Selfish Hatred

This past weekend I attended a music and dance presentation by a group visiting from Uganda.  It was part of an international theater festival intended to bring together many diverse cultures and underscore our common humanity.  The presentation was wonderful: entertaining and educational.  Between musical numbers, the troupe leader provided a variety of information about his home country – geography, customs and traditions, politics. 

What I want to talk about is not the performance (which really was both fascinating and interesting), but about the audience.   Now, because this was part of a month long festival celebrating diverse cultures whose publicity used all the appropriate buzz-words and phrases of the left (things like “dialog between cultures,” “mutual understanding among people of all cultures,” “empowering change,” “revolutionary theater,” “deeper understanding,” etc.) one could automatically assume that the audience would primarily consist of individuals with a political view that is left-leaning.  That is fine, just as the buzz-words mentioned above reflect lovely ideals and goals.  But this audience left me fairly well disgusted.

I will not focus on their common rudeness that is familiar at most any public performance these days (things like cell phones held up to take photos of the performance that interfere with the observation of those sitting behind, or talking when quietness is expected).  This thoughtlessness and selfishness is predictable in today’s world; it was just ironic to find it so prevalent in a group that seemed to see themselves as so unselfish and highly caring of humanity.

But, here is what truly disgusted me.  At one point the leader of the troupe spoke of the many ugly things in his country’s history and commented that his country looked to America as a beacon of hope, as the symbol of democracy that his people could aspire to for their country.  That was a comment that if anything required a proud thank you from the American audience.  But what it instead elicited was loud calls from the audience of “not any more” and “Trump ended that” and similar hollers. 

I wanted to cry.  Who are these people?  Do they live in the same country as do I?  I am and always have been so proud to be an American.  In the 60s when I loudly protested against the Vietnam war I did it with an equally loud pride in my country and in being an American.   One can dislike some of the actions of one’s country, one can even hate the current leader or others in power, but that does not mean the country is a complete failure worthy of such hatred.  And, why on earth would one express such hatred, such loathing of this country to one who looks to it as a beacon of light?  Why signal that person to turn away instead?

In reflecting on this, I have come to conclude that these are very selfish people, and that they are typical of many of those currently identifying with the left.  These people are so self-absorbed that they cannot imagine that anyone might hold a view different from their own.  They think it is perfectly OK to loudly express their hatred of Trump and of this country because of course everyone must agree.  And they do not really care if they might offend that rare person who does not hold their views.   It is doubtful they would ever truly listen to or try to understand a view different from theirs; they would rather silence such views with their own loud voices.

And the hatred – why so much hatred?  I think because with President Trump these people are faced everyday with the reality that there are indeed others who hold viewpoints different from theirs and this, to them is threatening.  It makes their selfishness less justifiable.  How can they assume that everything they do is OK because everyone thinks just like them when they are faced everyday with the reality that some people think differently, vote differently, hold different values and priorities?  And, it puts them in conflict with themselves:  they believe in the rightness of their self-righteous and selfish behavior, yet that behavior is in direct conflict with the caring and understanding of all of humanity that they profess as one of their central doctrines.  This puts them in an uncomfortable position and, rather than facing it and themselves, it is easier to simply hate the ones who have made them uncomfortable.

So, in the end, it is sad.  And, in the instance that gave rise to these reflections it is especially sad.  These people who were supporting a presentation promoting understanding of all, were behaving in a way that will drive those who do not parrot their views away.  I will think twice about going to any event populated primarily by this sort of group,  just as many people feel they can no longer watch some entertainment shows or shop in certain stores or eat in certain establishments because they are faced with a presentation by the entertainers or sales people or servers that assert views with which they do not agree and which makes them uncomfortable and leave them wondering what this presentation had to do with their reason for being there.  When faced with these unnecessary dialogs, the listener has three choices:  remain present but feel upset and say nothing; respond and likely start an uncomfortable argument; or leave and not return.  Sadly, the behavior of many people who state that they believe we should all come together is to actually drive people away as those suffering the unwanted and unnecessary presentation most commonly select the third choice – leave and not return. 

If, rather than feeling a need to loudly assert their views and their hatred,  these selfish people would instead be quiet and enjoy the human interaction appropriate to the event, they might find that they can simply have a human interaction with all of humankind, regardless of their political views.  They might actually discover that all people out there, even while holding differing views, are worthy not of hatred, but of the human love and understanding which their words currently profess, but which their actions currently belie.