The Beauty and Goodness of Civility
By: John M. Blumenstein, Head of School
“Our task is to focus on our individual callings in engaging with the world, to trust that others are following theirs too, and to leave to God the masterminding of the grand outcome.”
Over the weekend I went to one of Maryland’s early voting locations and was surprised at the long line of voters already assembled early on a Saturday morning. As I began looking for a parking space, the winding line of voters seemed to be endless, and I became convinced that this might be the only item on my checklist to be accomplished that day. Having finally found a parking space, I then walked a bit and took my place at the end of the longest line that I had ever seen in some 45 years of voting. The line, however, turned out to be moving at a decent pace but slow enough to engage in pleasant conversations with other voters and to hear what others were saying. What struck me the most about this experience was the peacefulness that I experienced during this time with other citizens of Maryland, in stark contrast with the media frenzy over these last few days before the election. I was also reminded of the common humanity that we all share and the dignity of that humanity by God’s design.
There we stood in that long line, people of diverse ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic identities, all entering the same voting booths, all wearing masks, remaining socially distanced, and using disinfected pens to mark our paper ballots, and then submitting those ballots for our votes to be counted. Doubtless this election will go down in history like no other, but I still came away from that experience with a reclaimed sense of the value of daily “ordinary” life. Whatever the outcome of this election, we each have a place of service to which God has called us, and we each have been entrusted with “extraordinary” opportunities to love our families, our friends, and our neighbors.
As this election plays out, I invite you to observe your children and to be sensitive to its impact on them. Last week during one of the outdoor breaks on campus, I became aware of a lively discussion about the election among some of the 6th graders, which, in turn, led to an interesting discussion during the Latin class shortly thereafter. We watched the following ad that has gone viral, prepared by the two gubernatorial candidates in Utah, one a Republican and the other a Democrat.
What delighted me the most about this experience was the students’ responses to the ad. Regardless of their individual viewpoints about the election, they all applauded the example that was being modeled by these two candidates, and they all saw the beauty and the goodness of civility and respect in stark contrast to what they had been hearing and seeing from news outlets and political ads. They also referenced the critical thinking skills being cultivated by Mrs. Mize enabling them to assess the truthfulness of what political candidates are saying. As we walk with children during these tumultuous times, let’s learn what we can from them about what really matters and be encouraged by their willingness to embrace the good, the beautiful, and the true. I see great hope in the hearts and the lives of Cambridge students as we imagine their impact on future generations for the glory of Christ and for the well being or wholeness (shalom) of the world in which we live.
Quote: Os Guiness, Renaissance: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times