I recently watched an episode of “Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes” that showed Oprah and her production team preparing to interview George W. Bush. Although I am not a fan of Bush’s policies and believe his administration did severe damage to this country and our reputation around the world, I was extremely glad to see Oprah’s team treat the former president with kindness and respect. She allowed his perspective of his years in office to modify her own point of view on some issues, and I was impressed that she read his book with an open mind. I think it’s a mistake to assume that he has nothing of value to share that we can all benefit from.
I was reminded of a radio interview I’d heard recently with Elizabeth Lesser, co-founder and senior adviser of the Omega Institute. She’s started a campaign, “Take the Other to Lunch”, encouraging people to sit down and have a meal with someone they saw as alien to themselves, to share their own beliefs and allow their lunch partner to do the same, the idea being that there is always something we can learn from people we fundamentally disagree with that will help make us better people. It requires humility to abandon the vain illusion of our own rightness and realize that none of us as individuals can clearly see the truth in its entirety. My husband bought a copy of George Bush’s book when it was released and it’s been sitting on my bookshelf, gathering dust. I think it’s about time I took it down and gave it a read.
