This election is stressing me out. I can’t watch television anymore. I am so discouraged to see neighbors ignoring the sexist and bigoted filth which has come from the mouth of one of the candidates. Yet I know my neighbors are good people and have their own reasons. To assume those reasons are shallow or ignorant is just not helpful. I find some comfort in reminding myself the outcome of the election simply tells all of us where next to direct our energies as we work for mercy, justice and compassion.
But what has been most helpful to me is to do some reading and listening to deeper conversations. Conversations where people disagree but dialogue on a deeper level and with respect and seeking to understand. It helps me to think about underlying issues which go deeper than political party or religious affiliation. Here are some links to some conversations which I have found helpful and hopeful. Some are lengthy which just goes to show meaningful dialogue doesn’t fit in a meme. We are better than our recent political events show us to be. We are capable of beautiful, meaningful, and deep conversation and understanding. What has given you hope amidst this mess of an election? Share in the comments and I will continue to share hopeful and informative conversations as I find them.
This one is a little different. It may not seem hopeful but it gets at deeper issues within the Christian church from an outside perspective. Listening to such perspectives is more hopeful to me than just yelling at each other. How does the way we express our beliefs leave us vulnerable to having different standards for those with power than those without power? Important question and more helpful than another meme.
And finally, remembering there are other issues in our land besides the election and remembering the concerns of Native Americans, a quote from “Canaanites, Cowboys, and Indians” by
Robert Warrior, “No matter what we do, the conquest narratives will remain. As long
as people believe in the Yahweh of deliverance, the world will not be safe
from Yahweh the conqueror. But perhaps, if they are true to their struggle,
people will be able to achieve what Yahweh's chosen people in the
past have not; a society of people delivered from oppression who are not
so afraid of becoming victims again that they become oppressors themselves,
a society where the original inhabitants can become something
other than subjects to be converted to a better way of life or adversaries
who provide cannon fodder for a nation's militaristic pride.”
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