Notable Catholic political philosopher and professor Robert P. George warned conservatives and progressives alike about labeling their ideological foes as “a bunch of monsters.”
George was one of two keynote speakers Wednesday at an event held at the Museum of the Bible titled, “Cornel West and Robert P. George: On Honesty and Courage in a Time of Polarization.”
George, who delivered his remarks remotely, talked about the importance of “honesty and courage” in advancing civility, as encouraged people “to treat even our adversaries as precious members of the human family.”
“There are reasonable people of goodwill who do not share even some of our deepest, most cherished beliefs. This is true for Christians like ourselves or members of other traditions of faith, as well as for religious skeptics,” George said.
“It does take courage to recognize what so few on either side of our polarized politics today are willing to acknowledge, and that is that the people on the other side aren’t all a bunch of monsters.”
Noting that “there are reasonable people of goodwill who see it differently than we do,” George cautioned that this recognition doesn’t mean that a person has to change their beliefs, per se.
“That doesn’t mean we have to suddenly flip and conform our opinions to theirs, that would be ridiculous; but it does mean being willing to be open to argument, to challenge, and it does mean trying to understand,” George added.
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SOURCE: Christian Post, Michael Gryboski
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