Friends,
My spirit this week feels a little bit like old deflating party balloons now struggling to still tentatively bob along with the intention they can and will soon be replaced with new recruits and re-inflated encouragement. It has been a difficult week watching the GOP convention become more buoyant and confident while the Democratic Party seems only to flail in its ability to stay afloat. The Biden candidacy continues to be a divisive issue with discouraging polls, and his diagnosis of Covid have made things worse. My concern is not really only a partisan issue; the deeper concern is the impact of all the political confusion and turmoil will have on the survival of democracy itself. The strength of the democratic model consists of an assumption of a respected and viable built in check and balance system that can reestablish some level of equilibrium when it begins to wobble. The present political situation, however, is so askew that there seems to be no assurance we have the vision and will to deal with the threat we face. I am experiencing the whole scene right now as a gut punch to my lifetime belief in our democratic model. With all our failures to live up to our ideals, I still firmly believe that our country is ultimately committed to creating and maintaining a more humane society. The Trump/GOP platform, however, clearly calls for debilitating many social welfare policies that I consider crucial to achieving my longed for compassionate national moral standing. I hope the current political crisis is not just a swan song, a sad leaving of our ideals stage right. I have a lifetime of commitment to peace and justice work, and I fully intend to follow that course however difficult and dangerous it may be. And in my heart of hearts I simply know most of you harbor similar intentions. But our “liberal, enlightened” intentions for steady progress will not be enough. Our sentimental dreams of fostering the practice the common good without struggle will likely be tested. We now can only await a decision regarding the Biden candidacy with the hope it can be worked out with patience, as much clear-headedness and integrity as possible, probably with a means of allowing Biden to somehow save face. And given the series of bad luck the Biden campaign has been facing, the process also could sure use some improved luck. Again, although I am clearly deeply concerned about the implications of another Trump presidency, my most profound hope is that the election process holds nonviolently, that the candidates will campaign in good faith, and we can as a united nation soon be able to observe and participate in civil, ongoing policy discussions locally as well as nationally. That may seem like a high bar during this current time of confusion and uncertainly, but I will be hoping and praying that those deflating balloons can be replaced with more stable and promising ones. Much of my reading this summer has been about resiliency during times of great uncertainty. The most grounded wisdom of all the writers is how important it is to name the forces of evil that stalk and threaten us. I have attempted to do this in part in my comments above. But then they humbly but resolutely remember how their forebearers, who faced similar dire situations, maintained their faith and offered a witness of love and hope amidst all the harm and grief the situation created. I think, for example, of Joshua Abraham Heschel and Howard Thurman whose families survived the gross evils of the Holocaust and slavery. And that’s what people of faith and compassion are called to do at this time as well. We support each other, we maintain a heart of faith and love, and we are confident that in spite of threatening darkness there will be light. Peace, Tom
1 Comment
Janet St Clair
7/21/2024 07:58:39 am
This blog, as many do, spoke to me. The challenges of leadership in uncertain times. During the pandemic , I read a book by Susan Beaumont on leadership in liminal times. It lead me to other reading and reflections on liminaliity, living in the”betwixt and between”. We are in times of epic transition and choice. How to live and lead in these times, it challenges, inspires and also enervates us. I can only choose truth, kindness, and commitment. Thank you for your work. Here’s hoping our horizon brightens.
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