18 hours ago
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Andrew Lightbown on ability to discuss sensitive issues
Where there are no easy answers, great care needs to be taken over the quality of rhetoric, for without such quality control it becomes easy to scapegoat or stigmatize others, making them feel somehow less.
It also becomes easier to retreat into our affinity groups, to the exclusion of others. Now to be clear there is nothing wrong with belonging to affinity groups, in fact we need them if we are to feel at home. Religiously I am an Anglican, rugby wise I am Black and Amber through and through. My affinity groups provide me with belonging and meaning. They are places where I can feel, for the most part, comfortable.
But, and here's the nub of it: my affinity groups are no better or worse than anyone else's. To refuse to engage with others outside of our affinity groups is to live in a hermetically sealed bubble, where all outsiders are rendered strange. If we are to live life and live it well, we all need to engage beyond our immediate affinity groups and, in our rhetoric, we must ensure that we don't belittle others, even those we might find a little strange.
I found the Prime Minister's use of the term 'island of strangers' in his speech on immigration problematic. I am not sure who the phrase was directed at. Was it directed at people living in gated residences in the most prosperous parts of the land, or at people living in inner city areas where most residents belong to a particular class or ethnicity? But more than this I am not sure it is true.
Over the last couple of weeks, I have experienced solidarity, support, and compassion from people outside of my natural affinity group. I was delighted to help lead an Interfaith Friendship Evening on Stow Hill, where it quickly became clear that in this city people from very different backgrounds care about the same issues. A second example: my mother is in hospital and the level of care and support, from people very different to her, is tangible.
Jesus, in a parable called the Judgment of the Nations said: 'I was a stranger, and you invited me in.' Whatever the complexity of immigration policy – and it is complex – surely it is only right and proper that we all strive to ensure that we speak well, and that whilst prizing our affinity groups we also engage beyond them?
Andrew Lightbown is the canon at St Woolos Cathedral, Newport.
