Irenic, isn’t it?

The word for the day is “irenic.”

Regular readers will know that I often go to etymology and history to understand words, and for that matter, reality.

The word “irenic” has to do with peace and peacefulness. This can be peace between groups, between individuals, or peace within oneself.

It comes from the Greek word eirn, and is a very old word, though its English adaptation only dates to the 19th century. It was a common greeting and farewell in the Mediterranean world of antiquity, and one adopted by Jews as well.

When Jesus says, “Peace be with you,” that’s the word he’s translated as using. Likely he was using the Aramaic word “shlama.” But if not he, then his followers said “eirn” as they went out into a very troubled world.

In Hebrew, “peace” is “shalom.”

So on election day, what irenic thing can we do? As a self-professed retail moralist, I’d like to offer one little key to unlocking the doors of deception and the gates of destruction. It has to do with cognitive empathy.

Cognitive empathy is understanding other people’s ideas, grasping how they see the world. It may or may not lead to emotional empathy, which the sharing of people’s emotional experiences.

You get cognitive empathy by looking at things from multiple perspectives. This is different from relativism, because not all perspectives are equally good or true, though parts of them may be.

We can try to listen to what other people say.

Lots of people are guilty of the straw man fallacy. They exaggerate and distort someone’s position and attack it instead of what someone actually asserts.

Unfortunately, nowadays we can find all sorts of extremists who actually do say things that we can accurately quote. Yet most people, even opponents, are not radically unhinged. Picking on the crazies on the other side is a type of straw man fallacy.

The opposite of a straw man is a steel man strategy. (Yes, I know these are gendered terms, but I’m not quite ready to use “strawx.”)

Instead of picking out the weakness of opponents, identify and deal with their strongest arguments. Your own ideas may be sharpened and clarified. Maybe that will help you persuade others, though there’s more to it than persuasion.

You might actually evolve, get greater perspective, gain respect and maybe a touch of humility and humor. (I know it’s hard to be humble when you’re always right, but just learn to bear that burden. I have.)

Constant anger, fear, contempt, frustration and resentment are bad for the soul. They also are tearing this country apart. Forbearance, kindness, gentleness and self-control work out better in the long run.

As a temperamental stoic, I find incessant outrage self-indulgent. It’s decadent, like eating sugary and fatty desserts is–nice in the moment but leading to poor health.

I’m not saying that we can’t take a stand, or that we need to muddy distinctions. But actually reading across the spectrum minimizes the chance that we are objectifying our own fears and angers, abstracting real, complex, and often lovable people into paper-thin categories of “fascist” or “socialist.”

Times are tough on this election day. It seems that we have a choice between crazy ideas and crazy politicians. I have voted, with perhaps less enthusiasm than ever.

The word “irenics” in theology referred to an attempt to heal the sectarian divisions in Christianity. Nowadays politics is the religion for many, both for secular people and for those who’ve welded their faith and politics into one weapon.

I hope that when tomorrow dawns, we can take a deep breath and enjoy autumn.

Shalom, y’all.