Keith Wilson<\/b><\/p>\n
One Sunday recently, I went angry to Meeting. I\u2019d been reading a newspaper report about a large demonstration held in London the previous day. I forget the precise focus of the demonstration, but I know the views of the demonstrators were almost diametrically opposed to my own. I was incensed! How could they take to the streets to propagate such misguided views? How could they justify the disruption and the waste of public resources to police the event?<\/p>\n
In Meeting, I started to wonder what motivated the demonstrators to leave their warm homes to tramp the streets of London on a cold, miserable November afternoon. It occurred to me that they must be committed to their cause, have deeply held ideas and beliefs, and have decided the only way they could get their message heard was by demonstrating.<\/p>\n
Then I thought about the (admittedly few) demonstrations I have been on. Why did I go? Because I was committed to the cause, I had deeply held ideas and beliefs, and I had decided that demonstrating was the best way to get the message heard. This comparison is of course simplistic, but nevertheless the motivations are spookily similar. In fact, if the situation had been reversed and one of the London protestors had been reading a report about a Quaker demonstration, they would probably have been as angry as I was!<\/p>\n
I realised that \u2014 even though our views were poles apart \u2014 I shared a common aim with those demonstrators: we both wanted others to, in effect, heed the suggestion of Advices and Queries Number 17 and \u2018think it possible that [they] may be mistaken\u2019.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s sometimes hard to see the other point of view but I feel I owe it to those protesters, and others with whom I disagree, to at least try. And to try genuinely without, as far as possible, prejudging the issues. Don\u2019t misunderstand me \u2013 I\u2019m not saying that I will change my viewpoint, just that I will try to be open to hearing new arguments and new facts. Number 17 only calls for us to think about whether it\u2019s possible we could be mistaken; the final judgement is still our own.<\/p>\n
I also realised that \u2018think[ing] it possible that [I] may be mistaken\u2019 is a dynamic and ongoing commitment. Convenient as it would be, I can\u2019t evaluate an issue then use that same evaluation as the basis of my thoughts and actions in perpetuity. Things change; issues need to be revisited and reconsidered. It has to be an ongoing process.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not sure reading that report of a demonstration in the Sunday papers affected me in the way that the demonstrators would have ideally wanted. I\u2019m pretty sure my viewpoint wasn\u2019t shifted, but at least it provoked me into reconsidering the issues the demonstration highlighted. It also made me reaffirm my commitment to trying to understand \u2014 though not necessarily adopt \u2014 the views of others, and to never letting my opinions and beliefs slumber for too long undisturbed!<\/p>\n
Back to January 2021 e-Newsletter Main Page<\/a><\/p>\n Forty-Three<\/em> e-Newsletter \u2022 Number 501 \u2022 January 2021 newsletter@oxfordquakers.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Keith Wilson One Sunday recently, I went angry to Meeting. I\u2019d been reading a newspaper report about a large demonstration held in London the previous day. I forget the precise focus of the demonstration, but I know the views of the demonstrators were almost diametrically opposed to my own. I was incensed! How could they … Continue reading Might it be Possible?<\/span>
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\n43 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LW<\/p>\n