I’ve heard Arthur C. Brooks before. I apparently didn’t pay close enough attention.
Perhaps I saw that he was president of a think tank that tilted away from my ideological proclivities. Or, like often happens in life when you first encounter something that will later possess greater meaning—you pass on it once, or several times.
Book TV, which broadcasts on C-Span 2 each weekend, is what the network bills as “television for serious readers.” It’s 48 hours of nonfiction books and authors discussing their works. For someone like me who gravitates towards that genre, it’s a place I usually end up at some point each week.
After Words is a feature where one author interviews another nonfiction writer about a book they’ve written and it usually has a thematic orientation. This week, Senator Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) interviewed his friend Arthur C. Brooks about his latest book, Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt. Actually, I think the show was taped earlier and likely, I was viewing the rebroadcast.
Arthur C. Brooks’ new book about countering contempt.
It was interesting that Sasse, a member of a party that cultivates the culture of contempt that Brooks posits we need salvation from. The Democratic party isn’t above reproach in this realm, either. I do know that Sasse is a different kind of Republican and whenever I’ve had the opportunity to hear him being interviewed, he’s impressed me as a man with integrity and who probably is a compassionate conservative, a term that offered hope when coined by George W. Bush during his first term.
Brooks is a compelling speaker and it’s obvious when you listen to him that he has a broad intellect. His bio demonstrates he’s no slouch and while I’m not often a fan of libertarianism (Brooks self-identifies as libertarian), I decided to spend time listening to most of the hour-long interview.
Brooks was a globally-renowned musician who then left orchestral music to pursue a Ph.D and an academic career. He’s a behavioral scientist who is often cited for his studies in happiness. Two of his books have been national bestsellers.
Anger and contempt are prevalent in our politics in the U.S. Contempt—a conviction that someone (usually someone on the “other side” from you, politically or ideologically) is utterly worthless. Brooks characterized it as a mix of anger and disgust, what he said is “kind of like ammonia and bleach.” It’s a toxic emotional mixture for sure.
I am anxious to read Brooks’ latest book. I’m also intrigued by some of the other elements he spoke about, especially how it’s possible to break our “addiction” to social media and the way it promotes this type of contempt. Also, countering contempt doesn’t mean we have “roll over” and agree with things we find disagreeable. The key, according to Brooks is to “disagree better, not less.”
Interestingly, I’m signed up for a USM summer session course related to social media ethics and privacy. I think Brooks and his latest book aligns nicely with that.
I plan to return to Brooks these ideas over the summer.