Simplistic stereotypes and broad generalisations always exist within human societies. However, it seems as though this tendency is becoming more prevalent.
Our societies, we are increasingly informed, are composed of two sorts of people: colonisers and the colonised, oppressors and the oppressed, enlightened "progressives" focused on justice and equity for all and "conservatives" concerned with holding on to power for their own benefit.
Consider a range of social, cultural and ecological contexts — local, national, or global — and you will see evidence of this binary framing: US politics, the Palestine-Israel conflict, treaty principles, environmental challenges.
In one telling, "they" (Republicans, Israel/Jews, racist Pākeha, polluting-farmers) are the root cause of the problems being faced, while in the other account, there is the inverse: "they" (Democrats, Hamas/Palestinians, demanding Māori, tree-hugging environmentalists) are the problem to be overcome.
I am not denying the reality of injustice or the immoral activities that exist within each of these contexts, or the need to identify them and seek to address them.
Rather, here, what I am highlighting is our inclination to think the worst of others and the best of ourselves. The human trait to demonise the "they" and to justify ourselves as part of the morally upstanding "we".
As children, we view the world as composed of obvious "goodies" and "baddies". Later, we come to realise that this way of interpreting reality is often inaccurate and, ultimately, unhelpful.
In our contemporary world the algorithms of social media accentuate and exacerbate this human habit of constructing simplistic binary narratives.
Social media platforms grab our attention with provocative postings. To maintain our attention requires more extreme statements. Accounts exemplified by nuance and complexity lose out to reductionist rhetorical rants and conspiracy theories.
Over time, exposed to this diet of disparaging discourse, views harden. The link between social media and the rise of social polarisation, and the risk this poses to the cohesion, stability and functioning of social democracies cannot be ignored.
Yet can the world really be divided, so simply, into light and darkness, the enlightened, pursuing justice and the selfish, motivated purely by self-interest?
Sometimes, perhaps. But frequently is it not more honest of history and our contemporary reality to recognise that those who experience injustice and oppression may also have perpetrated injustice and oppression against others?
Reflecting personally: are we always motivated by concern for the wellbeing of others? Are we as altruistic and morally virtuous as we would like to think we are?
An episode from the Gospel of John in the Bible conveys this human tendency towards self-righteousness — the predisposition to think the best of ourselves and the worst of others.
The moral guardians of the day bring an adulterous woman before Jesus. They ask Jesus whether he approves of the normal mode of operation in this situation, that of stoning the woman to death for her immorality.
Jesus responds to the woman’s accusers: "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7).
Jesus does not deny the moral errors of the woman but draws attention to the fact that those pronouncing moral judgement upon her are, themselves, not without fault.
Elsewhere, Jesus makes clear that to live a life of virtue and justice necessitates applying the criteria of judgement we use for others upon ourselves (Matthew 7:1-5).
Throughout the Bible numerous texts address this inclination to justify ourselves and to demonise others.
Paul, responsible for establishing and supporting early churches, previously was Saul, a murderer and persecutor of Christians.
Acknowledging his own problematic background, in a letter to his apprentice, Paul states: "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst" (1 Tim 1:15).
For Paul, honesty about our moral failings and an encounter with the grace and mercy offered through Jesus Christ should transform our attitudes and actions towards others. Paul promotes an attitude of humility.
In another letter Paul commends his listeners to follow the example of Jesus: "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others" (Phil 2:3-4).
An attitude of mutual honouring involves being less speedy in determining the intentions of others and thus less judgemental. It requires admission of our own moral flaws before pointing out the moral shortcomings of others.
It necessitates an acknowledgement that all human beings are, simultaneously, beautiful and broken, decent and deceitful. Such a posture of humility and grace is essential to combating the plague of increasing polarisation.
It is, also, a prerequisite for civil discourse that will enable us to work together on the shared challenges our communities and societies face.
■Dr Andrew Shepherd is a senior lecturer in theology and public issues in the theology programme, University of Otago.
