Choosing the liturgy of 2016 post-election United States
It is Friday morning and I earlier downloaded this week’s On Being Program with host Krista Tippett. This week her guests are Dr. Eboo Patel who is “founder and president of Interfaith Youth Care. His books include Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America and Interfaith Leadership: A Primer” and Dr. Natasha Trethewey who “was the 19th U. S. Poet Laureate. She is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University. Her books include Domestic Work, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Native Guard, and Beyond Katrina: A meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.”
The title of the program is “How to Live Beyond the Election.”
Dr. Trethewey reminds the listener that the word liturgy in the original Greek “simply meant one’s public duty undertaken as a citizen in service to the state.” Of course, despite all the current political rhetoric or perhaps because of it we may need to remind ourselves that the state is us – the body of citizens (and perhaps non-citizens) who are “called” to join together to create a society in which we can live out our lives together in a way which is both honors our individual beliefs and celebrates our diversity.
Also on this program Dr. Patel reminds the listener of something the renowned columnist William Raspberry said: “The smartest people I know secretly believe both sides of the issue.”
Ms. Tippett and her guests discuss the issues related to the pain of all those on all sides of the issues which seem to divide the people of this country more than ever. As the candidates and voters struggle with the divergent views of justice I am reminded of the academic struggle which was then lived out in the day-to-day life of those of us who grappled with Dr. Walter Kaufman, professor, author and poet, in a seminar on the meaning of justice. After many weeks of intellectual and emotional struggle we had to, once again, concede that many definitions or constructs of the concept was possible among thoughtful, spiritual thinkers. In the setting of that seminar or the setting for the discussion between Ms. Tippett and her guests it is relatively easy to accept that we can love and respect each other while disagreeing. On the other hand, as they also point out, we have to consider such behaviors as war, murders including lynching, brutal domestic violence, dictatorships, and a host of others which leave, in their wake souls which will cry out for all of eternity. What constitutes justice in the midst of such pain?
The candidates in this United States presidential election did not invent the dirty dozen but if awards for such behavior were being given all or most of them would surely vie for first prize.
Ms. Tippett and the rest of the staff of On Being designed this program because of their concern for how we are going to deal with the issues which faced this country before this election cycle began and which will still be present when the election results are counted and winners are announced.
Dr. Trethewey reminds us of a quote from the famous poet Jamaluddin Rumi, “The wound is the place where the light enters you.”
Once the election results have been counted it will be easy to join the Biblical characters Reuben, the sons of Jacob or the high priest who tore their garments to express the depth of their sorrow. It will take much more courage to trust that out of the wounds of the many the light of self-respect and mutual respect can enter our beings; that healing can begin to take place. We can either focus on the fact that we have not, during this election cycle, often allowed light to emerge through the wounds and, in fact, seemingly taken great delight in pouring salt our own wounds and the wounds of each other or we began to trust that even among the most fearful of us empathy, humility and growth is possible. We will, if lucky, struggle with what our own inner wise voice or the God of our understanding seems to be revealing to us about how to create a more just society and move to a more compassionate understanding of the concern of those with whom we may passionately disagree. We can either practice a liturgy of service to the state (all of us together) or we can continue to pick at the scabs and open wounds until they are large enough to let light in.
I am again reminded of the brilliance and simplicity of the 12-step recovery program as designed by Dr. Bob and Bill W. Out of the depth of the wounds of addiction (both those suffered and those afflicted) a new way of living is possible – a life which is productive and not destructive – a life which is based on loving and being there for each other one day at a time – and a life of the courage to face the ugliness of which one is capable and trust that beyond that ugliness one can be part of the solution and not just part of a creating a problem.
The strongest challenge after the election results of November 8 in the United States are announced is going to be to put aside our self-righteouss cries of doom and gloom and to practice a liturgy of problem solving.
I, for one, believe problem solving is possible. Humans have often come out of darkness into the light. We may drift back into the darkness but the light still beckons us to dance a new and joyful dance. Today we can join individuals such as Dr. Patel, Dr. Trethewey, and Ms. Tippett among others in celebrating our diversity of opinions.
Written October 28, 2016
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