“The spiritual life is lived in a
balance of paradoxes, and the humility that enables us to hear the truth of
others must stand in creative tension with the faith that empowers us to speak
our own.” Parker J. Palmer, an American
teacher, theologian and wise elder wrote these words; Parker has long been a
mentor of mine. This quote helps me to make
sense of the US election last week... at least somewhat.
If ever there was a time to speak
truth to power, now is that time. From
my liberal Protestant perspective, a life of faith isn’t about getting into
heaven. It is about seeking peace with
justice, and that’s a tall task given the injustices and oppressions that occur
every day in every part of the globe. My
faith as a follower of the one called Jesus leads me to protest injustice and
focus on the here-and-now of cooperatively and non-violently making life better
for all.
On the day that I wrote this op-ed
piece, November 9th, it was the 27th anniversary of the
fall of the Berlin Wall. I remember well
that day in 1989; I thought it was a new day for peace and justice. The release of Nelson Mandela a few months
later in early 1990 seemed to confirm that Martin Luther King, Jr., was right
when he said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward
justice.”
The election of Donald Trump as the
president-elect of the USA is a wobble in the arc of the moral universe. From my perspective, it is a confirmation of
racism, misogyny, homophobia and tribalism.
It is a win for power-over and authoritarianism.
But Trump’s election calls forth in
me a renewed commitment to stand firm with King and Mandela to make sure that
the arc continues to flow toward justice.
This post will be in the November 18th Tapestry page of the Nelson Star.
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