As the U.S. House of Representatives gears up for hearings about the purported radicalization of the American Muslim community, the media is once again buzzing with talk about threats and fear.  Of course, the House Homeland Security Committee’s narrow focus on the perceived threat posed by American Muslims feels a little strange here in Austin where the most recent act of terror was carried out by Joseph Andrew Stack. At last report, Stack was not carrying a Koran when he flew his plane into an office building that housed  local offices of the I.R.S. and F.B.I. killing an innocent man and wounding others.

And now, a video has gone viral on the web showing protesters in Orange County California taunting local Muslims arriving at a charity event. Hundreds of thousands of people have clicked through to view “Hate Comes to Orange County.” Spokespeople for the demonstrators are claiming that they are being misrepresented, that there were two groups of individuals present – a civil crowd and a yelling mob, they say that the two groups are spliced together in the video. However,  the video clearly shows a speaker at the “civil” protest whipping up the crowd with talk about her Marine son and his colleagues “helping these terrorists to an early meeting in paradise.” Of course the speaker made no distinction between the families arriving for the event and “these terrorists”. It was disturbing to see that a member of Congress shared the podium with her.

It saddened me to watch the video, but it also reminded me that extremists always long for extreme reactions. Whatever the reality was on the ground that day in Orange County, it is clear that only the radicals in both camps could benefit from such an ugly scene. It is as if the protesters were longing for the violence they were denouncing – just as terrorists long for blind, vengeful violence on the part of their victims.

What do we do in the face of the angertainment and rage that passes for news and political discourse today? I’d suggest that we begin by simply bearing witness to one another. Now, there is a good faith-filled expression: bearing witness. Just as we are called to bear witness to the many blessings that we have  inherited and daily receive – we are also called to bring the varied gifts of our attention, our witness to one another. This means listening to one another and sharing what is in our hearts. Bearing witness is not about being “nice” – it is about being real. It requires us to discipline our resentments, steel our nerves and yet, hold onto genuine hope. These are times that demand frankness, but I am convinced a frankness tempered by faith and compassion can win the day.

At iACT we bring people of all faiths together in our Red Bench dialogue program for what we call “conversations that matter.”  The Red Bench is one small island of civility and frankness in the swirling sea of digital distractions, but it is a place where genuine hope can take root.

Fortunately, iACT is not alone in the work of facilitating meaningful conversations.  Tomorrow evening, Thursday, March the 10th, there will be a screening of a film titled “Traveling with Jihad”  at the Thompson Conference Center at UT at 6:00 pm. This is a short documentary about the common bonds between Islam, Judaism and Christianity, and the screening will be followed by a Q&A and panel discussion with Charles Annenberg Weingarten, Jihad Turk and Special Guests. Bring your witness.