The Power of Friendship in Divisive Times
On January 24, Paul Edwards at the Wheatley Institute at BYU held an interview with Princeton Professors, Robby George and Cornell West. George and West are good friends. They are also on different sides of the political spectrum. You can read about the remarkable event and watch the video here.
I should add that Paul and I are ourselves on different sides of the political spectrum, but we have been close friends for 35 years. A crucial component of our unity is our shared faith as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the ways in which church life provided the conditions for sacred experiences that are unbreakable bonds for us to this day. In fact, our friendship has played a significant role in the formation of Engage. I had a chance to ask Paul a few questions about the event and provide here our own conversation.
Paul, tell us about the recent visit of Robby George and Cornel West to BYU. First of all, what was your motivation in having them come?
The Wheatley Institute seeks to stop and, if possible, reverse the fraying of our civic fabric. How do we do that? We can talk about the problem, or we can start modeling solutions. Robby George and Cornel West have been modeling beautifully for years how to engage across difference with genuine love and friendship. So, starting in fall of 2022, we started working with our old friend Robby to have him bring Cornel to BYU. We fixed a date for fall 2023. And then, in late May of 2023, without explanation, Cornel’s office called and canceled. The explanation came a week later when Cornel publicly announced his candidacy for President!
They referred to President Nelson, Elder Cook, Elder Jeffrey Holland and his son, Elder Matt Holland. They clearly seemed to know and have respect for LDS church leaders and it seemed to represent a wonderful moment of interfaith knowledge and respect. Was there anything about their interaction with leaders that you saw up close during their visit that was especially noteworthy?
I have known about, and witnessed, Robby’s interaction with senior church leaders for nearly two decades. Obviously, each relationship has its own dynamic. For example, as a young professor, Elder Matthew Holland spent a full year in Professor George’s James Madison program at Princeton, so their long camaraderie includes sustained intellectual engagement. In several settings, I saw him interact with the late Elder L. Tom Perry at a strategic level. That kind of engagement happens now with Elder Quentin Cook. So I wasn’t surprised to hear from Robby about his long-standing respect for our church leaders.
What I didn’t know was about some of Cornel’s interactions with church leaders. Apparently, Cornel was at a conference in Rome that President Nelson also attended. Cornel told me how, out of courtesy, and not knowing who they were, he found himself helping and elderly gentleman and his wife with their luggage as they arrived at the hotel. He said they had a memorably gracious exchange and conversation. But it wasn’t until the conference began the next day that he realized, he had helped President & Sister Nelson. And, by Cornel’s account, he and the Nelsons developed a fast friendship at that conference.
And Cornel’s engagement with prominent Latter-day Saints goes all the way back to his admission to Harvard at the age of 17. The dean of admissions at Harvard at that time was Dr. Chase Peterson, a Latter-day Saint who would later go on to become President of the University of Utah. Cornel talks about Chase like a father figure in his life. He thinks David Holland at the Harvard Divinity School is one of the finest colleagues he has ever had. He speaks with admiration for the leadership of the Harvard Business School by Dean Kim Clark (now an emeritus general authority).
Building on that, what do you think is important about their spirit of friendship that transcends sectarian differences? Religion can be divisive or tribal. How can we be different and still be true to our faith?
I can’t answer that formulaically. But I go back to the modeling. Just moments before Cornel, Robby, and I came into the assembly hall, we had to get mic’d up. I typically use that moment to do a quick “run of show”, which I did, and asked if there were any questions. Cornel grabbed our hands – including those of our tech friends who had just helped us with our mics – and asked “Can we pray?” Whereupon Brother Cornel gave a heartfelt Baptist prayer expressing hope that we might do some good and heal some hearts with our evening’s conversation. It wasn’t show. It was a genuine plea to the Lord for added strength and a measure of the Spirit. And the prayer circle was inclusive of all who were present in that moment, a Baptist, a Catholic, and a handful of Latter-day Saints. Cornel modeled how the spirit of friendship transcends sectarian difference by being his truest Baptist self.
You asked a poignant question about their assessment of Stephen Miller's recent statement about power. Clearly their visit is relevant to our contemporary context. What do you think is the lesson of their book and their visit for Latter-day Saints in facing the political realities of our country today?
In their book “Truth Matters”, Cornel and Robby make frequent reference to, and critique of the arguments of Thrasymachus in Plato’s “Republic”. Thrasymachus is known for his challenge to moral idealism, essentially arguing that it is might and power that succeed, in other words, that “might makes right”. Stephen Miller’s quote – which was all over the news that week – was such a direct echo of the realism of Thrasymachus that I couldn’t resist dangling it in front of them. And frankly, I was both a little surprised and a little chastened by their responses.
So, for example, instead of a direct push back, Cornel, began by suggesting we should pray for Stephen Miller. That was a humorous – but also, upon reflection, a deeply Christ-like response. And then he engaged the realist framing of foreign policy by Miller seriously, not superficially. He put the quote into context. He admitted that if what Miller was doing was describing the world empirically rather than normatively, then Miller had strong ground to stand on. Only after all of that did he begin to dismantle the argument.
So, some lessons learned? In our current political landscape of instant certainty, perhaps I should offer genuine Christian grace to those with whom I profoundly disagree, (i.e., “pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you”). Perhaps I should take their arguments seriously by seeing if I can restate the argument in its strongest form. And only after that, should I address the reasoning. I don’t need to go after the person.
How does their friendship teach us to be better citizens, more proactive and even engaged in party politics, without falling victim to the kind of demonization of the opposition that is so frequent today?
I hope those who watch their interaction can see and sense what wasn’t said. I can attest that their differences could not be more profound. Not just theologically, not just intellectually, not just politically, but dispositionally. Robby is as buttoned-up as they come (behaviorally and sartorially; for goodness’ sakes -- he wears a vest!). Cornel is spontaneous and emotive. Robby extends his hand to shake. Cornel opens his arms wide for a bear hug. But despite these differences, the affection is also profound. The respect is real. The admiration is palpable. Throughout the conversation, they would literally turn to face one another while the other was speaking. They never stepped over one another’s speaking. Their friendship really does inspire hope that we can hold together the bonds of affection across our difference.
George Handley, Executive Director of Engage