Our Critical Calling

I started this blog three and a half years ago with two primary purposes. One was to articulate – for myself and for others – where I stand in terms of faith. I grew up in a conservative Christian evangelical-fundamentalist context which in some ways continues to inform my spiritual life. But I have also departed radically from those upbringings to a much more open, nuanced, modern (and more ancient) theology and spirituality. In a short series of posts I described it as “A Strange Mix” (see posts dated 12/2/2012 and 12/30/2012).

A second purpose was to explore more deeply – and again to attempt to express for myself and for those who would read my blog – my view that the journey inward (see the post dated 10/12/2012) of self-understanding and spirit is intimately and dialectically bound up with the journey outward (see the post dated 10/15/2012) of life choices and actions aimed at creating a world of greater justice, equality, and peace. Both of these journeys, in my view, are grounded in the belief that God makes a preferential option for those on the margins of society and that this option defines our human calling and true faith.

Two years ago life offered me an opportunity that reflects both of these purposes: I was invited to join the team at Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka, Florida. With a history of over forty years rooted in faith, Hope's mission is to be a place of empowerment with the immigrant and working poor populations of central Florida. This is a mission that parallels my own vision and mission in life. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this amazing organization.

Photo source: Popular Resistance newsletter

 This being said, events in the U.S. and globally over the last number of years have – each day it seems –

highlighted to an ever greater extent the need for concerted action for justice in our world. Around the world we've seen, in startling strides, the demise of people's democracy. The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to legitimate unlimited contributions by corporations and the wealthy to political candidates and campaigns is a final blow to the average citizen having any real voice in elections. In the current election cycle the power of the two political parties here in the U.S. - two shades of the same political color really – to control the process of selecting candidates and to eliminate third party or outlier challenges has become starker than ever. We saw the rise of the Occupy movement, a voice for what has been recognized as the 99% - the vast majority of us barred from voice and influence in matters of the public domain. As long as the movement offered a minor and nonconstructive presence it was essentially ignored but once it began to gain voice and visibility, as is always the case, government and the police state engaged to ensure that there was ultimately no serious threat to the interests of business and the monied crowd.

Recent events in Brazil – my heart country – reflect in a similar way a startling disregard for the will of the people and the legitimacy of democracy. What is being called a “parliamentary” or “institutional” coup is being implemented by a wealthy and pro-corporate minority to remove the elected president and to undo gains made for the poor and average middle class during fourteen years under the elected governments of the Ignacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rouseff, both of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers Party). Promulgated in the name of fighting corruption, the coup is in fact a blatant effort aimed at ending the criminal investigation of those who have seized power.^*

The U.S. government has been strangely silent about the overthrowing of the government of the fifth largest nation in the world and a critical player in the Western Hemisphere. On the other hand perhaps it is not so strange since U.S. business is interested in and stands to gain a foothold in the lucrative oil and gas holdings of Brazil under the new illegitimate government. Other recent examples would include coups in Honduras, Libya (including the murder of the Libyan president) and the Ukraine – and even as I write, efforts to undo the elected government in Venezuela^¥ -- all supported if not having direct involvement by the U.S. government.^±

A key feature of the world we live in and the primary driving force undermining true democracy is the presence and influence wielded by those I refer to as the “monied crowd.” More accurately, it is the monied few. In a 2014 briefing paper, “Working for the Few,” Oxfam reported that the 85 wealthiest individuals in the world have as much money as the poorest half of the entire world's population – 3.5 million persons!

In the past few years here in the United States some of these ultra-super-wealthy have become open and explicit about the agenda they are funding and promoting. It is an agenda to do away with all government and legal support for workers, for the poor, for students, for the retired, for the middle class. Witness the decades of strategic support by the Koch brothers, the 5^th and 6^th wealthiest persons in the world, to eliminate the right of workers in the United States to unionize.^ᵵ It was even more revealing to me to learn recently that the Koch brothers provided training and financial support to three of four groups leading efforts to remove the elected president of Brazil.^ᴥ I begin to see that the aims of this monied crowd are driven by a global vision. They are not satisfied to dominate what happens in the United States or any other individual country. In fact, it seems to me that they have no real national interests. Their goal is to dominate the world, to create a very different world from the one we have today, a world that functions entirely according to their interests and demands. Their aim is a global plutocracy, creating a world ruled by the super rich,^ⱡ with the rest of us as serfs, serving their every beck and call.

What are the strategies and actions that can effectively counter this global reality. What approaches will enable those of us who are by far the majority, to fatally wound, to undermine, to bring an end to the direction of this hegemonic plutocratic movement envisioned and controlled by the super-wealthy 1%? And the balancing question is: What are the structures and practices that need to be put in place to create a world of true justice, equity and peace?

And so the questions that have become central to me over the last couple of years really, and even more so as I witness more recent events, are: What are the strategies and actions that can effectively counter this global reality. What approaches will enable those of us who are by far the majority, to fatally wound, to undermine, to bring an end to the direction of this hegemonic plutocratic movement envisioned and controlled by the super-wealthy 1%? And the balancing question is: What are the structures and practices that need to be put in place to create a world of true justice, equity and peace?

These are the issues I propose to explore in subsequent postings. I value and look forward to additional creative thoughts and ideas being expressed by those who read my blog and choose to respond. For those of us who are part of the 99%, it seems to me that this is our critical calling for this time.

*See also “New Leak: Brazil Coup Plotters Sought Protection from Corruption Probe” http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/New-Leak-Brazil-Politicians-Sought-Corruption-Probe-Shield-20160530-0011.html

¥http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Media-War-Against-Venezuela-Kicks-into-High-Gear-20160528-0011.html

±See http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/SilencingPilger-20160527-0015.html. See also http://www.telesurtv.net/english/analysis/6-Coups-Against-Latin-Americas-Left-Since-2000-20160511-0021.html

 

ᵵSee the YouTube documentary, “Koch Brothers Exposed.” Linguist, philosopher and social critic Noam Chomsky describes this as “class war.”

ᴥhttp://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/15521

ⱡ See Michael Brenner's article Plutocracy in America. See also the Popular Resistance newsletter article “US Democracy Crisis Creates Illegitimate Political System.”

CITIZEN OF THE WORLD

At a Peter, Paul and Mary concert once, Paul Stookey reflected in his own dry-humor style on the increasing narcissisim in society as reflected in the titles of magazines in the United States. “What was the most famous magazine title a generation ago?” he asks the crowd. “Life!” they shout back, and Stookey spreads his arms out wide, as big as the world. “Then we moved from 'Life' to 'People,'” he said, moving his hands closer together. “Then, from 'People' we went to 'US,'” he continued, moving his hands closer together yet. “And then from 'US' to 'SELF .'” His hands now showed a gap of only a few inches. “I am waiting for the next magazine title to appear,” he concludes with a wry smile. “It will be simply entitled 'ME'! And a few years later a well known TV personality actually came out with a magazine titled simply the first initial of her own name. And, more recently the online popularity of “selfies” . . . Need we say more?

But what I would like to reflect on here is not narcissism of the individual personal sort, but of a another kind. Stookey's tongue-in-cheek observation of our culture came back to mind for me while reading a conversation with Black philosopher-theologian Cornel West on the question of nationalism/patriotism.^* And that triggered a thought about who we seem to have become in large measure, as a nation.

I don't know about you but in my experience it seems that we in the United States, as a people and a culture, tend to view ourselves as the best and the brightest in all things, better than anyone else. In recent years some politicians have made this cultural sense explicit, affirming directly “U.S. exceptionalism,” something they claim we have lost in the eyes of the world but that they promise to regain.

I suggest that there are several consequences when we look at the world and ourselves in this way. One consequence is that we tend not to see the strengths and good in others. If we see ourselves as the very best, why even recognize what is second or third best. Another consequence is that we fail to see our own shortcomings and weaknesses. So, for example, in the days and weeks following 9-11, the overriding storyline in our media, from our poltical leaders and among us as citizens, was, in part, puzzlement about why someone could hate us so much that they would bring this level of violence to our shores. Bewildered, we would say among ourselves: “We have done so much good for so much of the world . . . why?” In our search for some kind of explanation, when the president on whose watch this attack took place told us that it was because “women in our society are free, and that such freedom for women was a threat to 'those people,'” somehow many of us believed him, that that was the cause. That was the explanation.

However during that time – and this came to me mostly in hearing and reading news from international sources, and from conversations with my in-laws as well as friends from South America – what I heard was a more nuanced perspective. Across the world, leaders and peoples expressed their sadness on our behalf. Many of them were familiar, first hand in some cases, with the experience of extreme violence. And so they understood the sorrow and pain, the indignity of being violated, and they felt with us. However, where they differed with the main storyline that was being told here in the U.S. is that they were not puzzled by what had happened. They felt the pain with us, “but,” they would say, gently, “you really shouldn't be surprised! The way you have used threat and power to get your way, no matter what, all around the world – militarily, politically, economically – this has made you many enemies. You are not exactly loved by many around the world. You are not necessarily seen as the bright star that you may imagine yourselves to be. The image of global bully comes closer to reality. So you shouldn't be too surprised. We feel for you, but . . . you really had it coming!”

And this brings me back to the beginning of my reflection. It seems to me that there is not only a narcissism of the individual, personal kind but there can also be a national narcissism – a “group-ME” sort of identity. We are seeing this expressed in the most vitriolic and unreflective, brutish way in the voices of many of the current GOP candidates for president and among those who support them.

Watching the opening of the Superbowl recently, I was taken aback by the display of military decorum and might in the opening ceremony, including the roaring fly-over of the Blue Angels precisely timed at the conslusion of the singing of the national anthem. The beginning of a grand sports event, but contextualized within this “group-ME” sense of “the best” and “the mightiest,” nested at the deep core of our national identity.

“Nationalism,” West argues, “is the dominant form of idolatry” in the modern world – a statement that should cause pause for any of us who claim a serious faith commitment. Reflecting from the perspective of “Black peoplehood” in the formation of the US nation-state, “every nationalism that I know,” West continues, “has been patriarchal, class-ridden, homophobic, and usually xenophobic . . .”^†

To be honest, I do not understand the kind of nationalism/patriotism that seems to be so much our U.S. culture and identity. Especially when the sense of “group-ME” pits us as against and over against all others. Perhaps it is one of the blessings of my own multi-cultural upbringing. Growing up at the intersection of mixed cultural identities, including an adoptive indigenous brother and afro-Brazilian sister, friends from several tribal ethnic groups, and living within the richly racially and ethnically mixed culture which is Brazil, somehow the idea of the exceptionalism of one nation or of one race or ethnicity didn't occur to me. This is something which now, in retrospect, I am grateful to have missed.

Since my early 20s, I have consciously and intentionally identified more strongly with being a “citizen of the world” than being the citizen of any particular nation – be it the one where I was born and have now lived most of my life, or the one where I grew up. And somehow, as I listen to all the language and words we use to draw lines, to separate ourselves from others, to separate this group from that group; as I hear politicans and fellow citizens supporting (with our tax dollars) the building of walls, whether on the southern border of the United States, or between Israel and Palestine, or more recently in the pathway of refugees seeking asylum in Europe; or city services-based and racially defined separations between neighborhoods in the towns where we live and work -- I can't help but wonder!

If I take my faith seriously (and I would suggest that this is affirmed at the core of all faith and spiritual traditions), I understand that we are all sisters and brothers.^± The liturgical affirmation made within the Native American Sweat Lodge and other rituals states it beautifully: “Metakuye Oasin.” “All are my relations.” There is no “other.”

So where I choose to stand is in a place that challenges the words and powers that seek to divide. To recognize Metakuye Oasin, all as my sisters and brothers. The “Group-ME” identity that I choose is to be a citizen of the world.

 _________________________

*Christa Buschendorf, ed., Cornel West Black Prophetic Fire (Boston: Beacon Press, 2014), 130-134.

†Ibid.

±As Pope Francis affirmed recently: "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the gospel."

"Life in all its Expressions!"

Painting by French artist Francoise Nielly.  The artist says
of her art: "I love the racial diversity, the blend of colors,
of people, the contrasts… Life in all its expressions!

In a conversation about churches and religion recently, I was asked if I consider myself a Protestant. After a short pause, I responded “no – I really think of myself primarily as a Christian.” (And in saying that, I want to clarify that I am not using the designation “Christian” in the colloquial sense as referring only to the self-designated “born again” folks, as over-against Catholic or Protestant. In my view, this is a false distinction. All who center their faith in Jesus, the Christ – individuals, as well as faith communities – are, by definition “Christ-ian.”)

But to go back to the original question and my initial response, I would more accurately describe myself as “a person of faith.” You see, I have come to a place in my life where I consider myself to be a broadly ecumenical person. The term “ecumenical” has often been used within Christianity to refer to openness between the various Christian denominations. However today there is a growing recognition that there needs to be a greater openness among all faith traditions as well as with those who claim no faith. It is within this stream of broad openness, of an inter-faith/no faith ecumenism, that I journey. And from this place I view and relate to all people as my sisters and brothers.

Our world has been too long divided along religious lines. All we have to do is listen to the daily news to know that wars are fought and people die for the cause of religious differences. This, despite the fact that virtually every religion affirms some form of the so-called Golden Rule: “Treat others as you want to be treated.”^*  And so I choose – and my faith calls me - to stand in a place where I recognize and treat all people as my sisters and brothers.

I grew up in a Christian home and as an adult I have grown into faith as a Christian. Thus, the place from which I engage life is, broadly speaking, within the Christian tradition. As I have expressed in other posts, I find the biblical story and the Christian ritual and liturgy to be value-filled and meaningful. I am drawn to the fact that there is a powerful and consistent (although not always practiced) call within this heritage to live on the side of creating a world of justice, of equality among all peoples, of care for our world, and of peace. I also find here a call to the depth and mystery of relationship and life. Thus the title of this blog: "Journey Inward and Journey Outward."

However, while this is the place where I stand, I do not do so in an exclusive manner. On one hand, I do not view Christianity as the “only way.”^±  And, on the other hand, I do not feel “chained to the cross,” to quote a good friend's comment on my last posting. In fact through participating in the rituals and learning about other traditions I have not only gained appreciation for the many ways in which humankind encounters the Divine, but have also deepened my experience and understanding of my own faith tradition.

Today, especially, I urge that it is critical that we stand together – all people of faith/no faith. I find the rhetoric of persons like Donald Trump to be despicable. And I am not only saddened but alarmed that so many of my fellow citizens would identify with and support such smallness of mind and heart. That these views even get traction is an embarrassment to us as a nation and evidence, I believe, that the United States is an empire in decline, struggling to maintain a false sense of preeminence.

In contrast, as people of faith I believe we are called to something different. I believe we are called to recognize the common humanity of all people, to recognize that all of us are children of the Divine; in the words of artist Francoise Nielly, to honor "Life in all its expressions!" I believe that we are called especially to stand with those who are suffering and marginalized. And so, I choose to stand with my black brothers and sisters and with my middle eastern and Muslim sisters and brothers, challenging systems and attitudes of racism and xenophobia and being a part of efforts to create a truly welcoming and diverse society.^†  This, for me is what it means to be Christian, this is what it means to be a person of faith!

*In preparing this post, I discovered an organization that promotes the Golden Rule with a vision of “a world with more compassion, respect and understanding for all life.”
±For a series of insightful, if at times controversial, essays on this theme, see John Hick and Paul F. Knitter, eds. The Myth of Christian Uniqueness: Toward a Pluralistic Theology of Religions, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1987.
†View the video, “Hell You Talmbout” - a powerful expression of solidarity with the struggle of the African American community in the U.S. today.