New York Times columnist David French tells BYU students to face political division as Christ would

The only controversy surrounding David French’s talk at BYU on Tuesday was digital. A few people figuratively booed the MAGA critic’s appearance on X.com, with one X user alleging that she texted her son to tell him to boycott the speech by the conservative New York Times columnist.
“This unhinged response to David speaking at BYU is exactly why David needs to speak at BYU,” another person responded.
The social media attacks proved ironic. French took specific aim at healing the division in America, delivering a message of Christ-like reconciliation. A crowd of 6,598 — large for a BYU forum — gave him a standing ovation at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. The only time he pitted one group against another was when he said “Rings of Power” is better than “House of the Dragon.”
He titled his talk, “Why America went crazy and how you can stay sane,” and used data to describe what is wrong and its underlying causes. He appealed to George Washington and included Bible verses in describing the solution.
“What is it that’s breaking us? It’s hatred, it’s animosity,” French said. “What is it that can unite us? Love, friendship.”
“We have a crisis of affection, we have a crisis of regard and an epidemic of outright hatred in the United States,” said French, who partially blamed angry partisan politics.
He cited Pew Research Center data that showed that in 2014, 82% of Republicans strongly or somewhat disliked Democrats, and that 79% of Democrats strongly or somewhat disliked Republicans.
“Has it gotten better or worse? It’s gotten worse,” he said. “If you ask a partisan Republican what they think of a partisan of a Democrat, you’re going to get a number in the mid-to-high-80s percent that says they’re bigoted, they’re intolerant, they’re hateful, you name the negative characteristics. And similarly, if you ask Democrats about Republicans, they’ll say they’re bigoted, they’re intolerant, they’re hateful.”
The extreme is Lethal Mass Partisanship, which describes the 20% of Americans — about 45 million to 50 million — who say they would be fine if a substantial number of people who support the other party died.
“The people who are burning with hatred right now, burning with this ferocious partisan animosity, are the ones most likely to be involved in politics,” said French, whose address doubled as BYU’s annual Constitution Day lecture.
The writer said there are several reasons America has become a “friend desert” where loneliness fuels anger.
One is called the Big Sort, in which Americans have self-isolated by moving to areas where others share their values. It’s human nature, he said, but it has a negative effect because it triggers the Law of Group Polarization, which says that when people of like mind gather, they tend to become more extreme.
At the same time Americans were walling each other off, the rise of smartphones and social media only exacerbated the trend toward people disassociating with each other. The result, French said, is the underlying disease of the political divide, a lack of connection.
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research recently produced a study that showed 30 years ago, only 3% of Americans with a high school diploma or less had no friends at all. Today, 24% say they have no friends at all. Meanwhile, the number of working class Americans who reported multiple friends dropped from 40% to 17%. So today, more people say they have no friends than say they have multiple friends.
“Loneliness radicalizes people politically,” said French, adding that “Isolation breeds anger. Isolation breeds attraction to authoritarian movements. Why is that? Because it gives people a purpose, and because it can give them a community.”
“What is the solution to our crazy, hate-filled politics?” he said. “It isn’t one party winning and another party losing. It isn’t your favorite politician winning and your most-hated politician losing. It is replacing alienation and loneliness with connection and love.”
Those who believe in Christ should feel called to healing during times of division and hatred and animosity, he said. He quoted 2 Timothy 1:7 (have a spirit of love and self control) and Micah 6:8 (do justly, love kindness and walk humbly before God).
“What community of people are better equipped to offer unconditional love to their neighbors than followers of Jesus Christ, who offered unconditional love to us,” said French, an evangelical Christian speaking at the flagship university of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The mission, then, is to build connection, he said.
“The most concrete thing you can actually do in this country to heal our divide is to extend yourself personally to another human being, to become a friend, to love another human being, to love your neighbor, to allow others to feel a sense of belonging in the United States of America.”
Washington used Micah 4:4 almost 50 times in his writings, French said, because the first president’s vision of America was that every man would be able to “sit under his vine and fig tree, and none would make them afraid.” Washington’s love of the verse is the centerpiece of the song “One Last Time” sung by Washington’s character in the musical “Hamilton.”
French told BYU’s students, faculty and staff that their joint mission was to be a friend to those who are different or lonely or feel alienated, because being a friend with different views strengthens both.
“Here’s our mission … to reach out to somebody else with fairness, with kindness, with humility, because not any one of us know everything, to act justly, to love kindness, to walk humbly before your God. To what end? So that my neighbor, who I love, can feel like they belong in this place.”
Video of French’s talk is available on demand at BYUtv.org.