In my morning reading of Merton I came across a passage where he argues for a need to embrace the wisdom of the Socratic principle. As Merton describes it, that means having great confidence in “dialogue” – trusting that truth develops in conversation. He writes,
“The Socratic principle means not only the willingness to discuss, but readiness to meet one’s adversary as an equal and as a sister or as a brother. The moment one does this, she or he ceases to be an adversary.”
As I tossed these words over in my time of prayer, I realized my dis-ease with our current cultural and political environment is our inability to dialogue anymore. Truth seeking conversations are almost non-existent. We have devolved into merely having monologues with witnesses. Two questions surfaced: “How long will we collectively continue to suffer and cause suffering by grasping onto our entrenched opinions before we actually hear each other?” and, “Am I willing to lay down my own judgmental swords so they might be transformed into plowshares?”