Fighting Fair

Below is the text for this Saturday’s article in the Bradenton Herald. Apart from the headlines, they are pretty good at keeping our comments intact. But some of you do not have access to this newspaper, so I am posting the article here. I hope all you hockey fans can forgive me…

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When there is a fight, people gather. I don’t know why. It’s just a fact of life. It’s why hockey is so popular.

There is a fight that has caught my attention.

In one corner is Michael Gerson, evangelical Christian, Wheaton College grad, former ghost writer for Chuck Colson, and until very recently a senior speechwriter for President George W. Bush.

In the other corner is Matthew Scully, author, and longtime colleague of Gerson in the Bush speechwriting office.
Until I came upon this fight, I’d never heard of either man.

At our first notice of the scuffle, Scully is pounding Gerson senseless. In an article in the Atlantic, Scully pounds Gerson with both fists (and possibly with a kick or two). He accuses Gerson of being exceedingly proud and self-promoting, manipulating affairs to look as if all the great speeches were the product of his own brilliance. What an arrogant glory seeker he seems. We shake our heads in disgust. And he calls himself a Christian, too. What a shame.

But what’s this? Some heavyweights are jumping into the ring. It is becoming a free-for-all. What fun!

Columnist Cal Thomas begins to strike back at Scully. “[This] is not the Mike Gerson I know,” he defiantly asserts. Peter Wehner, who worked with both in the Bush White House, joins in: “I believe Scully’s piece is deeply unfair to Mike and is itself misleading.” He dares to bring facts into the ring. Scully reels.

Timothy Noah, senior writer of Slate, puzzled by the accusation, notes that “…the Atlantic reader sees flashes here and there of an unreliable narrator” And “I have a [hard] time taking seriously [Scully’s] hatchet job on Gerson.”
The tide turns.

Scully is taking a beating. Will he fire off a counter-volley of furious punches? When the bell rings, will Gerson be confirmed as the pious hypocrite? Will Scully lie bleeding on the mat, exposed as an envy driven serpent? We grab our popcorn and wait for round two.

In the meantime, we can learn much for our own fights.

1) Don’t believe everything you read/hear.
Whether it is about prominent news people, outrageous celebrities, or your neighbor next door. Whether it is published in a major media outlet or whispered from one pew to the next, be skeptical of what you read or hear. There is always another side to every story.

2) Be courageous enough to confront those who offend you.
Since, apparently, Scully never spoke to Gerson in a friendly gesture of concern for the behavior he attributes to him, Gerson never had a chance to either defend himself, repent of his wrong, or attempt to change.

We have untrustworthy hearts. We too easily believe wrong of others. We must have the courage to go to them and give them the chance to respond to our concerns. To avoid this is cowardly.

3) Be humble enough to refrain from comment.
When tempted to say something negative about another, don’t. And if it must be said, be certain that you have the facts.
We may not have the public platform of a Matthew Scully on which to air our gripes about others, but we can do just as much damage with our gossip, our unfounded accusations, and our careless words.

We love to watch a fight. That’s why we go to hockey games. But let’s leave them there. Rather, let’s deal with conflict in a fair and biblical way, and stay out of the ring (or off the rink).