Core Values
Are moral values about abortion and gay marriage or about poverty and war? Some people focus on the first two issues and other people focus on the second two. But all four — and countless other concerns — are moral values issues. Our values are about what we think is most important, and our morals are about what we consider right and wrong. Our different values energize us to move in different directions. Unfortunately, too often we also see people going in the other direction as our opponents, even our enemies. And we separate even farther from them. That’s why we experience such intense polarization today.
Is there a way for many of us to move back toward a common center of core values? Proponents of both conservative and liberal values talk about compassion and generosity, and even grace. This is especially true in religion, but also in politics – "compassionate conservatism," for instance. I am convinced that compassion, grace, and generosity are core values of every faith. Why, then, do we have such intense differences?
Some people move from compassion toward authority. There is a "yes, but…" version of these core values. Yes, we must have compassion, but there are rules; and if you break the rules, you have to suffer the consequences. Enforcement of "the rules" of life, nature, religion, or politics become the defining characteristic of this movement toward traditional values.
Some people move from compassion toward nurturance. There is a "yes, and…" version of these core values. Compassion and generosity lead toward empathy for people and a desire to nurture their self-development, to help them reach their potential. Nurturance of people in the context of their life situations becomes the defining characteristic of this movement toward progressive values.
The polarization intensifies as people move outward on a continuum in either direction. Some people become rigid in their authoritarian values and no longer express compassion or generosity toward those who "break the rules." Some people become permissive in their nurturant values and all boundaries disappear so that compassion and grace lose any meaning.
The stereotypes of rigid conservatives and permissive liberals feed the polarization. But authority and nurturance are both core values that most of us would agree are essential to life. The core values of compassion, grace, and generosity feel different when we are moving in one direction or the other. They lead to different political and religious choices when we choose an emphasis on authority or on nurture as we talk about what it means to be compassionate. But this leaves us a large middle ground to move around on together. My hope is that we will choose that common ground and learn to move around together with compassion, grace, and generosity.
[This understanding of core values is based in part on the work on Dr. George Lakoff, in Moral Politics. It also comes from my book, Moral Values: What I Learned Growing Up in Church. This approach seeks common ground around our core values, whether we are talking about politics, religion, or life in general.]
