Do you have a quotation that serves your life, your entire life, like a sextant as you cross the sea? And can you narrow it to one? Oddly, I do. Or not so oddly, if you know me well. “We are all beings in a school for gods in which we learn in slow motion the consequences of thought,” from Joy's Way by Dr. Brugh Joy. Not only is this the North star on my world map but it reminds me that life is a classroom.
The current presidential election has thrown me into a graduate course that is unexpected, extremely personal, truly difficult and really fascinates me. What are the central lessons? How can they be viewed, managed, and discussed while not taking a cheap shot, drawing a shallow conclusion or discarding them as too divisive? My email inbox is filled with letters and articles that do just that and I want something more.
I know myself fairly well and fundamentally I am interested in American social justice; being a woman, feminism is the natural fit. I am a student of Liberation Theology, so American social justice based on race has always been an obvious parallel. All of which is true for the poor, immigrants seeking safety, mentally challenged, the imprisoned… all too many categories. In fact, for me, that is the current US political lesson. How can the marginalized stop competing, as if contestants in a pity pageant replete with winners and losers. What is the trump card? Is my trump invalid for you? Is your trump invalid for me?
Two hundred kids eating gruel at the orphanage table, “I am hungrier.” “I have been here longer.” “I am older.” “I am frail.” “I am sick.” They squabble amongst themselves. Fights breakout in the dining hall and the end result is the headmaster,to end the chaos and punish, sends them all to bed. Do I lobby for the girls? Do I look for the ones most hungry? Do I step in and try to line them up by some imaginary criteria based on a presumed understanding of how they got there? This one was brought by car, this one by ship, this one crawled through extreme danger, this one escaped gunfire, this one had sex with one of the teachers, this one is blind, this one is insane. None of those are decent ideas. None of them. The entire point of social justice was to get rid of the intoxicating power of the headmaster. Mind you I did not say get rid of the headmaster, just the imbalance of power. To be a true liberator you can't oppress one group to free another; nor oppress the headmaster.
Until this election unfolded, I have been so hopeful about a woman commanding the Whitehouse, a democrat and am particularly glad it is Senator Hillary Clinton. It was in keeping with my values concerning presidential electoral politics. (I would prefer a pacifist but that is not an option in this venue) Of course any liberal who reads the news knows the terrible contest raging between gender and race. Someone is trying to line up those orphans.
So here is what I have come to learn. Barack Obama cannot speak for every Black man. Hillary Clinton cannot speak for every woman. But, moreover, neither of them is speaking to end privilege, to liberate the poor, to liberate the human race, to liberate men and women. Senator Obama may have given the great Black speech of the Century, but I require more ~ I want a great Liberator Speech.
I need someone to talk about the Supreme Court and the moral fabric of our country. I need someone to talk about the colors of all people, all economic circumstances, all orientations, all religions, all of the oppressed. Come out of your gender corner, come out of your race corner and speak to all marginalized Americans. A few weeks ago I wrote that, in regards to Obama and Clinton, I wanted them both; now I am wondering if both of them is enough. Today's lesson is that my dream candidate is someone who wants to get rid of the intoxicating power of the headmaster, not just defend and advance their personal marginalized group.
