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Healing political division

In times like these, overcoming polarization and anger may seem like an uphill battle. But each of us is divinely equipped to feel and express more of the compassion and brotherly love that bring progress.

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In the U.S. and elsewhere, political polarization and hostility seem all too common. We’ve compiled some articles from the Christian Science Perspective column’s archives specifically selected for their relevance to this very issue. Within each one you’ll find some ideas to inspire your own thoughts, prayers, and actions to further harmony, peace, and progress wherever you are.

In a short podcast called “Beyond political division,” the editor of the Monitor and a Christian Science practitioner and teacher share spiritual insights on a timely question: How can we overcome the polarization that’s so prevalent these days?

“Quelling anger, finding common ground” explores the idea that there’s a spiritual basis for unity, civility, and progress in the political arena.

The author of “Postelection prayers” shares ideas that helped her overcome the devastating defeat of a politician she’d campaigned for and inspired her commitment to forwarding peace and justice in meaningful new ways.

The author of “Spiritual listening amid the political fray” considers how we can cultivate the God-given mental poise and grace we each inherently have.

And a short and sweet poem called “A prayer to end polarization” encourages us to go beyond “us and them” thinking and acknowledge our unity with one another as children of God.

Some more great ideas! To read or share an article for teenagers about healing a diagnosed physical condition through prayer in Christian Science titled, “Healed of mono,” please click through to the TeenConnect section of www.JSH-Online.com. There is no paywall for this content.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

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