National political commentator David French to speak on civility in politics at George Fox University Nov. 1

NEWBERG, Ore. (Oct. 13, 2021) – Prominent Christian political commentator and attorney David French will issue a call for robust civility in politics at a free presentation in George Fox University’s Bauman Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 1.

The talk, entitled “Jesus Loves Your Political Enemies, and America Needs You to Love Them Too,” is open to the public. A Zoom stream is available, and those who attend in person are required to wear masks.

“The combination of malice and misinformation is driving American polarization to a fever pitch,” French wrote this month. “While there are real differences between the political parties, a fundamental reality of American politics is that voters hate or fear the opposing side.

“Malice and disdain makes a person vulnerable to misinformation. Misinformation then builds more malice and disdain and enhances the commercial demand for, you guessed it, more misinformation. Rinse and repeat until entire media empires exist to supply that demand.”

French is a senior editor at The Dispatch and a columnist for Time magazine. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he served as a lecturer at Cornell Law School. After law school, he practiced law with a focus on religious liberty issues.

During the second Gulf War, he volunteered for service in Iraq in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He was touted as a possible third-party candidate for president in 2016 by nationally prominent people dissatisfied with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, but after briefly considering it, he declined to run.

French advises Christians not to wait for our political leaders to fix America’s drift toward bitter division. “There is no policy fix for malice and misinformation” French says. “There is no five-point plan for national harmony.”

Instead, French says it is up to the church to build a healthier political culture, embracing people across the political spectrum, keeping the Ninth Commandment (against bearing false witness), and demonstrating love for our political enemies. He speaks to Christians concerned about the polarization and alienation metastasizing in our communities, and in politics at every level, both nationally and locally. French’s most recent book is Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation.

The event is being hosted by the George Fox Civility Project, an initiative launched during the 2020-21 academic year out of concern about the polarization and alienation in political culture at every level (national, state and local). It sponsors events, publishes a newsletter, and maintains a website with information about civility.

For more information, contact Civility Project director Ron Mock at civility@georgefox.edu.

George Fox University is classified by U.S. News & World Report as a “Best National University.” More than 4,200 students attend classes on the university’s campus in Newberg, Ore., and at teaching centers in Portland, Salem and Redmond, Ore. George Fox offers 60 undergraduate academic programs, degree-completion programs for working adults, and 19 master’s and doctoral degrees.

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Contact:
Ron Mock
Director, George Fox Civility Project
civility@georgefox.edu