{"id":33375,"date":"2023-10-12T21:28:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T04:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=33375"},"modified":"2023-10-12T21:28:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T04:28:30","slug":"not-so-with-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/not-so-with-you\/","title":{"rendered":"“Not so with you.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

During last week\u2019s discussion I mentioned the natural temptation to categorize people into groups. I continually caught myself trying to pin down Francis Fukuyama\u2019s political affiliation in his book Identity<\/em> with little success. While reading I would think, he must be a democrat\u2026well\u2026 maybe he is a republican\u2026. libertarian?<\/p>\n

People who can critique and call out both the strengths and limitations of different political parties, religious organizations, or philosophies immediately have my attention and respect, regardless of if I agree with all they claim. Fukuyama had me guessing, which gave more weight to what he said and kept me interested. At least on the surface, I didn\u2019t feel an overwhelming loyalty or agenda to a particular political party or religious group, but rather a conviction to help nations and governments avoid political policies and governing regimes that diminish human dignity.<\/p>\n

Three key words and definitions that Francis gives to help understand his arguments are:<\/p>\n

Thymos<\/strong>– \u201c\u2026the part of the soul that craves recognition of dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isothymia<\/strong> \u2013 \u201c\u2026the demand to be respected on an equal basis with other people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Megalothymia<\/strong> \u2013 \u201c\u2026the desire to be recognized as superior.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Fukuyama lays a good argument that people are desperate to be recognized and treated as human beings. One heart wrenching example that sat heavy with me for a while was Mohamed Bouazizi. Mohamed lit himself on fire in the street after he was humiliated, ignored, and his livelihood (a cart with produce) was confiscated without explanation. Fukuyama explains, \u201c\u2026no one would listen. The state was not treating him like a human being: that is, a moral agent worthy of a minimum amount of respect\u2026\u201d [2]<\/a><\/p>\n

While in Oxford, Martyn Percy sang the praises of The Rule of St. Benedict<\/em>, a book that begins with the words, \u201cListen\u201d.[3]<\/a> Listening<\/em> is becoming a common theme for our leadership journey.<\/p>\n

Percy also touched on a metaphor of an iceberg. He advised us as leaders to dive below the surface of things like societal outrage and public aggression. Percy said the things we are not seeing are likely more upsetting than the things we are. The issues, possibly around identity, that are not always visible can be deep systemic injustices or ideologies manifesting publicly in the form of anger, violence, and even self-harm due to some type of human need not being met. Which begs the question at this junction, what historical, political, religious, etc. issues are below the surface with Israel and Hamas? This is the first time I\u2019m seriously considering how much identity plays into this kind of conflict.<\/p>\n

(To be clear, the next bit is NOT attempting to connect to current issues in the Middle East)<\/em><\/p>\n

According to Fukuyama, humans, and even our particular groups, have a need to be seen as equals, but that is not always enough<\/em>, which leads to megalothymia<\/em>. This was the first I had heard of this word, but I\u2019m determined to remember how to say it (even with a TN accent). This word, is a powerful and fairly convicting one, and put a question in my head.<\/p>\n

What is the line between being or feeling special<\/em> and wanting to be recognized as superior<\/em>?<\/p>\n

This question had me thinking of the passage in Luke 4:14-30 when a group in Jesus\u2019 hometown attempted to throw him off a cliff early in his ministry. They do this right after he mentions two instances in the Hebrew Scriptures when God sends prophets (Elijah and Elisha) to people who were outside Israel. This idea sends them into an outrage. Luke says they were furious.<\/p>\n

Leading up to this Jesus had just read a passage in Isaiah announcing the day had arrived, one Israel had been anticipating for generations. The messiah was present. However, according to most Jewish expectations, if the messiah had arrived, it meant Rome would be overthrown, Israel<\/strong><\/em> would be delivered, healed, and vindicated. This also meant they would be put on top spiritually and politically throughout the world. Maybe it\u2019s a stretch, but did some have a hard time thinking they would not be the only ones God desires to help, deliver, and favor? Did megalothymia, <\/em>that Fukuyama claims is inevitable for some, creep into Israel at some points? If so, Jesus had different plans.<\/p>\n

Scripture, history, and countless noble prizes to date, attest that there is something very special<\/em> and unique about Israel. However, when Abraham is given the promise by God in Genesis 12:2-3, that he will make a great nation from him, it is so \u201call peoples on earth will be blessed through you\u201d the special calling and status is for the benefit of the rest of the world. Most people, Christian or non-Christian, will admit Jesus was special which makes what he says in Matthew 20:25-26 even more powerful.<\/p>\n

25\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Jesus called them together and said,\u00a0\u201cYou know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.\u00a026\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,<\/p>\n

Jesus admits their existing government and leadership approach was not one of service and compassion, but he says, “Not so with you.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

The reason this speaks so much to me in the context of Fukuyama\u2019s theme of human thymos<\/em>, and even government, is how powerful service<\/em> is in restoring and recognizing dignity in a person. When someone, and especially a government or leader, looks at you, listens to you, takes time with you, and goes out of their way for you, it signals that you have worth and value as a human. If an officer would have taken five minutes to listen to Mohamed Bouazizi would that have saved his life? I believe so. Francis Fukuyama\u2019s real-life examples and ideas further reinforces that Jesus\u2019 approach to leadership (less ego, more service) works and the world is literally desperate for it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Fukuyama, Francis. Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment<\/em>, (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018), 44.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid., xiii.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Benedict, and Carolinne White, The Rule of Benedict<\/em>, (London: Penguin, 2008), 7.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During last week\u2019s discussion I mentioned the natural temptation to categorize people into groups. I continually caught myself trying to pin down Francis Fukuyama\u2019s political affiliation in his book Identity with little success. While reading I would think, he must be a democrat\u2026well\u2026 maybe he is a republican\u2026. libertarian? People who can critique and call […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":171,"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":[2310],"tags":[2852],"class_list":["post-33375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-dglp02-fukuyama","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33375","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\/171"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33375"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33378,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33375\/revisions\/33378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}