Painful Dissonance of Advent

 Advent is one of my favorite, and most challenging, seasons of the year. And perhaps this year more than many. There is a palpable sense of the "painful dissonance between the promise and hope of Christmas and a world wracked with sin and evil." The lights on houses and trees and the sounds of familiar carols stand in stark contrast to the bright flashes of explosions and the cries of the wounded and grieving in the Middle East, Ukraine, and so many other flashpoints around the globe. Hope seems at a premium and joy feels elusive.

Yesterday's Advent reading (I read each year from Watch for the Light by Plough Publishing House) made me sit still and ponder for a while -- and it has percolated in my heart and mind. Alfred Delp was a Jesuit priest who was hanged in 1945 because of his opposition to Adolph Hitler. In a piece written just before his death, he wrote:

"We may ask why God has sent us into this time, why he has sent this whirlwind over the earth, why he keeps us in this chaos where all appears hopeless and dark, and why there seems to be no end to this in sight. The answer to this question is perhaps that we were living on earth in an utterly false and counterfeit security. And now God strikes the earth till it resounds, now he shakes and shatters; not to pound us with fear, but to teach us one thing -- the spirit's innermost moving and being moved."

As I read these nearly 80-year old words, my heart echoed Fr Delp's questions. Why this whirlwind over the earth? Armed conflict. Disregard for basic human dignity. Oppression of women and the powerless. Political turmoil. Why no end in sight? We seem to never learn that violence and deception simply beget more violence and deception. Why are we still haunted by these same questions and issues and troubles? Is there no real hope?

Delp continues:

"The world today needs people who have been shaken by ultimate calamities and emerged from them with the knowledge and awareness that those who look to the Lord will still be preserved by him, even if they are hounded from the earth." 

So perhaps a core message of Advent is not the end of calamity or difficulty or upheaval, but a reminder that what we are experiencing in the here and now is not all that there is -- or will be. That this Advent season of waiting is not just waiting for Christmas 2023, but waiting for God to eventually renew all things.

Press on!

Ice crystals in the morning

 This morning, as I went to my car to head over to City Hall, I noticed a light covering of ice crystals on the windows. Ordinarily I would get out the scraper and dispatch the view-obscuring crystals as quickly as I could. But this morning I slowed down and looked closely at the intricate designs--each one seemingly unique. And I breathed a little deeper.

There is so much these days that can demolish our sense of calm and any feelings of hopefulness. The strife between Israel and the Palestinians. Corruption and deception in American politics. Wars on multiple continents. Innocents slaughtered, enslaved, or forgotten. The seeming triumph of evil over good at almost every turn (or at least that is what gets eyeballs and views in all sorts of media). Accounts of good and beauty seem rare, at best.

I wonder whether the good and beautiful are out there, quietly waiting to be seen and enjoyed--if we just slow down and focus on those things? How might the next few weeks feel different if I slow down and examine the "ice crystals" instead of being in such a hurry to get to the next thing on my to-do list? And longer term, how might my mind be transformed if I can train it to dwell on that which is honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise?

This winter it may take me a bit longer to get started in the morning, but I will build in the extra time to enjoy the ice crystals, take another deep breath, and calm my soul.

Pressing on,

Ken

The Necessary Question

 

As I write at Noon on the day after Election Day, we do not know who has been elected President of the United States. And that is not a problem to me. Certainly I would like to know the outcome of the election, but more important than my interest in information is that every vote is counted. It should not be a surprise to anyone that there is a lot of vote counting yet to do. A few days of patience could do us all some good--and provide some space for reflection.

Whether or not the election turns out the way I would prefer, one thing that is clear is that we are a country that appears to be very divided in our view of the past four years and our vision for the future. I do think that it matters who we elect as President, BUT it cannot be the factor that determines our national--and my personal--destiny. No matter who is elected, I must translate my view of the past and my hope for the future into tangible actions that I control. Yuval Lenin wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times this morning that framed the necessary question: 

It can begin with a simple question, asked in little moments of decision: “Given my role here, what should I be doing?” As a parent or a neighbor, a pastor or a congregant, an employer or an employee, a teacher or a student, a legislator or a citizen, how should I act in this situation? We ask that question to recover relational responsibility.

A failure to ask that question — and so to accept the obligations that come with whatever positions and privileges we have in our lives — is behind many of the most significant problems we face. It’s why so many of our fellow Americans have been left feeling that our institutions have failed to treat them like human beings.

As a citizen, husband, father, grandfather, neighbor, employee, manager, friend, and consumer, what should I be doing? As I ask this question, it forces me to consider and accept my own responsibility--in the context of interpersonal relationships--for what kind of future I will work to create. If I believe that our society needs to address the opportunity gap that arises from economic inequality, what am I going to do about that? If I believe that our society must protect and support all life, what am I going to do to support my view? If I believe that refugees deserve support, protection, and a safe place to heal and thrive, what am I going to do to help? NOT what should the government do, but what will I do?

I wonder whether asking and answering the "necessary question" will keep me busy enough that I won't really have time or energy to spend on what anyone else is doing or not doing? And I wonder if that might be a better outcome than decrying someone else's inaction or contrary actions?

Pressing On!

I Voted -- now the waiting

Now that I have voted, here are my final thoughts on the 2020 Presidential election:

As I write on October 29^th, 2020, many polls seem to be indicating a movement toward a Biden victory next week—but who knows? One thing that does seem pretty certain is that those people in the U.S. who are expressing opinions are deeply divided. While the campaign does not feel to me like it is as contentious and nasty as 2016, I cannot say whether that is because the tone is actually less abrasive, or whether our sense of civil propriety has been numbed over the past four years to the point where muddy looks clean.

Either way things turn out I am concerned. If Donald Trump is re-elected, I am concerned that, at best, we will get more of what we have seen the past four years:  the same incivility; the same indifference to the poor and disenfranchised; the same intolerance of differences of opinion; the same hostility toward immigrants and those who have labored for generations under the weight of racial and economic disparity; and the same disengagement from international commitments and cooperation. If he is re-elected, I am not sure that there is anything he could say that would allay my concerns.

If Joe Biden is elected, I am concerned about how far the pendulum will swing. While I can no longer support what the Republican party seems to have become, I also cannot fully embrace the Democratic platform—and that gives me pause. What would allay my concerns—and garner my full support—is if Joe Biden were to lay out just three priorities for his administration:

1.       Address and deal with the coronavirus pandemic. This would involve supporting health care workers and the development of an effective vaccine; implementing policies and approaches to public gatherings and personal behavior to slow the spread of the virus; and sufficient federal economic assistance so that when we emerge from under the cloud of the pandemic, we are economically viable enough to be able to work toward recovery and reduction of the debt we have incurred.

2.       Focus efforts toward making our national motto—e pluribus unum (out of many, one)—a reality. This would involve meaningful work to understand and address disparities in opportunity and achievement based on race, economic, and immigration status; meaningful and humane immigration reform that prioritizes legal immigration and clarifies refugee considerations; and civics education that promotes knowledgeable, respectful public discourse.

3.       Refresh the United States’ place in the global community of nations. This would involve restoring the view and practice that the United States is a reliable and trusted friend and ally—as well as an honest and determined adversary; and re-engaging with other nations on equitable trade, human rights, and climate concerns.

If a Biden administration could get us on track with real movement related to these three priorities, I believe that his presidency would be both a short- and the long-term success worth celebrating.

My “nightmare” scenario is that when this election cycle is over, the American people remain as polarized, divided, and entrenched as now—whether due to the actions and words of the vanquished or the victor; or the unwillingness to accept that “our” candidate came up short in the bigger, state-wide and national picture.

I cannot control what anyone else thinks or does, but I can wrangle my thoughts, words, and actions into alignment with what I believe about how we should treat one another in civil society. David Brooks wrote an opinion piece in today’s New York Times that resonated with me and I will close with his last four paragraphs:

 “Nobody has emerged unscathed. Those of us in the anti-Trump camp will be smiled upon by history I imagine, but we might pause for a moment to consider the mote in our own eye. Our own sins are the only ones we can control.

Over the past four years we've poured out an hourly flow of anti-Trump diatribes and in almost every case they rise to the top of the charts--most liked, most retweeted, most read. 

Even when justified, permanent indignation is not a healthy emotional state. We've become a little addicted to our own umbrage, addicted to that easy feeling of moral superiority, addicted to the easy affirmation bath we get when we repeat what we all believe. Trump-bashing has become a business model. Politics has become a way to define and identify your identity, and that is elevating politics to too central a place in life. He's made life all about himself, and a lot of us too readily played along.

Here’s one thing we will never be able to shake, the awareness that our basic standards of decency are more fragile than we thought; the awareness that any year, some new leader may come along and bring us back to a world of no bottom.”

What do we Americans really want?

The past few days have seen what is to me an interesting juxtaposition of ideas--the Business Roundtable on one side and the Trump Administration on the other. Certainly this duality is not the sum total of all that may drive decision-making, but it got me thinking.

The CEOs who make up the Business Roundtable came out with a statement recently (paraphrase) that the ultimate goal of a corporation is not simply to maximize shareholder return, but to enhance worker, customer, and societal benefit and value. The recent and repeated Trump statement (again paraphrase) is that because our 401ks have increased in value we must vote for Trump.

Whether there is any unique cause and effect relationship between Trump's policies and the performance of the economy I do not know. But query whether this should be the measure? Has our "American experiment" devolved to the point where the sole basis of evaluation is economic? Where the only value is money? Is it really primarily about me and mine and getting all that I can?

What about other ideals that been woven into the fabric of our culture, albeit imperfectly, from the early days--strength of community or being a refuge for the oppressed, the "different", and the  disadvantaged? What about service and shared sacrifice?

If I were to offer a word to those running for President (who are not Trump), I would suggest asking Americans of all racial backgrounds and political parties and economic status and ___________ (fill in the blank with whatever grouping you want to provide) to consider what type of a country do we truly want to be?

Do we really want to be a country where the primary measure of value is the checking account or 401k balance? Do we really want to be a country where we pursue what we want for ourselves above any considerations of the global common good? Do we really want to be a country that only supports and values our international relationships when it serves our interests? Do we really want to be a country that cannot be depended on to keep our promises and to fulfill our mutually-agreed obligations? If so, then maybe we already have the political leadership that we deserve. 

I cannot quite bring myself to believe that is the kind of country that most of us truly want. I understand that my perspective is probably biased because I have had great educational, career, and economic advantages. I have been surrounded by extended family and friends who have cared for me and wanted me to succeed. I have had strong role models in life and faith that have kept me humbled and connected.

I hope that what most Americans truly want is to be a country that is known for our generosity, open-handed hospitality, and community. To be a country where no one stands alone. Where no one needs to be without an advocate or necessary support system. Where everyone has opportunity and encouragement to improve our lives and the lives of our communities and families. I hope that most Americans want to be a country that stands in support of the oppressed around the world. That keeps our promises and that is a respected and valued partner in addressing the growing trans-national problems facing the entire global community. Where our leaders serve and earn our respect and admiration.

Pollyanna-ish? Probably. Unattainable? Perhaps. Worth striving for and pursuing? Unquestionably. You see, unless we take action nothing will change. Unless "we the people" clamor for change and difference, it won't just happen. We either need to start or give up and give in to decline and defeat. And one of my hopes is that the choice becomes very clear between now and November 2020--and the we choose wisely.