Monday, October 27, 2008
What do you do with political emails?
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We get a lot of these type of political emails at school - some more "inaccurate" than others. By "a lot" I think I've received 3 over the past week. Depending on how wrong, inaccurate or offensive they are, I sometimes write back to the original author. But here are some of the questions/ideas I'm still wrestling with:
- Why are some Christians so adamant about political views? When it comes to politics, why can't we disagree? Why do we allow it to divide us so much? As I said in my previous post, this is one reason I appreciate and feel at home in Emergent groups, not only because many seem to share similar political views as myself, but because I know that in areas that I do differ, I am not ridiculed or judged for it. My friends in the cohort have talked about this recently here.
- How should I receive emails like this? I've come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as "just an email fwd." In casual conversation, I could drop a racial expletive and say, "It was just a joke" and expect others to let it slide. In the same way, I've decided it's not acceptable to electronically mail inaccurate slander against other humans and think that we should "just delete it." Email is one of the primary forms of communication in our world, and so what is written, fwd:, and replied to should be taken as if spoken word, and the senders should be held accountable (myself included). Of course, sometimes intentions and meaning can be misunderstood, but often the intentions are clear but are disregarded because it's online.
- How should I respond/reply to emails like this? When I asked Don Miller that question at the little coffeehouse conversation he hosted at Ohio Wesleyan a few weeks ago, he reminded me of the Matthew 18 principle. So I've tried to write back to the sender of the email. What is interesting is that the person (yes I am thinking of one in particular) usually doesn't respond...at all. I've tried to meet face-to-face. I've tried to call, set up an appointment, and it never works out. What should I do now? Take it to the "next level"? I guess we'll see.....
All of the above aside, this is why I'm most frustrated - the people who send the emails seem to think it is "no big deal," when to me it is a really big deal. For several reasons: If the email is factually incorrect (and perpetuating untruths), that's a big deal. But even more than that, I feel like these types of emails that circulate so regularly around conservative evangelical circles - whether they are in regards to politics, homosexuality, Islam, or another hot topic - it sends a message to me that "this" particular position is what every good evangelical Christian should believe. And if I disagree, then I am on the wrong side. And being on the wrong side of the conversation means I am wrong...plain and simple. There is no room for discussion, contemplation, or growth. Just the standard answers that everyone should agree upon.
Again, I appreciate the Emergent conversation, simply because it is a conversation with more than one side! As much criticism as it gets for refusing to take a stance on a lot of issues, I feel it is better than being forced to pretend that I agree with every position that is circulated through the email list.
We get a lot of these type of political emails at school - some more "inaccurate" than others. By "a lot" I think I've received 3 over the past week. Depending on how wrong, inaccurate or offensive they are, I sometimes write back to the original author. But here are some of the questions/ideas I'm still wrestling with:
- Why are some Christians so adamant about political views? When it comes to politics, why can't we disagree? Why do we allow it to divide us so much? As I said in my previous post, this is one reason I appreciate and feel at home in Emergent groups, not only because many seem to share similar political views as myself, but because I know that in areas that I do differ, I am not ridiculed or judged for it. My friends in the cohort have talked about this recently here.
- How should I receive emails like this? I've come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as "just an email fwd." In casual conversation, I could drop a racial expletive and say, "It was just a joke" and expect others to let it slide. In the same way, I've decided it's not acceptable to electronically mail inaccurate slander against other humans and think that we should "just delete it." Email is one of the primary forms of communication in our world, and so what is written, fwd:, and replied to should be taken as if spoken word, and the senders should be held accountable (myself included). Of course, sometimes intentions and meaning can be misunderstood, but often the intentions are clear but are disregarded because it's online.
- How should I respond/reply to emails like this? When I asked Don Miller that question at the little coffeehouse conversation he hosted at Ohio Wesleyan a few weeks ago, he reminded me of the Matthew 18 principle. So I've tried to write back to the sender of the email. What is interesting is that the person (yes I am thinking of one in particular) usually doesn't respond...at all. I've tried to meet face-to-face. I've tried to call, set up an appointment, and it never works out. What should I do now? Take it to the "next level"? I guess we'll see.....
All of the above aside, this is why I'm most frustrated - the people who send the emails seem to think it is "no big deal," when to me it is a really big deal. For several reasons: If the email is factually incorrect (and perpetuating untruths), that's a big deal. But even more than that, I feel like these types of emails that circulate so regularly around conservative evangelical circles - whether they are in regards to politics, homosexuality, Islam, or another hot topic - it sends a message to me that "this" particular position is what every good evangelical Christian should believe. And if I disagree, then I am on the wrong side. And being on the wrong side of the conversation means I am wrong...plain and simple. There is no room for discussion, contemplation, or growth. Just the standard answers that everyone should agree upon.
Again, I appreciate the Emergent conversation, simply because it is a conversation with more than one side! As much criticism as it gets for refusing to take a stance on a lot of issues, I feel it is better than being forced to pretend that I agree with every position that is circulated through the email list.
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