After 30 days of fasting against reactions to provocations of white supremacy, here are my summary reflections:
In times of trouble, we can say the answers lie inside of us. And we can also say, the answers lie outside of ourselves -- the selves we have constructed to fit the problematic life we want to be rid of, one that causes suffering, sustains injustices, or perpetuates oppressions.
In our UU faith, in the middle of unrest in our white faith identity, we keep looking at the familiar verses and hymns, the established historical highlights, the traceable lineage of theologians, the cyclical meetings, the same criteria of lifting up people and developing our elite formators. What have we changed?
If we cannot shift our attention, if we keep listening to the same voices, if the guardians of our faith are still in unison in their speech patterns, if the cadence of gravitas is still measured by the same standard, and if we haven't sought new teachers, what are we looking for? The Unitarian faith has always been one that is defined, broken, and transformed by heresies.
Black theologians have been shaking our footholds and we need to pay attention.
Revolutionaries have always belonged to the world. Their fight has been beyond themselves, the struggle against their oppression is against the oppression of all. "Water is life!" by Native Americans fighting for their own land is our fight for water now. "Bread and roses!" was the cry of a textile strike in Massachusetts that we carry until now. "Be the change!" was the exhortation of Indians to one another against the British rule. "There are no oppressors where there are no slaves", goes a quote from our national hero. "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite", is just as portable and universal even today.
Even Christians view the victory of Christ as not just his own vindication but is the justification of every human being who believes in him. And in a similar vein, when I stand with Standing Rock, I liberate myself from poisoning the waters of life. Triumphant struggles are those supported by allies who seek their own liberation and are transformed in the process.
My point in all this is that revolutionaries have always been inclusive because we cannot alienate the world in our struggles. We need to include others because Unitarians need to expand their understanding of the world. Our struggle against inequalities need to ring true for many so that our liberation can liberate others. Otherwise, we will be emulating the pseudo-revolutionaries who have promised change and failed. Because they just wanted to replace their oppressors.
And with this I ask, what are we fighting for as Unitarians of one faith?
In times of trouble, we can say the answers lie inside of us. And we can also say, the answers lie outside of ourselves -- the selves we have constructed to fit the problematic life we want to be rid of, one that causes suffering, sustains injustices, or perpetuates oppressions.
In our UU faith, in the middle of unrest in our white faith identity, we keep looking at the familiar verses and hymns, the established historical highlights, the traceable lineage of theologians, the cyclical meetings, the same criteria of lifting up people and developing our elite formators. What have we changed?
If we cannot shift our attention, if we keep listening to the same voices, if the guardians of our faith are still in unison in their speech patterns, if the cadence of gravitas is still measured by the same standard, and if we haven't sought new teachers, what are we looking for? The Unitarian faith has always been one that is defined, broken, and transformed by heresies.
Black theologians have been shaking our footholds and we need to pay attention.
Revolutionaries have always belonged to the world. Their fight has been beyond themselves, the struggle against their oppression is against the oppression of all. "Water is life!" by Native Americans fighting for their own land is our fight for water now. "Bread and roses!" was the cry of a textile strike in Massachusetts that we carry until now. "Be the change!" was the exhortation of Indians to one another against the British rule. "There are no oppressors where there are no slaves", goes a quote from our national hero. "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite", is just as portable and universal even today.
Even Christians view the victory of Christ as not just his own vindication but is the justification of every human being who believes in him. And in a similar vein, when I stand with Standing Rock, I liberate myself from poisoning the waters of life. Triumphant struggles are those supported by allies who seek their own liberation and are transformed in the process.
My point in all this is that revolutionaries have always been inclusive because we cannot alienate the world in our struggles. We need to include others because Unitarians need to expand their understanding of the world. Our struggle against inequalities need to ring true for many so that our liberation can liberate others. Otherwise, we will be emulating the pseudo-revolutionaries who have promised change and failed. Because they just wanted to replace their oppressors.
And with this I ask, what are we fighting for as Unitarians of one faith?
