and telling a bunch of teenagers that there are no bad ideas is one of the worst I’ve heard. Every brutality against humanity began as ‘just an idea.’” [4]
So what are we to do? For the past couple of months, I’ve been meeting with a group of Presbyterian clergy to ask some important questions about our shared communities and to develop a way forward. Together, we are making preparations for a regional event scheduled for November. The working title is:“After Charlottesville? The Power of Nonviolence – Faith and Love in Action.”
A current draft of the flyer reads as follows: “In the midst of a badly divided society, where hate speech is becomingcommon place and demonstrations of various kinds have a propensity to violence, how can we respond in ways that are both constructive and consistent with our own faith tradition?
How should and can we prepare to face such events should theyoccur in our own communities? How do we shape ourselves to respond nonviolently in the spirit of the one who told us ‘to love our enemies’ and, ‘if struck on one cheek to turn the other’? We will explore the roots of nonviolent love in the teachings of Jesus as well as in the lives and work of later practitioners.” The event will include a guest speaker and will be filled with relevant discussion. All who are interested are invited to take part.
As the prophet Isaiah once wrote, “when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’” The Christian faith, as we all know well, is not about pursuing our own personal agendas. Instead, faithfulness is an earnest desire and commitment to fulfill God’s will for the world. Thus, it is in this place that we confidently and boldly proclaim that words do matter. And when we turn to the right or to the left, that still small voice will be there to remind us that some ideas are better than others.
May it be so and all thanks be to God. Amen.
[1] Accessed on September 23, 2017.
[2] Accessed on September 23, 2017.
[3]M. Craig Barnes, “The Missing Theologians,” Christian Century. July 20, 2016, Pg. 35.
[4]Ibid., 35.