To say that emotions are running high in America right now is putting it mildly. Perhaps the entire country needs to take a cleansing breath, have a nice cold glass of water, step outside for a second, get some sunshine and look at some trees, and for the love of God, take off its political ears and listen to what’s really happening without any filter or bias.
I know that probably feels funny. Most of us haven’t had our actual, vulnerable ears exposed to the atmosphere in a long time. If they were eyes, they’d be squinting from the brightness of the sunlight. Instead, the ears we were born with are probably feeling a bit overwhelmed from the sound of things, and from the renewed attention they are being given from our hearts, minds, and souls.
Doesn’t it feel good? Forming your own opinions? Not being influenced by anyone else? Not simply reacting, but actually taking in information, evaluating it, and determining how you feel about it based on your core values?
Once your genuine ears have become acclimated once again, I hope that there are certain things upon which we can all agree. The Golden Rule springs to mind. It pops up in one form or another in the vast majority of the world’s religions, and it’s also a core value for people who choose not to walk a spiritual path. Without kindness, decency, mercy, and a sense of our mutual humanity, we could never be assured of surviving even one-on-one encounters, let alone thriving in any type of society.
So, yeah. Be kind. Be merciful. Don’t give anyone reason to be afraid. All these things are pretty basic, right? Can anyone argue with these things? If so, I’d love to hear your reasoned response below.
The reason I bring this up is that someone said these very things in a gentle and loving voice, in a public forum the other day, and since then she has been receiving hate mail and death threats and is being treated like some sort of pariah. My mind is boggled by this. Didn’t we just say we could agree on these things?
I don’t ask much of you, Dear Reader, but I ask that you keep your political ears in your pocket for just a few more minutes. Indulge me. I promise you can pop ’em right back on afterward if it truly feels better for you.
So, I’d like you to click on this video, close your eyes, and just listen to the words. Listen to the sentiment. Listen to the compassion for fellow human beings. Listen to the total lack of ill will toward anyone, anywhere, at any time.
Now, I chose this particular clip of Bishop Budde’s final note during her sermon at the presidential inauguration because it didn’t include any political commentary from one news stream or another. It was just her words. So if you truly closed your eyes, all you heard was her voice. her words. Nobody else’s opinion.
All she said, in a nutshell, is that some people are scared. even to the point of fearing for their lives. They are human beings like us. Please be merciful and compassionate.
Can someone please explain why this is controversial? Help me understand why those sentiments merit death threats. What about that plea incites hate mail?
You don’t have to like Bishop Budde. You don’t have to be a part of her religion or go to her church. You don’t even have to take what she says to heart, although I can’t imagine why you would resist doing so. But why the outrage? Is there some basic moral teaching that says that unless you hate those that I hate, then you must be hated by me? How did I miss that passage after 60 years? Where was this taught, and when?
If you’re interested in Bishop Budde’s elaboration on her plea, you can see it here. Again, she speaks in a gentle and loving voice. She doesn’t engage in name calling or insults.
In response to this, our president has now called the bishop a “Radical left hardline Trump-hater.” He says her statements were inappropriate and he wants an apology. Okay. I’m trying to keep my political ears off, too, so I would genuinely like to know what the bishop should apologize for. I’m open to explanations. Maybe I was distracted by something shiny when her eyes turned black and she started spewing vitriol at our nation’s leader or something. It’s possible.
Should she apologize for her compassion? Should she apologize for asking you to be a merciful person? Should she apologize for pointing out that LGBTQ people and immigrants are people, too? Would Jesus ask for her to apologize for any of these things? Please point out what she said that merits an apology. Or was it some other thing that escapes me? Because now there are people out there that want her dead. I’d like to know what the line is for that, so I don’t cross it.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’m still making an effort to separate myself from any knowledge of current events. I truly can’t handle it at this time. I feel guilty about this. I don’t want to turn into one of those Germans who pretended to not know that there was a concentration camp a few miles from their town during WWII, even as the ash from the burnt bodies rained down on their garden gnomes. But I also know that aside from voting and the occasional blog rant, my power is extremely limited, so at this point, at least, I’m choosing not to take on the anxiety since I can’t do anything to remove it once I’ve taken it in.
Having said that, some things do trickle through. I didn’t watch the inauguration for the first time in my adult life. But I did learn about Bishop Budde’s speech and the backlash it inspired, and then went back and watched the speech on YouTube.
Maybe I’m finding it easier to take off my political ears because I’ve been on a political fast since early November. I have been watching a lot of loved ones absolutely freak out about things they won’t be able to change any time soon. It’s affecting them mentally and physically. It chips away at their well being. I don’t see how that improves anything.
I try to tell them to jump off the insanity train and come sit up on this flowery meadow with me for a time, so that they may live to fight another day. So far, no one has managed to take me up on it. It’s as if the constant diet of stress and anxiety that the media is mainlining right into their veins is an addiction that they can’t break themselves free of. But that, too, is something I can’t do much about, except occasionally remind them that there’s plenty of space here, and they’re always welcome.
Take care of yourself, Dear Reader. Not only have we lost sight of the Golden Rule, but we seem to have gotten into the habit of neglecting our self-care along the way. There should be a self-care corollary to the Golden Rule that says, “And do unto yourself as you would have others do unto you, too.”
Here are some flowers for you, to remind you, in the midst of Winter, that Spring will come again. Granted, a lot of damage, much of it irreparable, will be done in the meantime. (If you come up with concrete ways to make healthy, measurable changes that will mitigate this damage before the next administration, I’m open to suggestion.)
At a bare minimum, though, I urge you to remember that we’re not on opposite sides. Have a good day. Help others have a good day, too, if you can. May Spring, with all its beauty and diversity, come soon.
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