I recently had the joy of reading an unedited 2004 interview with Barack Obama, just after he had won the democratic nomination for senator of Illinois. In the interview, he was asked very specific questions about his religious beliefs; I found it refreshing and affirming about our choice of him as our country’s next leader. You can read that article here: http://blog.beliefnet.com/stevenwaldman/2008/11/obamas-interview-with-cathleen.html
Obama’s graceful words and willingness to expose himself at a deep level inspired me to reflect on my own beliefs and experience in my life.
As a person who has experienced being oppressed, whether due to the fact that I am female, have indigenous ancestry within my blood, or due to my beliefs not matching someone else’s, I know the pain that is caused when someone else sees you and tries to fit you in their box, and when you don’t you are belittled or discarded. It is tempting from that place of pain to polarize, aligning yourself with a box, too, one that is comprised of your own beliefs and that negates the beliefs of others. It is tempting to act out from that pain in the name of the box being right. But this is just as out of balance as someone else acting out in pain from their box. Fanaticism is fanaticism, not matter what the belief system may be.
One of the most basic and innate tenets that I have been aware of holding dear in my life is that of tolerance of others. I remember being judged for my body type when I was as young as four years of age…Being called “chubby” or “fat” (I look back at pictures now and I was no such thing.). I also attended a Christian preschool, where I listened to my teacher condemn those who did not believe as she and the church did to a fiery hell. This never made sense to my young mind…I knew better. I had regular direct experiences with what might be called God, and the ugliness I saw in humans was nothing like the love I experienced in those divine moments of direct communication. It was at this young age I learned to be afraid of people and their rabid or hateful beliefs, and also learned to keep my mouth shut.
I am now 43 years old. I am just learning now that keeping my mouth shut in the face of intolerance is not a good thing for me to do, primarily because it hurts me inside, but also because it gives silent permission for the person who is ranting and raving about their beliefs no opportunity to bounce against a wall, no opportunity to see the reflection of their rigidity. It may imply that I am trying to change someone by speaking of the importance of that reflection….and perhaps that is my agenda…I would like for my children to live in a world of tolerance rather than bigotry.
Fanaticism comes in many forms…..certainly in the religious circles it is easy to see as the condemnation flies back and forth between the camps. But we see it in matters of race, gender, profession, environmentalism, politics, body types….it seems virtually anything can be turned into a platform for rigid beliefs to set in, and therefore condemnation of others who may not agree.
Just the other night I sat at dinner with relatives who spat the word “conservative” like they had a horrid taste in their mouth. I recoiled as I felt the venom with which this word was spoken, and later reflected silently on what the word conservative means. I looked it up (from dictionary.com):
con⋅serv⋅a⋅tive
–adjective
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1. |
disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change. |
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2. |
cautiously moderate or purposefully low: a conservative estimate. |
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3. |
traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness: conservative suit. |
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4. |
(often initial capital letter ) of or pertaining to the Conservative party. |
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5. |
(initial capital letter ) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Conservative Jews or Conservative Judaism. |
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6. |
having the power or tendency to conserve; preservative. |
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7. |
Mathematics. (of a vector or vector function) having curl equal to zero; irrotational; lamellar. |
–noun
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8. |
a person who is conservative in principles, actions, habits, etc. |
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9. |
a supporter of conservative political policies. |
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10. |
(initial capital letter ) a member of a conservative political party, esp. the Conservative party in Great Britain. |
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11. |
a preservative. |
Origin:
1350–1400; < LL conservātīvus, equiv. to L conservāt(us) (see conservation ) + -īvus -ive; r. ME conservatif < MF < L, as above
Okay, then what does liberal mean?
lib⋅er⋅al
ˈlɪb ər əl,ˈlɪb rəlShow Spelled Pronunciation [lib-er-uh l, lib-ruh l] Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
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1. |
favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs. |
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2. |
(often initial capital letter ) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform. |
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3. |
of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism. |
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4. |
favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties. |
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5. |
favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers. |
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6. |
of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies. |
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7. |
free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners. |
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8. |
open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc. |
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9. |
characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal donor. |
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10. |
given freely or abundantly; generous: a liberal donation. |
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11. |
not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule. |
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12. |
of, pertaining to, or based on the liberal arts. |
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13. |
of, pertaining to, or befitting a freeman. |
–noun
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14. |
a person of liberal principles or views, esp. in politics or religion. |
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15. |
(often initial capital letter ) a member of a liberal party in politics, esp. of the Liberal party in Great Britain. |
Origin:
1325–75; ME < L līberālis of freedom, befitting the free, equiv. to līber free + -ālis -al 1
Well, I see myself in both of these…I could be construed as quite traditional in the way that I am fiercely loyal to my family of four as the backbone of my life, and my devotion to balance as what the Buddhists call the “middle road” to guide my steps. But I am also a liberal in that I value freedom and change and have observed that being open to rather than resisting change is the way of nature…and so I am a mix of these two concepts (a hybrid as usual…sigh).
It is interesting to me that people who tout themselves as liberals and defending the liberal agenda can be so rigid in their beliefs as to appear conservative! If tolerance and preservation of individual liberties is the goal of a liberal, then does that mean that resistance to such is implied in being a conservative? If a lack of an open mind is conservative, does that mean that a “liberal” person who spews hatred about conservatives is actually a conservative? The circle never ends.
My experience teaches me that in each of us is the blueprint for All of Creation, in each of us we are connected with the Whole, and once you get to certain awareness, you are the Whole. Condemning any aspect of Creation and shutting oneself off from that by rejecting and judging it is akin to cutting our nose off to spite our face. It is a way to continue the separation game that has gotten us into the mess of fighting and intolerance on this earth that so many of us are praying to mend.
With the recent election of an African American man to our nation’s highest office, I am hopeful that his gleaming light will give those who are in pain an opportunity to expose how they are using their pain to fuel hatred towards others. This man is one who has experienced oppression, and who has beliefs that align with Christianity, but who is interested in accepting and hearing others’ viewpoints…he has not allowed his wounds to harden him and make him rigid….he has allowed the wounds to stay open, even touching them on occasion to remind him of what it feels like to be hurt by others intolerance.
The founders of this country drew up a famous doctrine by which to guide the emergence of this amazing experiment called the United States of America. I keep a copy of it in my purse, believe it or not. I identified with this document very early in my life when I wrote an essay on being an American…I found my innate yearning for acceptance and freedom to be reflected in its pages, the powerful words stirring my heart each time I read them.
In the end, the question arises…by the way we believe (which informs the way we behave), are we uniting or dividing? Are you looking for the ways in which we are common in order to enjoy one another, or using the ways we are different as a case for your beliefs? Are you furthering separation and pain, or are you reaching out with the intention to connect, accept, affirm and love others?
Are you a uniter or a divider?
