I am sure many of you are watching at least some parts of this week’s impeachment proceedings in the senate. What surprises me even more than any of the allegations of wrongdoings, is the way that this event divides the country along diametrically opposed lines of truth. From each perspective, the other side is some kind of mystery. This mystery of the other is usually categorized as somewhere between naive, amoral or immoral.
Do we live in a world where communication is possible? Can we ever find common ground; common enough to live together, reason together, create a future together?
Nations have been trying for the past 100 years to find common ground, witness the League of Nations and the United Nations. Religions have tried with some success to find common ground through interfaith dialogues and conferences. At a time when international communication is ubiquitous and immediate, it is surprising that in our time, the rift between peoples seems so absolute.
As we hear sung at Rick’s Place in Casablanca, “It’s still the same old story...the fundamental things apply.” Human sin, that energy that undermines our divine nature and destroys the foundations for a just and peaceful society, is always extant and active. Even as our higher natures are making progress there is always a counterforce that threatens our destruction. While people like Teilhard de Chardin spoke about the progress of humanity towards a spiritual destiny, Sigmund Freud spoke of a death instinct. It’s always the best of times and the worst of times.
This is not to say there is not a morally correct position in this or any situation, or that we shouldn’t make choices in difficult times. But it is to say that we might want to see how we can act as blessed peacemakers. We are people of the Word, which means people who believe in a kind of logic and communication that allows us to come to the table and reason together. We look for metaphors, analogies and parables that open people’s minds to larger versions of the truth and help people see their own roles in creating polarities. The bottom line is that we are all in this together and this divine perspective of peace calls us to be agents of insight, forgiveness and healing.
We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. We are here to help us all rise to new heights, heretofore unimaginable.
+Steve