July 4, 2006

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and State. -Thomas Jefferson, letter to Danbury Baptist Association, CT., Jan. 1, 1802 – (Please forgive the male patriarchal language, it was Jefferson’s in 1802 not mine, actually read on, it is kind of the point.)

Knowing that I wanted to write something for the blog on this Fourth of July weekend, I have sat down at this computer any number of times to get working on my latest foray into the blogasphere. I have thought, what is it, what can I write that effectively demonstrates what I feel is happening in this country, where I think we are, where I hope we are going and all the while be insightful and inspirational, and I decided the best way to do that is to start with a quote from an old dead white guy. Yes, I wanted to choose someone more interesting than me and who did I pick, none other than Thomas Jefferson.

I have used many quotes before in this blog, but I have never turned to one of our founding fathers. I have to admit, Jefferson was not perfect. I know that picking a quote from a white male and not one of the many worthy women, people of color, Native Americans or countless others who contributed greatly to this republic could alienate some of my friends, not to mention the woman with whom I share my life. I worry that he owned slaves. I was concerned that he was a man of certain appetites that may lead people to have moral objections. Some of my atheist friends may be mad that he wrote a version of the bible, others, my more religious friends, may be put off that he changed the “real Bible” to be more of his liking. But what ever the consequences I thought, I have to pick a quote from someone. I need a snappy beginning, something that will catch people’s attention and of course that left out most of today’s politicians, so I reached back in time and I found this quote.

But thinking a little more deeply about this, I found myself thinking about Jefferson and those other long dead white guys who are most publicly credited with starting this country. They were products of their generation much as many of us are products of ours. I thought, if alive today would Jefferson use Tide with bleach alternative, or would he shop for the environmentally friendly detergent they sell at Whole Foods? If Ben Franklin were alive today, would he be drinking Coors Light, or Samuel Adams? Would John Adams be in trouble for lobbying his relatives after leaving office? Would Paul Revere buy the good silver or just pick up some stuff at Walmart?

I guess my point is, Jefferson, Adams and Franklin all lived in a time, admittedly flawed by today’s progressive standards, where they were born into a world with all the assumptions, roles and structures that existed at their specific place in history. They were products of a system. Their system had history, habits, traditions, beliefs, prejudices, stereotypes and myths. Although they were at a different place in time, many of our national habits, traditions, beliefs, prejudices, stereotypes and myths have evolved from many of theirs.

With deference to my Professor Elizabeth Conde-Frazier whose class notes I am using, I would like to point out that on a day-to-day basis, many of us do not think about some of the consequences of that previous history and those habits, traditions, beliefs, prejudices, stereotypes and myths. One of the things we do not think about is the societal enforcement, in other words, the ongoing fact that if you conform minimally “they” leave you alone and if you conform maximally, you get privilege and power. Also, aside from the unfortunate fact that if you are not a member of the majority group you are held up as inferior or different, (have you checked any commercials lately) there is the internalized oppression – or as Professor Conde-Frazier calls it, the oppressors from within. That voice that tells us to stay in our place, or that says “in order to get along, go along.”

The point is that the privileged group and those who are not privileged stay in their own cycles; we remain in these roles and become unwilling to interrupt the cycle, because it is just the way that things are. Would there even be a United States of America right now if those white men of privilege had accepted their socialization? Or ponder this, is there a United Stated of America because they accepted their socialization?

So how do we break cycles? One of the expressions I have used lately is, “who are going to be the ones who are willing to blink first?” One of the models that talks about breaking cycles says, one of the first requirements is that the victims of the cycle need the help of allies of privilege. I was shocked and thrilled to meet progressive evangelical Christians at both of the Network of Spiritual Progressives conference. Those are allies who have been very willing to blink. They have also been very willing to enter into dialogue.

Dialogue is a way of creating alliances. Deep dialogue, or speaking out of a place of pain – authentically and honestly helps us overcome the fear and insecurity we have been taught. In truly listening to one another we begin to change our core with the goal that hope will find a way to the surface and working together with shared values will hopefully create more hope. Eventually, we begin to unlearn and unravel the things that have kept us from one another. We begin to co-create.

I do not pretend to simplistically try and capture a whole field of study in a short holiday blog but I wanted to present the flavor of where I feel the hope for America and perhaps the rest of the world lies. Jefferson seemed to know that the excess of power stifles the will of freedom whether through governmental or religious majority. For all the bad things we can say about those guys, (and what their motivations were, which is the subject of much debate), I do believe in the ideals they professed in their documents.

I believe in the unbending separation between church and state, a great example from 230 years ago of a cycle that needed shattering. In today’s Washington Post (as seen at MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13622029/), they concluded a nine month investigation on congressional farm subsidies. Perhaps not a sexy topic, but this is another great example that falls under the category of, “why can not we break the cycle of politics and do what is actually right for farmers and the country?” In this article, among other things, they talk about payments attached to land that have not been farmed in 40 years. So an asphalt contractor is getting a check every year not to farm rice that was last farmed on his land 40 years ago. The article goes on to say:

The payments now account for nearly half of the nation's expanding agricultural subsidy system, a complex web that has little basis in fairness or efficiency. What began in the 1930s as a limited safety net for working farmers has swollen into a far-flung infrastructure of entitlements that has cost $172 billion over the past decade. In 2005 alone, when pretax farm profits were at a near-record $72 billion, the federal government handed out more than $25 billion in aid, almost 50 percent more than the amount it pays to families receiving welfare. The Post's nine-month investigation found farm subsidy programs that have become so all-encompassing and generous that they have taken much of the risk out of farming for the increasingly wealthy individuals who dominate it.

I guess this raises the question, how many of those founders would have bought their fruit from the local family-owned organic farm if alive today?

The real question is what can any or all of us do to break the cycles? War, violence, environmental degradation, religious oppression, colonialism, racism, I still hope and believe are all breakable cycles. By separating church and state, no matter how much it seems at times not to have been successful, those long dead men of privilege did at least recognize the need to break the cycle of state sanctioned religion. As we celebrate this 230th anniversary of the signing of our Declaration of Independence, I hope for a new generation of cycle-breaking idealists who have a vision that will carry them beyond their current self-interest and hold up hope beyond America’s self-interest towards a peaceful world built on mutual respect and shared interest.

Not an easy task, but setting up a new country, no matter how flawed, wasn’t so easy either.

"A government regulating itself by what is wise and just for the many, uninfluenced by the local and selfish views of the few who direct their affairs, has not been seen, perhaps, on earth. Or if it existed for a moment at the birth of ours, it would not be easy to fix the term of its continuance. Still, I believe it does exist here in a greater degree than anywhere else; and for its growth and continuance... I offer sincere prayers." --Thomas Jefferson to William H. Crawford, 1816

Me too.

Many blessings and peace to all of you, and have a great 4th of July.