OPINION: The Monday Night Football awakening

This week has been both difficult and illuminating.

For the first time in 100 years, we saw a newly elected party majority in Congress fail to elect a leader, six times in a row. Today our Representatives in Congress are leaderless, unable to be sworn into office, much less tackle our nation’s daunting needs. The current situation is the latest act in a long unfolding scenario of partisan primaries forcing candidates to cater to extreme ideology. Should we now expect consensus building, good governance and a willingness to step back from the brink?

The response on Capitol Hill to this situation is predictably one of animosity. A vengeful display of Democrats rejoicing at the incompetence of Republicans to take on leadership, and that of Republicans torn asunder by toxic internal division, malice and open contempt for one another. That pretty much captures the spirit of Congress right now. And maybe our country.

Yet on Jan. 2, we saw a very different spirit awaken during an NFL Monday Night Football game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. The game began with all the fervor and rivalry one would expect of partisan fans supporting their respective team’s efforts to gain a top-seed playoff position. They each had one concern, a win for their team.

Then everything changed.

Damar Hamlin, a young Bill’s safety collapsed on the field, a victim of cardiac arrest. Within moments, the arena of combat was silenced, and within minutes, it transformed into a field of prayer and urgent medical response to save the life of Damar Hamlin. As the ambulance rolled onto the field and first responders administered CPR to Hamlin, fans and athletes alike were visibly shaken. Tears flowing, they grasped one another’s hands, dropped to their knees, and prayed together. A united picture of humility and concern for the life of Damar Hamlin.

And the response of the media was no different. ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky prayed on-air, saying, “God, we come to you in these moments that we don’t understand, that are hard, because we believe that you’re God, and coming to you and praying to you has impact.” And this united response of support and prayer for Damar Hamlin and his family continues to grow with each day.

The MNF awakening is further evidence of a persistent reality that despite our many flaws, America recognizes a fundamental, moral truth of each person’s incomparable worth and that it has profound implications for how we treat each other. It precludes hatred and animosity. It requires love and compassion.

You may say, “OK, that’s sports, but politics is different. I can’t possibly adopt a view of compassion and understanding for my political opponents.” Admittedly, it is very hard. I’m a fallen, flawed person who doesn’t always live up to that high standard.

Abraham Lincoln said our country, should it perish, will perish by suicide and faction, not by foreign forces. Could any of us deny that we are witnesses to this truth? We have blind partisan hatred for our fellow Americans, our neighbors, that simply defies reason. Our national motto is “In God We Trust.” Do we? Interestingly, there is not a word in our motto about trust in political parties. Thank God.

Here is a simple truth. I hope we can accept it. If we don’t start prioritizing common ground and flexibility in our governance processes, we will not survive as a free people. No side, left or right, is going to “overwhelm the other” with strength and numbers. Our elections prove that we are evenly divided right down the middle. And that middle line is becoming more like an Iron Curtain, with persons who attempt communication or community with the other side shot on sight by party border guards.

On Jan. 2, Monday Night Football sparked an awakening. Let’s pray for such a transformational awakening in our own lives and those of our elected and appointed leaders. There is no other path to building a culture of true peace.

Chuck Kopp is a lifelong Alaskan, a former member of the Alaska House of Representatives and a policy consultant.

The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.