During the civil rights era, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led congregations in praying on the streets, showing racists who the real monsters were. MLK’s career as a civil rights activist was distinguished by total unimaginable strength and humility, memorialized in what many agree was the greatest speech of all time: “I have a dream.”
Not a damn one of us could ever possibly conceive the strength and bravery it took for him to stand before the Lincoln Memorial and address his community with the message of turning the other cheek. Enduring centuries of slavery, persecution, discrimination, police brutality, and wrongful imprisonment, MLK boldly condemned violence against their oppressors as well as stereotypes that all white people were racist. He praised the Constitution while acknowledging the rights his community were granted were like a bad check and cried for hope and dignity. That day he spoke his dream, cutting through the darkness of anger and despair like a shining beam, changed the world forever.
Unfortunately, today, many of those same injustices persist and we shouldn’t be divided on our resolve towards liberty and justice for all. Yet, this past election cycle, we were consumed with the idea that fire must be met with fire and you see where that has led. Following MLK’s example is the only way millennials can ever hope to establish peace, opening up civil dialogue on the social and economic issues that matter most today.
We must recognize that as reactionaries, right-leaning commentators are often postured in an arrogant position. Arrogance doesn’t necessarily mean wrong, but sometimes it matters less what you say and more how you say it.
No one is God and no one should ever think of themselves as perfect. Unfortunately, many of us are being taught our philosophies and political analysis from such people who thrive off feigning infallibility. The result is a generation of cocky millennials who act this way not only with the left but with each other.
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been met with the devilish look in someone’s eyes as they try to engage me in gossip. Whether it’s the cruelty of their put-downs or the reflection of their own lack of self-esteem, there is nothing colder than being casually condescending.
I have been guilty of this myself, but we shouldn’t feel the need to affirm our worth against someone else. Soon you’ll find that everybody talks and the caricature that they paint of you may be no less true than how you see yourself.
To quote the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, “Character is like a tree, and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
We are always growing, and I will always respect and admire someone who treats other people with that courtesy more than someone who would try to use it to further their career. It shouldn’t be seen as a weakness to carry yourself with humility but as a mark of wisdom. Amazingly, it seems we’ve come to worship the Gaston archetype of Beauty and the Beast.
Consider the custom of the handshake. Someone who tries to assert their dominance by squeezing the living hell out of my hand is not someone I’d want to do business with. Instead, this is meant to convey a symbol of trusting another person, having faith that through mutually submitting to another’s delicate strength and offering peace as we develop our relationship, we will feel more secure with one another.
Similarly, in Eastern cultures, businessmen will bow before each other, symbolizing kindness and respect to their differences, while trusting that the other will keep their feelings in consideration. When exchanging business cards, it’s essential that they use two hands while presenting their information to one another, representing the great care they are taking in offering something that is close to them.
As for confidence in our ideologies, I can’t count the times I’ve been proven wrong, each time humbling me and reminding me of my own humanity. I’ve learned not to assume that I’m right when I’m talking, but to offer my view of things with the limited knowledge that a twenty-year-old might have.
That courtesy shouldn’t just extend to people with the same political views as you, but to all others. I used to think sounding smarter was all you would need to win a debate, but instead, it just turns people off to the message that you want them to hear. Civil dialogue is essential for all of us to grow. Assuming you have nothing to learn from your professors because they voted for Bernie Sanders is woefully arrogant and they can sense it.
Yes, in many cases, your professors are assuming their own infallibility. However, it’s better to go to class with an open mind than to shelter yourself from their beliefs. If being aware that other people hold different opinions can change you that quickly, then perhaps you held the wrong beliefs at the start.
Similarly, your peers can tell if you’re engaging with an open mind, or if you just walked into class to prove that the education we’re paying tens of thousands of dollars for is wrong. Arrogance is annoying and childish, and if this is the way you treat others, then this is the way you will be treated.
If you really consider yourself to have a valid opinion, then boldly share it. Even if your teacher disagrees, you’ll now be prepared to defend your beliefs with a variety of counterpoints that will help you succeed the next time. Or, you might just be proven wrong and you’ll adopt a better belief instead of stubbornly holding on to something which you see is false.
If you conduct yourself with such courtesy and are viciously attacked for it, then you have the responsibility to shed light on that genuine problem (and report it to Red Alert Politics) so that others won’t endure the same. That is not a situation instigated in vain.
I’m not sure what it is about feeling like we’re in a war that makes arrogance so appealing, but my attitude changed when I saw the battle of the 2016 election come to a climactic explosion on the night before President Trump’s inauguration. The situation then was cataclysmic, as I observed protesters start fires followed by police tear-gassing the crowd. I prayed then that there would be better ways to live a meaningful life than to simply live for the fight.
In a new year, moving towards midterm elections, it’s time we reflect the values of MLK. It’s time we start negotiating peace. And sometimes, it takes setting the example — not confrontation — to show people the true nature of our beliefs.
William Nardi is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Rouser.
