{"id":33215,"date":"2023-10-05T21:51:51","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T04:51:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=33215"},"modified":"2023-10-08T20:06:49","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T03:06:49","slug":"i-love-you-i-forgive-you-suppers-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/i-love-you-i-forgive-you-suppers-ready\/","title":{"rendered":"I Love You, I Forgive You, Supper’s Ready"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our pastor mentioned this week in her sermon entitled \u201cVisible Words\u201d that, according to a national survey some years ago, when people were asked, \u201cWhat words do you most want to hear said to you?\u201d the three phrases at the top of the list were, in order of popularity: \u201cI love you.\u201d \u201cI forgive you.\u201d \u201cSupper is ready.\u201d[1]<\/a> It is no surprise that we as humans want to know that we are cherished, seen, and welcome at the table! These root desires intersect our understanding of the human quest for recognition and value throughout the ages and are related to the theme of Francis Fukuyama\u2019s book, Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment.<\/em><\/p>\n

Fukuyama on Identity Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his book, Fukuyama presents an incredibly well-researched, thoughtful account of the ways in which identity politics have risen to the forefront of our national and global scene and are contributing to the current social tension felt across the globe. He comments, \u201cThe rise of identity politics in modern liberal democracies is one of the chief threats that they face, and unless we can work our way back to more universal understanding of human dignity, we will doom ourselves to continuing conflict.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Identity politics, which can both empower or fragment civilizations, is a phrase used to describe the social and political activity based on the shared experiences of members of certain social groups marginalized, often through measures of injustice, within a larger context.[3]<\/a> Fukuyama believes that our current division in democracies around the world and the increase in identity politics is due to a failure on the part of those governments to truly recognize the dignity of all people and respond to their concerns.[4]<\/a> He notes, \u201cDemand for recognition of one\u2019s identity is a master concept that unifies much of what is going on in world politics today.\u201d[5]<\/a> He believes that identity-based social movements will remain strong in the twenty-first century and the only way to avoid fragmentation is to create a positive national identity. He closes his book by saying, \u201cIdentity can be used to divide, but it can and has also been used to integrate. That in the end will be the remedy for the populist politics of the present.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Reflecting on Fukuyama<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I read Fukuyama\u2019s book, I was both impressed with his knowledge and overwhelmed by our global problem of division. He covers themes such as \u201cthymos, recognition, dignity, identity, immigration, nationalism, religion, and culture.[7]<\/a> He challenges both the political left and right to see their mistakes throughout history that have contributed to our current problem.[8]<\/a> He calls us to develop a \u201cbetter theory of the soul\u201d and launches into a discussion of the way in which the \u201cthird part of the soul\u201d forms the crux of today\u2019s identity politics.[9]<\/a> He draws upon the ideas of ancient philosophers, as well as contemporary theorists and researchers, even including thoughts from Daniel Kahneman and Max Weber.[10]<\/a> Fukyama\u2019s bibliography from which he weaves his thoughts is extensive!<\/p>\n

After reviewing his book, I think I can fairly conclude that this man is brilliant. And yet, I feel disturbed by the complexity of the situation he describes. What are we to do? Yes, he proposes that we create a positive common, national identity, but how is one to do that in our current climate? Grace Rademacher writes in her review of Fukuyama\u2019s book, \u201cThough the solution is philosophically and psychologically sound, the prospect of redefining identity is quite daunting, and the examples of policy implementation seem even more difficult to accomplish.\u201d[11]<\/a> Like Rademacher, I am left impressed with Fukuyama\u2019s presentation and solution, and yet, wondering what I can offer as a contribution to healing the critical divide in which we now find ourselves? This divide is affecting our families, our local communities, our states, our nations, our world. Is there anything I, as an everyday person not as deeply equipped with knowledge as Fukuyama, can do to encourage healing?<\/p>\n

Considering an Everyday Application<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am brought back to the words people said they most wanted to hear said to them: \u201cI love you.\u201d \u201cI forgive you.\u201d \u201cSupper is ready.\u201d I think I might add one more phrase that also seems powerful and needed at this point in time: \u201cI am sorry.\u201d \u00a0What would it look like if I started focusing more on these sentiments, expressing care, offering words of affirmation instead of judgement, making space at the \u201ctable\u201d for all to partake of the welcome atmosphere and sustaining resources. What if I said more often and freely \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u201d when I realized I inadvertently hurt someone. What if I invited feedback from people to actually call me out when I hurt them, so that I could have the chance to apologize authentically?<\/p>\n

I wonder if we took these phrases that we desire to hear more seriously and built them more firmly into our relationships and interactions with others, if we might begin to see slow progress in closing the divides we currently are experiencing. I think it\u2019s worth a try.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fukuyama presents us with a colossal and impressive explanation and solution for our current environment and challenge. My pastor proposed through \u201cVisible Words\u201d a smaller, but related description of and challenge for our reality. I think I\u2019ll start with the smaller challenge and become a little more familiar with \u201cI love you.\u201d \u201cI forgive you.\u201d \u201cSupper\u2019s ready.\u201d And, \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Robin Garvin, \u201cVisible Words,\u201d Valley Community Presbyterian Church, Portland, Oregon, October 1, 2023, as resourced from https:\/\/www.cogsdunedin.com\/sermon-200112\/.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Francis Fukuyama, Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment<\/em> (New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2018), xvi.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Cressida Heyes, “Identity Politics”,\u00a0The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy\u00a0<\/em>(Fall 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta\u00a0(ed.), URL = https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/archives\/fall2020\/entries\/identity-politics\/<\/a>\u00a0 .<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Fukuyama, xiii.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Fukuyama, xv.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Fukuyama, 183.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Fukuyama, xv.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Fukuyama, 6-7.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Fukuyama, 11, 18.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Fukuyama, 14, 27-28.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Grace Rademacher, \u201cDignity and the Psychology of Nationalism: A Review of Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment <\/em>by Francis Fukuyama,\u201d Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, (Fall 2019), 162.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our pastor mentioned this week in her sermon entitled \u201cVisible Words\u201d that, according to a national survey some years ago, when people were asked, \u201cWhat words do you most want to hear said to you?\u201d the three phrases at the top of the list were, in order of popularity: \u201cI love you.\u201d \u201cI forgive you.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2782],"class_list":["post-33215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fukuyama-identity","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33215"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33259,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33215\/revisions\/33259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}