Disagreeing well in the age of Trump, Twitter and internet trolls
Whether you think Donald Trump is dangerous and deluded or a breath of fresh air in today’s political climate of ultra-pragmatism, you can’t get away from the fact that he has caused quite a stir. Has the internet ever got so political - or indeed toxic - than in its response to Trump?
We live in the internet age where almost everyone has become a publisher of their opinions. Conflict today is more visible and more constant. 24-hour news, Twitter and the internet as a whole means that at any given time a full-scale war of words will be going on somewhere and it will be visible for all to see. And while conflict remains the essence of drama, it will always draw a crowd.
In an attempt to overcome hyperbole and caricature, Christians in Politics has launched a new initiative. The video, which we're calling 'disagree with tea', explains why Christians are able to be salt and light in politics by showing how to disagree well. It doesn't insult anyone or proclaim imminent disaster through leaving or staying in the EU, but we hope it’s worth watching (and sharing).
Archbishop Justin Welby recently said, in the foreword to our book Those Who Show Up, that "Politics would be extremely dull if we all agreed on everything. There is joy in diversity, and we should not be afraid to disagree with one another, but in a way that models the reconciling love of Jesus. Good disagreement is a gift that the church can offer the world around it - and our political system could certainly do with a healthy dose of it."
Other articles in the ‘relationships and disagreeing well’ series:
The primacy of relationships in politics
To listen, forgive and disagree well - interview with Baroness Sal Brinton