Our country and the world are at a crossover moment. We are leaving or have already left one form of life that we were all taught at a younger age. The country has disappeared right in front of our eyes and has no moral compass or direction. It has shattered everything we thought that could not be shattered. Now, there is too much silence in this country.
We are waiting for someone to save us or we think this great constitutional structure will curb the chaos. It’s easier for the left to blame the right or the right to blame the left. We got to this point in this country because of all of us.
We are in a complete collapse of American values. We took civility for granted, which is the basic respect for other people. It is common sense manners that have dissipated. Character is a function of leadership, and we don’t remember that when voting for our leaders.
If it works here for me, that’s all I need to know. Or, let them find asylum somewhere else. We have lost our moral rudder.
We have lost our spirituality and sense of humanity. We have lost the prophetic spirituality to help lift others up, to be kind to one another, and to take accountability for our actions.
Sister Joan Chittister says in her book, “The Time is Now”, “This book is about the prophet in you. The world has gone badly eschewed. It stands on the cusp of authoritarianism and freedom. Between universal compassion and national self-centeredness. It is a world scarred with violence, institutionalized fraud, rapacious human degradation, political suppression, economic slavery, and rampant narcissism.”
We have become the reality show TV nation. This national reality show is going on constantly everywhere in our lives. Our new normal is a selfie nation.
America comes first. We come first no matter what it does to anyone else’s development. No matter what it does to polluting our earth. We need to ask ourselves, “What is the effect of our nation on our family of nations.”
Sister Joan Chittister in her book The Time is Now: A call to Uncommon Courage says, “It’s a world in wait. Waiting for someone wise to lead us back to spiritual sanity. Our world waits for you and for me, and for spiritual people everywhere to refuse to be pawns in the destruction of a global world for the sake of self-centeredness. Will we take up what we know to be our spiritual responsibility to make the world a better place for all, to bring about the fullness of creation for all, to bring about safety, security, quality of life, and passion for all? That is where the prophet comes in. The prophet says no to everything that is not of God. No to the abuse of women, no to the rejection of the stranger, no to crimes against immigrants, no to the rape of the trees, no to the pollution of the skies, no to the poisoning of the oceans, no to the despicable human destruction of humankind for the sake of more wealth, more power, more control for a few, and no to human death.” This is the work of a prophet.
When I was little, I was taught there is one God. If we really believe there is only one God, you must believe that one God is communicating these messages in all languages, in all terms, in all colors, and all dialects everywhere. We are all getting the same message about human unity and human compassion. My God wills good for all. We need to step up to that and want to do good. We need to get into conversation.
Every poll says, “We are not on the right track.” Unfortunately, we are saying it silently. We need to make this a part of our national conversation.
We have gone from an outstanding country to an average country, which doesn’t include our military. We have more people incarcerated than any other country. Americans are the first country to unilaterally violate an international treaty, which was with Iran.
When I and others travel, it has become clear that we are becoming irrelevant. We don’t assert to be the leader of the free world anymore.
Sister Joan Chittister said, “We need to reclaim our own moral compasses and we have a spiritual obligation to reshape a world run amuck. With the world around us cracking at the seams and America in political polarization, we are in disarray. How do we get out of the swamp we are in?”
We are in the swamp because we have lost our moral way. We don’t know where we are going.
Two things that rise in a group is passivity and anxiety. Even though we think we are doing well right now, tomorrow something tragic can happen. There is a low level of anxiety right now in all of us. No one is speaking about it to their families, friends, or colleagues. And all of us hope, that just maybe, it won’t hit our home.
We came from civility, care for the common good, and from compassion. Now, we have a Congress without conscience. Congress is not committed to the common good. They won’t work together, and we have partisanship tearing us apart. Democrats and Republicans are committed to party power.
In Joan Chittister’s book, The Time is Now, “Daniel Berrigan one of the prophets of our time who decried the Vietnam War said, “the prophet is one who speaks the truth to a culture of lies.”
Joan Chittister goes on to say,
“And while saying no, the prophet also says yes.
Yes to equal rights for all
Yes to alleviating suffering
Yes to embracing the different
Yes to who God made you
Yes to life.”
We need to become aware of what is going on around us. If there is a bill on the table, we need to study that bill. We then need to speak with our family, our club, and/or our neighbors. Discuss the bill and how it will impact us and others. Who will be disadvantaged by the bill and who will be advantaged by the bill. We must then magnify our voices about the bill.
We fear not being popular. There is a risk to every life. Those who risk nothing risk much more. While we keep silent in the great struggles of today, pillars of society erode in front of us.
The more hate we can spew; the higher our ratings become on social media. We have lost sight of our souls.
Our pride in American values was the separation of church and state. Now, we have a separation of mind and soul.
Self-centeredness will come back and get us. Self-centeredness simply destroys itself. We think the successful person can sustain him/herself without caring for anyone else.
Sister Joan Chittister said, “The pressure to be quiet to let other people, the politicians, the neighbors, the experts say how we feel about things is very effective. It’s finding the courage to utter the first word of truth in public takes all the strength we can muster. It’s learning to say quietly and unequivocally, I think differently about that. These words shouldn’t take courage. This is about the soul of humanity.”
So many of us are all about winning. The politicians get on their bullhorn and it’s all about winning. Politicians want to win win win. We aren’t here to win. We are here to grow and learn. Hopefully, we strive to leave the world a better place.
We only learn and grow through civil discourse. We need to remain curious as to what someone else thinks and why? Why do you think that? What are the results of that thinking? During civil discourse, our minds will grow, and we will come out with a more open heart.
We can’t worry about being right or wrong. We need to be curious. We need to listen to each other with respect. This is where growth is at.
We are living in a moral moment. Every moment starts with a choice.
We have 3 choices.
The 1st choice is I’m not doing that. Not me. It’s hopeless. I am out of here. I am busy. I will ignore it.
The 2nd choice is You can roll over and be passive. You can say that’s the way it is and it’s different now. You say let someone else do it. I am sure it will all turn out okay. That’s what they said in 1939 and it almost wrecked the world. It was the silence that created WWII. We are currently sitting in a cesspool of silence.
The 3rd choice is Deal with it. Study it. Develop it. Form a group. Join a group. Support something. I want to do my part. Get engaged.
When we see someone or something that needs our help, it is the time where we decide whether we are going to be a prophet or a church goer. We ask ourselves, “What are we going to do about it?” Courage is a prophet’s road. What road will you take?
Pamela Chambers, contributing editor
pamelachambers.com
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