\u201cHe\u2019s the best thing God could ever give to America!\u201d It is a rare moment when I am speechless. It took me a moment to respond. I was at a church speaking to the children about my life in Africa. One of the teachers was telling me of the \u201chorrific\u201d state of America. His comment above was about a political leader in a high position at that time. I had a strong contrary opinion on this person but knew it would not be productive to debate. Instead, I responded with a statement I believe to be true: \u201cI\u2019m thankful God gave us Jesus and the hope He brings despite any direction our society is going.\u201d This response worked! It diffused the conversation and allowed me to graciously step away from it. This was an \u201cah-ha\u201d moment for me. I realized that the culture in America had changed from the one I left almost a decade prior. I felt like a foreigner in my own home country. The culture was becoming more polarized in opinions and less skilled in listening to others. A few years have passed, and the culture has continued to shift.<\/p>\n
Current cultural shifts are central to Yascha Mounk\u2019s book, \u201cThe Identity Trap.\u201d Mounk focuses on how current societal expectations and pressures towards \u201cidentity synthesis,\u201d understanding one\u2019s true self and identity, are causing polarity and segregation by focusing on differences and allowing those to separate us.[1]<\/a> He gives examples primarily focused on American society with a few references to other contexts. The issues he addresses can be seen worldwide. Let\u2019s go across the ocean, to where I currently call home, the Republique Islamique de Mauritanie (RIM).<\/p>\n RIM is a country that usually only makes it into books, as it did in The<\/em> Identity Trap<\/em>, as the last country to officially abolish slavery in 1981.[2]<\/a> The practice was not criminalized until 2007 and continues to affect society to this day. Social justice issues in Mauritania are prominent in this young country. \u00a0There was a brutal \u201cethnic cleansing\u201d of black West Africans from 1989 to 1991.[3]<\/a> I have friends who lived through this real-life nightmare. Slavery and racism are commonly at the root of riots, political uprisings, and demonstrations in RIM. These societal divides affect life at all levels. There is a newfound desire to preserve the distinct ethnicities, languages, and identities that constitute RIM society. This past weekend, several university students presented on language and ethnic preservation and the importance of these in the educational system. One of the professors mentioned the value not just of language preservation and uniqueness, but also the need to come together as Mauritanians. Celebrating differences and coming together as a society was also one of Mounk\u2019s solutions to his \u201cidentity trap.\u201d[4]<\/a> In the book conclusion, Mounk suggests three ways to counter polarity and segregation:<\/p>\n As I ask myself, \u201cWhat does this mean for me?\u201d I am drawn to the first point. As a follower of Jesus, \u201c[claiming] the moral high ground\u201d first starts by letting God change my heart. Micah 6:8 challenges each of us on what the Lord requires of us: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with [our] God. In my opinion, when there are extreme confrontations and disagreements on any societal issue, there is an imbalance of these elements: justice, mercy, and humility.<\/p>\n Cornell Law defines legal justice as \u201cthe ethical, philosophical idea that people are to be treated impartially, fairly, properly, and reasonably by the law and by arbiters of the law, that laws are to ensure that no harm befalls another….\u201d[6]<\/a> Personal application: am I doing my best to show impartial, fair treatment to everyone around me? When I am not, am I taking responsibility for my actions and motives?<\/p>\n \u201cMercy\u201d in Micah 6:8 uses the Hebrew word \u05d7\u05e1\u05d3<\/strong> (hesed). \u201cHesed\u201d is translated into English using words like mercy, kindness, compassion, and devotion.[7]<\/a> The meaning is difficult to translate as it has a profound sense in a way that God displays his love and compassion for us.[8]<\/a> When I am discriminated against because of my gender or my skin color, am I showing deep, loyal unfailing compassion and mercy to that person? Here is where I have an imbalance.<\/p>\n Lastly, am I walking humbly with my God? Cambridge Dictionary defines humility as \u201cnot being proud because you are aware of your bad qualities.\u201d[9]<\/a> Am I walking in a way that reflects my dependency on my God\u2019s goodness, His promises, and His sovereignty? Again, another area in my life that needs improvement.<\/p>\n Society will continue to shift and change. The change in society that Mounk desires to see where there is freedom of speech, individuality, and collaboration is noble. What he is missing is the underlying need for a Savior. We cannot change the societies around us until we allow radical change to happen individually. May God continue to work in my heart so that others may also find the hope, healing, and reconciliation that only Jesus can offer. RIM will see change when individual members understand and embrace the love and freedom that Jesus offers. America will see change when followers of Jesus consistently follow His example. \u00a0My world will change as I grow in doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God.<\/p>\n ________________________________<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Yascha Mounk, The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time<\/em> (New York: Penguin Press, 2023), introduction.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Ibid, chapter 15.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> \u201cEthnic Cleansing in Mauritania,\u201d NPR World<\/em>, June 5, 2007, https:\/\/www.npr.org\/templates\/story\/story.php?storyId=10741476.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Mounk, chapter 7.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Ibid, conclusion.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> \u201cJustice,\u201d LII \/ Legal Information Institute, June 2023, https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/wex\/justice.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Edward W. Goodrick and John R. Kohlenberger III, Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance<\/em>, ed. James A. Swanson, Second Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999).<\/p>\n\n