Duality

We share a natural instinctive tendency to divide the world into two groups of people: Us and Them. Anthropologists tell us that we inherit this divisive inclination from our warrior-gatherer pre-historic ancestors whose very survival depended on being part of a separate group or band or tribe, seeing everyone outside the closely-knit clan as The Enemy.

Us and Them.  A simple and clear way of considering this dynamic is to look at American politics: Republican/Democrat or Conservative/Liberal divisions are striking examples. One might also consider any of the wars throughout history, as well as so many of the insistent prejudices in our own society.

There is also a lot of Us/Them divisions in both the Old and New Testaments. Note, however, that Jesus sometimes broke through those divisions, challenging his fellow Jews to look at things more inclusively. The leper was separated from society because of fear of disease; Jesus touched the leper (and perhaps you remember that St. Francis kissed the leper!). The prostitutes and tax-collectors were judged; Jesus ate with them at table. The Samaritans believed differently and therefore were regarded as Them; Jesus challenged this notion in the parable of the Good Samaritan (an oxymoron to many a Jew of his day) as well as in the scene with the woman at the well.

It does us good to look even more closely at less obvious times that we too engage in Us/Them thinking, even in the course of a single day.  I caught myself this past weekend at Mass: someone arrived late—one of THEM! An individual worshipper was making (gasp!) Charismatic gestures—clearly not one of US.

Whom do you see as THEM? See if you can catch yourself. Tomorrow I’ll share a quote with you that I believe can help break down so many of the petty divisions we make on a regular basis.


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