Politics lands on bodies

I have struggled with what to say and when. How to react to this last election and its consequences, which is not about one person. Politics is about our country and who we believe ourselves to be. It is about how we organize ourselves in the community we call America, how we set up these institutions of self-governance.

 I have struggled with my anger which stems from the deep pain of knowing that the policies that are being enacted will hurt people I know. The dehumanizing language that was a central part of many campaigns landed on bodies. These were not just words. They are violent and destructive to the soul of our nation.

Over the last few weeks, I have been in conversation with people who are genuinely scared of how the forthcoming policies will affect them and their families. These are human beings: gay, lesbian, transgender, black, brown, male, female, immigrant, American, white, poverty stricken, and so on. But their identity as “other” is being be used as a pawn for the betterment of the empire of greed and power. These are human beings, part of the diversity that is creation itself. We are allowing ourselves to be split into us and them so that a minority can hold power over the majority. The majority is diverse in the full range of creation, a beautiful tapestry woven together in original blessing.

 Our outward physical appearance is a reflection and expression of an inward divine presence. We are all walking this earth, for a short span of time, each one of us, as a reflection of the Divine image. Imago Dei, the image of God in Latin. I-Ma-Go Da-E.

We all begin and have our being as the image of God. We all begin and have our being in the image of love. Our outward physical appearance is simply that. The skeleton and the skin that surrounds our soul. That outward expression of the inward spark of love is not something that can be taken away by any policy or politician.

We are allowing ourselves to be split into us and them so that a minority can hold power over the majority and that minority is using all the tools of racism, sexism, heteroizm as a means to identify a false us and them.

For me I say no! There are no them. There is only one cosmic we, created in the image of one cosmic Love.

What we all must fight against is when our outward expression is used as a tool of separation so that the powerful and the greedy can expand their wealth. After all, that is what all this is about. Money and power! Human beings, human bodies are being used as a means of exploitation in service to the greedy empire.

I’m reminded of the statue of liberty that sits in upper New York bay, and it makes me wonder if that is who we believe ourselves to be as a country any longer. I know that some will say that we never were what the Statue of Liberty claims. I hold onto the notion that we can still become what we dream for America. The American dream won’t be legislated or policy created. It will be made real by those of us who call America home.

Creating the kind of America we want, working to create it and see it come to fruition is upon us. Some want to create an America that is a place set aside for a select few instead of being a home to the many, the masses as Lady Liberty states.

"The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World" was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States and is recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886.[1]

 The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Emma Lazarus
November 2, 1883[2]

The Statue of Liberty stands as a lie until we make a truth.

I was at a gathering on Zoom recently, a small group of only five of us. It was a good discussion, and we used Cole Arthur Riley’s, Black Liturgies: Poems, Prayers, and meditations for staying human. We opened the conversation in the chapter on belonging.

As I sat and listened, I could feel a sense of community, love and empathy for each other for a time such as this. After a few minutes and the usual light conversation it got, as they say, real. I could feel the anxiety ebb and flow as we talked about our life circumstances. The conversation is all to similar since the country elected a person who professes revenge and uses hateful language when talking about all those people I know and love who don’t fit the white-hetero-male stereotype of “America”.

There are people I know and love who are in the lgbtqia+ community, immigrant, black, female, on the edge of poverty, barely making it under the weight of medical issues and struggling with how they will have any health insurance, teachers who are already under attack for valuing diversity, equity and inclusion and so on.

The list goes on of those who are and have been under attack and I ask myself, how is it that a majority of our countries people are scared of the President of the United States. Seriously scared!

If you are reading this and feel lonely or scared know you are not alone. If you need someone to talk to, respond to this post with your contact information and I will get a hold of you.

If you are reading this and don’t understand why or what people are scared of, listen to those voices. We all need to listen to each other and turn off the socials and the “news”. We all need to get back in touch with our shared humanity.

During the conversation today I shared that we all yearn for connection and community. I believe that we need to hear how our politics and our language is landing on the human body and affecting the human spirit in America. Because as of today there are a great number of us who are scared for our well being and the well being of those we love. All people of all colors, creeds, cultures and expressions are feeling the weight of worry and fear.

I believe that if we can get back to connection, community, and empathy we can begin to hear that real worry in the voices of those who are being targeted by this current administration. If we can hear the humanity in those voices we may be able to create a more beloved community of welcome.

Connection is the way forward. It always has been.

All theologies around the world speak of that Divine connection to humanity and how best to live into that connection by how we treat one another.

When we loose touch with the art of empathy, we loose touch with our connection to one another.

I know deep down that love is what holds this world together. It is the spirit that flows. Love is the air we breathe.

I also know that it can feel as if we are being suffocated by the circumstances of the day. Evil seems to be screaming at the top of its lungs.

We are all going to have to listen to the voices of love so that evil, hate and anger, don’t rule our lives and hearts. So that our voices of love speak to a world in pain.

If all you can do is listen.

Listen up!

If you have a voice and a platform

Speak up!

If you have energy to advocate

Show up!

The spirit and soul of our country are depending on us.

Listen up!

Speak up!

Show up!

[1] https://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm

[2] https://www.nps.gov/stli/learn/historyculture/colossus.htm