American Idiots

Jackass: (n) 1. A donkey, esp. a male. 2. A fool

President Obama may have inadvertently actually said something that everyone--Republican and Democrat--can actually agree on last week when he stated that Kanye West was a jackass.

He was, of course, referring to West's behavior at last Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards, when he leaped onto the stage, took the microphone from 19-year-old winner Taylor Swift and pronounced that Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video deserved the honor.

The truth is, even without that moment, Kanye West could still be accurately labeled a jackass, based on his "George Bush doesn't care about black people" moment during a Hurricane Katrina fundraiser or his similar antics at other award shows. He's the perfect example of celebrity run amok, a man who's been praised so often that he begins not only to believe his own hype but also promote it as Gospel. His pride spills over so far that it's not just that he's full of himself but he also wants everyone to be part of the Kanye cult, believing that he's the greatest rapper/singer/self-promoter in the world and that all of his beliefs and preferences are the right ones and not to be trifled with.

And he earns the right to be called a jackass--an annoying animal whose braying hurts the ears of all nearby.

Of course, just a week or so earlier, Congressman Joe Wilson participated in his own brand of jackassery by shouting "You Lie!" during President Obama's statements on health care. I have to believe that Wilson, full of Republican fire and passion, believed this would be a profoundly American moment of dissent. Instead, he revealed himself to be a Kanye-style fool with his show of disrespect and immaturity.

In just two weeks time, both Kanye West and Joe Wilson have solidified the stereotype of the Ugly American. . .a brash, loud and boorish creature who has no intention of listening to others' viewpoints, but simply shouts out their own and yells even louder to keep the opposing view down.

It's not the views of West and Wilson that I necessarily disagree with. Not being that into the whole MTV scene, I have no idea if I'd think Beyonce's video was better than Taylor Swift's--I haven't seen either of the videos in question. Likewise, I don't think that President Obama's health care plan is near flawless or even what we need...all I can admit is that we have a system right now that does not work and we need some sort of change; in reality, I would like to see a lot of compromise between both Republicans and Democrats before I think we'd have something workable. Both West and Wilson are free to have their views and, in a responsible and adult fashion, express them.

It's that last part that no one seems to get right.

It's pretty obvious to everyone that West's behavior was appalling. Everyone knows you don't jump up to the stage, steal the microphone from the winner and say someone else should have won. It's disrespectful for the winner...disrespectful for a gracious loser...and serves only to place yourself in a spotlight that you don't deserve. Of course West, ever the hype man, spun his apology and showed up on talk shows so quickly that one wonders if this was the work of someone who had too much to drink (as is alleged) or if it was a very intricately-planned publicity ploy. Neither would surprise me and it makes me glad that I don't listen much to Kanye's music.

Wilson has his defenders. They say he was just fed up. He was standing up against someone who he believed was telling lies. Of course, were the tables turned and it was a Democratic congressman shouting at a Republican President, you'd find everyone switching sides...the same people who are appalled now would be supporting the dissent and those who stand behind Joe Wilson would be crying for the dissenter's resignation. But the extreme partisanship that is destroying this country is the subject of another blog.

Me, I'm not so much interested in politics or even the state of affairs of our government. My concern over Wilson's behavior is more from a culture standpoint and a fear of where we are as humans. How many of you would attend a lecture, a business meeting or a college class and shout out "you lie" to the presenter/boss/professor if you disagreed with them? Chances are you would simply either let it slide, pull the person aside afterward or write a letter, depending on how passionately you felt about the subject. Creating an outburst draws attention to yourself. Losing your cool loses the argument because you can only be proven right (if you can be) through discussion and dialogue, not childish screaming and yelling. And honestly, throwing a fit makes you look like a fool. Have you ever observed the customer temper tantrum in a department store, bank or restaurant? Have you ever thought that person, with their red face and stream of cuss words, was actually in the right?

I don't think Kanye West and Joe Wilson are the problem. They are merely symptomatic of a larger problem within our culture that even Presidents fall prey too--after all, I'm sure you can remember George W. Bush calling a journalist an "a--hole" during his Presidential campaign. And Obama has had his slips of the tongue, particularly with the campus police in the whole "beer diplomacy" joke.

Everyone has always had opinions. The problem with our culture these days is that everyone believes their opinion is right, with no chance of being wrong, and that the best thing they can do is shout that opinion at the top of their lungs and shoot down anyone who disagrees with them.

And yes, I know some will say this: we have the right to dissent and have free speech and demonstration. That's true; I don't disagree with that and, in fact, there are places and times where dissent--when done with respect, intelligence and gentleness--is a much-needed thing. But too few people remember this: there's a big difference between having a right and doing the right thing.

The Internet has created a culture where everyones opinions can be heard. Unfortunately, Americans are often much more interested in telling their own opinion than listening to those of others. Facebook statuses and Tweets become bully pulpits where we spout our rhetoric and views; is there anything more pathetic and pointless than the use of Twitter for debate? Bloggers bemoan the lack of objective reporting but quote only sources that feed their own biases...I refuse to listen to anyone who tells me that CNN and ABC are part of the liberal media when their only exposure to news comes from Fox News and Rush Limbaugh; news should offend both sides of the aisle. But instead we have a culture where people firmly believe their ideology and rhetoric are the only right and good ones and so everything they say and listen to will be part of spreading that belief around as if politics could ever hold the same Truth and infallibility as the Gospel.

But as we're also spreading our views, we've been taught very well not to let the opposing side come into play at all. Bill Maher and Rush Limbaugh (both on opposing sides but both the perfect examples of the ugliest of the Ugly Americans) have taught us to look down at, laugh at or simply outshout and out talk opposing viewpoints. A look at the letters to the editor portion of newspapers shows how quickly intelligence, rationality and respect are thrown out the window in favor of tearing down other views, spouting your own rhetoric and doing so in a manner that dehumanizes and belittles other people.

We've lost, in this culture, the art of the debate and discussion. We've forgotten the importance of sitting down and having friendly, civil discussion. You can be passionate about an issue and still talk in a calm tone. You can disagree with someone and still let them have their say; you don't have to yell. And guess what, you can still have your opinions and admit that you may very well be wrong. No growth comes out of being right all the time; improvement comes from seeing where we're wrong and making the right compromises and changes to better each time.

And Christians, most importantly, must be above the fray.

I know many Christians have strong political views. And I know it's tempting to yell and shout and look just like this ugly, vitriolic culture. But we're called to something better. We're commanded to speak the truth in love, with gentleness and humility. We're called to consider others better than ourselves. We're commanded to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, serve those who hate us and realize that every human being has worth and value. Surely part of that means putting our aside our tendency to bicker, yell and nitpick because we realize that politics, government and even this nation is temporary. In light of Eternity, will any of us even remember that there was once a place called America, let alone disagreements over health care and taxes?

That's not to say we can't be political. That's not to say we can't be passionate. But passion that gives way to hatred, pride and disrespect is misplaced, sinful passion. True, Godly involvement in politics means we're willing to sit across from those we disagree with and share our views without interrupting, without raising our voices, without believing we have all the answers or that everything out of their mouth will be wrong. True, God-honoring debate must be gentle, loving,

humble and ultimately done with a dash of frivolity, knowing that more important matters of the soul are at stake.

Let's pray that the American church be as wise as serpents, as humble as doves....and nothing like a jackass.