“It’s always wise to seek the truth in our opponents’ error, and the error in our own truth.“– Reinhold Niebuhr, in the Forward of The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness  (1944) 

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The man who really did write the Serenity Prayer was a rare person. In a sense seeing spirituality as a matter of duality, he became one to always seek to understand first, and then be understood. Virtues, even American virtues, can be twisted and ill-used. This why, too often our best laid plans have ended in disaster. This is, also, why it’s wise to understand a person’s or a nation’s arguments seeking whatever kernels of truth are present, while simultaneously seeking the error(s) in what we hold true.

Original sin is such an integral part of humanity’s soul that Reinhold Niebuhr felt a need to call to action those who had the political will to withstand the calamities of the 20th Century. Individuals should always choose selflessness over self and justice motived by love, not hate or fear. Whenever our leaders or any among us attempt to cluster into groups, it should be recalled that groups trend toward seeking their own advantages and do not care much about the detriment of others. Dawkins may be correct that human have a selfish gene. This can be guarded against through eternal vigilance and guarding against movements as large as identity politics and wokeness to maintain what our duties toward God and each other is remembered.

A review of Niebuhr’s life shows that the path of seeking truth in error and error in our own truth is a hard path. It is not a straight direction but one with a few twists and turns. Perhaps this is an excellent example of why we should not be so easily tempted to judge others?