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Political Divisiveness – At what cost?
A couple of weeks ago I was moved by an article written by The Rev. Sara Miles from St. Gregory of Nyssa Church in San Francisco. She was reflecting on the culture of this election season. She wrote:It’s no secret that there’s a lot of time, energy, and money going into stirring up passions around this election. You’ve read the attacks on Barack Obama and his supporters, on Sarah Palin and John McCain. You’ve received or sent angry, rumor-filled emails. You’ve heard or told snarky, hostile jokes about the evils of the other side–whoever “the other side” is for you. You’ve sat there fuming reading the news or watching TV, and you may even have despaired about the general level of dishonesty, vitriol and division generated by campaigns and their supporters.
I want to ask you to pause and consider how our words and actions during this campaign are going to play out in the years to come. Anger– especially anger that feels “righteous,” when we’re raging against injustice and the bad guys– is addictive. It’s hard to let go of. As someone who’s lived in wars, during bitter political struggles, and also in post-conflict societies, I can tell you that anger flung around recklessly during a conflict poisons the water of civil society for a long time. And I see how carrying around rage and resentment hurts individuals personally. And as someone who considers herself a part of what we call the Body of Christ, I can tell you that it’s impossible to hate a part of that Body without damaging the whole.
So I want to ask you, first, to take a deep breath and pray for your enemies.
So much of the political discourse appeals to our lower selves. The flames of fear and judgment are fanned in order to motivate us to vote against the evil “other.” This divisive judgementalism is sinful and harms us socially and spiritually. I believe the Kingdom of Heaven is drawing near. We will never see it, however, if we keep focusing on how evil the “other” is.
There is nothing wrong with being politically active. In fact I think we have a responsibility to take an active role in our civic life. But our civil action needs to be civil. I believe as disciples of Jesus, we need to affirm the good in our communities, and to work together, despite partisan differences, toward positive change.
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Sermon Against Prop 8
Here’s a clip from Ed Bacon’s sermon on October 26. It was preached at All Saints in Pasadena which is a congregation with a strong social justice ministry. Tags:lgbt, marriage equality, Proposition 8•
Baker Family Fun – No On 8 Visibility Action
On October 25 we made no-on-8 signs and joined other folks to support marriage equality. Here’s a slide show: Tags:lgbt, marriage equality, Proposition 8•
Saturday Service Slideshow
We’ve started a new service on Saturdays at 5:10pm. It is a great, simple, casual and reverent service. Here are some pictures.•
No On 8 Rally at Trinity Cathedral – Slideshow
On Tuesday, October 21 we hosted a large No On 8 rally at Trinity. Here are a few pictures: Tags:lgbt, marriage equality, Proposition 8•
Sat Oct 25 No On 8 Action
No On 8! Help Spread the Word!TOMORROW! Saturday, October 25, at 1:00pm
Join us at
1. the entrance to Arden Fair Mall – OR –
2. the Obama Rally on the West Steps of the State Capitol Bldg.
Go directly to the location of your choice! Look for the No On Prop 8 signs!
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And next weekend, one location that we can disburse to from our “Sing Out the Vote-Take it to the Streets!” gathering. More to follow…
Saturday, November 1, 1:00 – 4:00 PM
Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, at the intersection of Greenback and Sunrise BLVD. Look for the NO on 8 signs…
Help us wave them loud and proud! Let’s get our message out!
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No on 8 Rally at Trinity Cathedral – YouTube Video
We hosted a No-on-8 Rally at Trinity Cathedral this week. Here’s a good video about the coverage the rally received. It includes a brief clip of my remarks at the rally as well. Tags:lgbt, marriage equality, Proposition 8•
The Really Right Answer . . .
Colin Powell’s interview on Meet The Press has this remarkable quotation:I’m also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, “Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.” Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, “He’s a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.” This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
The fear mongering and zenophobia that goes unchecked in this campaign is frightening. YEA Colin Powell for speaking against it.