The Negativity of Human Nature

Perhaps it's because I have been raised in a faith tradition that values optimism and values the power of human potential. I don't know. But I am shocked by how much negativity humans choose to embrace. I was reminded of this recently when my old home town went through their elections. The sitting mayor was ousted pretty handily by a candidate who ran on one thing, and literally only one thing. And this one thing was anti-growth. "Too many people have moved in here. Too much development has happened. Etc etc." And now, I happen to like the idea of the Eastern Shore as the quiet place that it was when I grew up here. So I'm not opposed to some limits on growth. But what I am disappointed about is the fact that a town chose to elect a candidate with only one point on her entire agenda. And again, a negative point at that. She doesn't stand for anything as a candidate except that we need to oppose growth.

And looking at the Presidential candidates, it's not much better. I've heard hardly any actual forward thinking, proactive ideas. Everything is based on what we stand against, rather than what we stand for. Are we simply a nation that cannot be defined any longer unless we are defined by what we oppose? That strikes me as profoundly saddening. I would much rather be known for the things I championed and supported, rather than those which I fought against.

Of course, the two are tied together in many ways. Consider someone like Martin Luther King Jr. By all means, he opposed inequality and racism. But really, his legacy is not remembered as that really. Rather, he is remembered as a man who championed the idea that every many could be equal. Did he fight against something? Yes, but he focused on fighting for something and in so doing, his actions combated the evils he saw. Some may say there is no difference, but there is a massive gulf of a difference in my eyes. Do we spend all of our time fighting against things? Or do we spend our time fighting for things? When we fight for something, things do change. But in my experience, when we simply fight against something, little ever does.

Consider Prohibition. Christians became so worked up about alcohol that they fought as hard as they could against allowing even a drop to be sold. It was, obviously, a disaster. Imagine if Christians during this period had dedicated as much time and energy towards fighting for rehabilitation and addiction assistance as they had fighting against alcohol sale. I believe the face of American life would look very different today. But instead, our predecessors in the faith (Much like we still do today) spent their energy on a negative agenda rather than a positive one.

Are we doomed to always focus on the negative aspects rather than the positive? I hope not. Increasingly, it appears that fewer and fewer people in our society are interested in actually building. It is easier to tear down. But as Christians, I beleive we have a serious responsibility to make sure that those tossed about when we tear down (Even rightly) have a safe place to land.