It's been years since I have used this forum to write about what is happening with me. In fact about 6 years. And today's post has nothing really to do with my new life in Africa, except for my reflection on life in the US from a distance and what I have been wrestling with. I want to invite you to help me consider something, to teach me, and to listen to one another. I do much better working in groups so I hope you will pipe in with your thoughts.
The Trump era has fanned to flame the pockets of discontent in our American society. It is now easy to see that this strife was already there bubbling below the surface and in some places spilling over. I'll admit to being pretty ignorant of all that percolated here and there and for how long and why. My own bubble was, and to a large degree still is, pretty small. I can't speak for all Americans but I have been pretty surprised at the language and treatment Americans are willing to dole out on one another. I've been surprised that there is such vitriol spewing everywhere one looks.
My own political and social leanings are informed by a number of things including a fairly monochromatic life in the U.S. Interestingly, I traveled internationally quite a bit. It is possible that I paid more attention to the cultures of other places than I did to my own. Of course, my life in Africa has become much more colorful on a number of levels. I realized recently that I don't really think about my neighbors here as black but as Kenyans. That is not a bragging point but just a reality. It also means that I am more aware of my minority status here. But interestingly while I know I stand out in a crowd, get stared at by children, and the contents of my shopping cart get a once-over, I also am beginning to recognize that privilege has followed me here. It is something I am wrestling with. I don't think my experience here informs me about what it is like to be a racial minority in the US. Granted I have only been here a short time. Maybe I will write more about that odd tension at some point.
I also live in the reality of a deeply broken world where even my church family had to separate because we could not get along. That is also another story that I am still wrestling deeply with. But it has created a lot of middle of the night angst-which continues to this day. I feel deeply hurt, embarrassed, and so very sad. I feel rejected and I feel like I was not worth enough for folks to hang in there with me and those who believe like I do. It has been shattering to my confidence and the whole framework that a lot of my reality was built on.
On to my invitation to you.
I am interested in helping our country find a way forward-probably just a portion of it to start with. I am interested in the possibility of our Quaker Church being a vessel of peace with our nation(I've seen a bit of that happening here in Kenya). While I am willing to strive and work for a new way forward, I am not willing to kill for it. I am realistic enough to know that not everyone wants the way of peace nor does everyone want the "kind" of peace I want. I don't want peace so that "we will just stop fighting". The peace that I long for and that I think exists is a peace that is transformative, redemptive, restorative, and life-giving.
While I long for that transformation to happen, I want to begin with learning or re-learning a framework on which to build. I need a renewed way to view the issue of our country's discontent, hatred, and fear. Then I know I need to practice, rehearse, and repeat.
I feel paralyzed at even knowing how to talk about these issues we face. I feel tossed back and forth by my desire to be right and my desire to see people transformed out of their fear. Between being so drawn to a way of thinking and seeing the world and being able to really listen to what others believe and think. I fear that I am going to have a hard time giving up some things that seem so important yet are barriers to my own transformation and ability to speak into these huge problems we face.
So here are some questions I want to ponder and I hope you will offer your own input (or help me know if I am even asking the right questions). I really hope that you will not just offer oversimplified answers. I also hope my non-religious friends will chime in. I also won't tolerate unkindness, name calling, and reserve the right to delete comments that I think are harmful.
1. I am a Christ follower. I think the healing we need is centered in Christ. But what does that mean? What is at the center of that? What is just religious baggage?
2. What is at the heart of the discontent of our nation? What has divided us and can you see anything (political, spiritual, etc) that might move us forward? What good signs, if any, do you see? What would be good first steps?
3. What question should I/We be asking?
The Trump era has fanned to flame the pockets of discontent in our American society. It is now easy to see that this strife was already there bubbling below the surface and in some places spilling over. I'll admit to being pretty ignorant of all that percolated here and there and for how long and why. My own bubble was, and to a large degree still is, pretty small. I can't speak for all Americans but I have been pretty surprised at the language and treatment Americans are willing to dole out on one another. I've been surprised that there is such vitriol spewing everywhere one looks.
My own political and social leanings are informed by a number of things including a fairly monochromatic life in the U.S. Interestingly, I traveled internationally quite a bit. It is possible that I paid more attention to the cultures of other places than I did to my own. Of course, my life in Africa has become much more colorful on a number of levels. I realized recently that I don't really think about my neighbors here as black but as Kenyans. That is not a bragging point but just a reality. It also means that I am more aware of my minority status here. But interestingly while I know I stand out in a crowd, get stared at by children, and the contents of my shopping cart get a once-over, I also am beginning to recognize that privilege has followed me here. It is something I am wrestling with. I don't think my experience here informs me about what it is like to be a racial minority in the US. Granted I have only been here a short time. Maybe I will write more about that odd tension at some point.
I also live in the reality of a deeply broken world where even my church family had to separate because we could not get along. That is also another story that I am still wrestling deeply with. But it has created a lot of middle of the night angst-which continues to this day. I feel deeply hurt, embarrassed, and so very sad. I feel rejected and I feel like I was not worth enough for folks to hang in there with me and those who believe like I do. It has been shattering to my confidence and the whole framework that a lot of my reality was built on.
On to my invitation to you.
I am interested in helping our country find a way forward-probably just a portion of it to start with. I am interested in the possibility of our Quaker Church being a vessel of peace with our nation(I've seen a bit of that happening here in Kenya). While I am willing to strive and work for a new way forward, I am not willing to kill for it. I am realistic enough to know that not everyone wants the way of peace nor does everyone want the "kind" of peace I want. I don't want peace so that "we will just stop fighting". The peace that I long for and that I think exists is a peace that is transformative, redemptive, restorative, and life-giving.
While I long for that transformation to happen, I want to begin with learning or re-learning a framework on which to build. I need a renewed way to view the issue of our country's discontent, hatred, and fear. Then I know I need to practice, rehearse, and repeat.
I feel paralyzed at even knowing how to talk about these issues we face. I feel tossed back and forth by my desire to be right and my desire to see people transformed out of their fear. Between being so drawn to a way of thinking and seeing the world and being able to really listen to what others believe and think. I fear that I am going to have a hard time giving up some things that seem so important yet are barriers to my own transformation and ability to speak into these huge problems we face.
So here are some questions I want to ponder and I hope you will offer your own input (or help me know if I am even asking the right questions). I really hope that you will not just offer oversimplified answers. I also hope my non-religious friends will chime in. I also won't tolerate unkindness, name calling, and reserve the right to delete comments that I think are harmful.
1. I am a Christ follower. I think the healing we need is centered in Christ. But what does that mean? What is at the center of that? What is just religious baggage?
2. What is at the heart of the discontent of our nation? What has divided us and can you see anything (political, spiritual, etc) that might move us forward? What good signs, if any, do you see? What would be good first steps?
3. What question should I/We be asking?
