Rep. Day: Combating the Rise Of Intolerance

An op-ed from State Representative Michael Day:

Last Tuesday evening, I joined a community discussion dedicated to improving dialogue and combating the rise of intolerant actions and speech in our society. Our panelists included leaders from the Winchester Multicultural Network, the Muslim Justice League and the Anti-Defamation League, and they each offered thoughtful and powerful perspectives on the recent experiences of the groups they represent in our neighborhoods.

This event was one in an important ongoing series of discussions and work undertaken by the Multicultural Network to promote civil discourse; to recognize that we can agree to disagree about issues and policies but that our freedom to do so is premised on the understanding that we must respect the ability of others to have different opinions. I was heartened by the many faces from different towns in attendance.

In opening the discussion, I shared a story whose lesson has stayed with me since I first heard it, and I think it bears repeating to you in this space.

The story comes from a speech delivered by the poet Seamus Heaney in accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. Speaking of his poem, “St. Kevin and the Blackbird,” Heaney relayed how the poem was based on the story of St. Kevin as it was passed down in the writings of a Norman invader of Ireland from the 12th Century.

In it, St. Kevin kneeled down in Glendalough, a famous wooded area near County Wicklow in Ireland, with his arms outstretched in prayer in the form of a cross. A blackbird passing by mistook the monk for a tree and landed in his hand, laid a clutch of eggs in it and proceeding to nest there as if it was a branch in a tree. St. Kevin, overwhelmed by his love for all creatures, remained there immobile for weeks until the baby birds hatched and learned to fly away.

My initial impression of this simple story was that it is a parable to be used to teach the values of sacrificing for others, of compassion, and of treasuring all forms of life.

As Heaney pointed out in his speech, however, given the source of this story it can also be deconstructed and used as an allegory for the problems with colonialism. From this perspective, St. Kevin plays the role of the imperialist conqueror who, believing himself to be righteous and compassionate and helpful, actually “intervenes and appropriates the indigenous life and interferes with its pristine ecology.”

Same story, two dramatically different takeaways based on your situation and station in life. What appears clear to one group to be one thing appears to be equally clear to another group as something else entirely. To the first-time listener, the “correct” viewpoint may very well depend simply on who tells the story first.

The reason that story resonated with me is because it begs the questions motivating the community dialogue in the first place. How do we discuss these differing viewpoints with both groups in a meaningful and constructive way? How do we have serious discussions about who and what we are and want to be as a society in a way that does not normalize intolerant behavior, but successfully engages and attempts to understand and address the roots of that intolerance?

There are, of course, no easy answers to these questions. Yet the challenge posed by them cannot dissuade us from pursuing the solutions. As I listened to the words of the panelists tackle these thorny questions last Tuesday evening, I was struck by the commonality of the approaches they suggested. The key to breaking down barriers, to possibly moving the intransigent, is by leaving your own comfort zone to speak with that person you look upon as representative of “the other side.” By abandoning our own preconceived notion of what the “other” person believes and actually listening to their viewpoint, we perhaps will understand the reason that person feels a certain way and can continue our debate from a less vitriolic and more productive perspective.