Beware Of Bigots
I received messages from two individuals, a columnist and a political spokesman, who are both my friends but who clashed with opposing views during the recent political campaign. They had exchanged harsh words owing to being on conflicting sides of the political fence. One can even say that both had been nearly insulting one another. I thought it would be one of those things that had always bothered me -- when friends of mine fight and I get caught in between.But, as it turned out to be, both were also Christians, not so much the talking only kind, but the types who strive to live out what they believe in. One of them, the political spokesman, asked me last week to set him up with the other so that they could personally meet and maybe become friends. He had read an article of the columnist praising the work of Gawad Kalinga and the leadership of Tony Meloto, the very work and Filipino leader that the political spokesman had been helping all along in his home province. Immediately, he sensed that a shared value and admiration would be solid equity for reconciliation and friendship.
I, of course, was only too happy to say yes. I knew that both were basically good persons but headstrong in their beliefs and courageous enough to stand their ground in the line of fire. As it turned out, before I could do anything to set up a meeting between the two, they bumped into each other in the lobby of a popular hotel. Without hesitation, the political spokesman approached the columnist and mutual respect was quickly established. Both agreed to be very articulate about their views, and both accepted the high probability that these views would clash every so often. But both knew they would be Christians first, forgive each other should anger get in the way, and move on to work on their friendship after.
In the midst of hypocrisy and belligerence, the example of these two good men is truly refreshing. They do not brandish their shared religion, but they struggle to maintain integrity in their lives. Both are in difficult fields, one deep in political dynamics and the other writing opinions about those dynamics. Politics can be unkind, and so can the pen. Most people are not especially challenged and will never have to go through harsh words and try to build friendships after them. I am simply blessed to two friends who will try to show me and others that they are bigger and better than the issues they take sides with, or against.
A good disposition and a healthy capacity for respect are rare, though. One would think that a fun-loving and hospitality-oriented people would easily bend to accommodate or defer to others. Unfortunately, that is not so, mainly because the seed of divisiveness has been inculcated into our operating system and a false pride always ready to take offense. At the same time, there is a special history with bigots in our colonial past, especially bigots with a religious color.
By definition, a bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially, one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance. Another dictionary simply says that a bigot is a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion. A third points out that a bigot is one who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.
It may be easy for us to identify certain personalities as bigots because there are always some around us. Bigotry is irritating when the bigot is an ordinary person. When the bigot, though, has power, position and resources, bigotry becomes dangerous. How many died during the Inquisition? How many died during the Holocaust? Bigots are everywhere, in racists, in fanatics, in terrorists.
Most of all, though, bigots have a tendency towards hypocrisy, especially with a religious nuance. They are most destructive when they hold leadership positions and influence their disciples towards violence -- or mass suicides. By the narrowness of their minds and their emotional constipation, bigots invariably go to extremes in any spectrum.
The history of mankind is littered with stories of bigots and bigotry. They make up the most noisy, the most argumentative. After all, it is only they who are right and utterly intolerant of the other view. Colored with religion or a belief system, bigots can be seen preaching fire and brimstone, yet themselves indulge in their own perversions. In the old days, scriptures seemed to refer to Pharisees and Scribes as the biblical bigots whom Jesus Christ had a special disdain for. Of course, they killed Him.
I had thought for a long time that politicians were bigots because of their hypocrisy. I apologize, though. The hypocrisy of politicians is mostly devoid of a holier-than-thou arrogance. The hypocrisy of politicians is derived more from too many promises which they do not keep. It is a milder form of hypocrisy, and one that does not fool many people anymore. The one with a religious color, though, is the more deadly because it is much more deceptive where disciples follow a false prophet.
No wonder that I feel so uplifted when two individuals who had pushed their opposing views publicly simply leaned on basic decency and Christian training to quietly set their differences aside and try to find common ground for building friendship. Of course, they quickly find basis to like each other. All they had to do was want it, all they had to do was walk their talk.
I feel a deep satisfaction having as my friends two gentlemen who saw amity as a higher option over political issues. One told me, "Tonypet is a likable person." The other said, "Billy is a good man." No arrogance, no hypocrisy, no bigotry.
