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Moving Forward
I voted for Bob Dole in 1996. There, I said it. I was openly gay to most everyone except family members, well on my way to becoming a bleeding-heart via the "liberal" public education system, and beginning to develop the progressive universalist form of Christianity I believe in today. But I still voted for Bob Dole. I couldn't even really tell you why now. I grew up in a Republican household (though my grandparents are yellow-dog Demos), was still struggling with my Southern Baptist roots, and I lived in the rural South in a so-called "red state." That's about all the excuses I can muster.
I view it now as a huge mistake (even though the overall outcome was that Clinton was re-elected). And I think George W. Bush is a lot "worse" than Bob Dole. And I'm committed to working for change now more than ever. But I keep coming back to how I could possibly sit in judgement of people who voted for Bush. Or what that would accomplish. As someone(s) on my friends list have stated, how do you intend to get your point of view across or change people's minds if you won't even converse with them (yelling and condescension don't count)?
The church we attend now is a fairly diverse "liberal Christian" congregation. We have areas that need work, as do most organizations and institutions, but we do explicitly include various groups in our mission statement. And we do have a variety of political views present in the congregation. But we were at prayer group last night (which probably tends to swing more liberally than the congregation as a whole), and as we went around the room talking about how we'd been feeling this week, it became apparent only one person was upbeat about the election results. She's from Texas, and she holds some fairly conservative beliefs, both theologically and politically, compared to the rest of the congregation. She identifies as evangelical (although as another member pointed out, "evangelical" represents a broad spectrum of beliefs, unlike how the media likes to portray it). And she pointed out that for all our celebration of diversity, we don't really do a good job of even tolerating political diversity (though at least our pastor gives it some lipservice). She said, "I am the red state." And she feels sometimes within the church and the group very marginalized because of that. She feels sometimes like "she" is hated, feared. Not her, per se, but what she represents.
Yet she is one of the spiritual pillars/leaders of the church, one of the most loving, caring, open, compassionate people within the congregation. When a lesbian couple from the church who is adopting a special-needs child (and who are the primary caregivers for a relative's child) were experiencing difficulties, she offered to move in and help out. People can't be put into simplistic boxes. Labels aren't the person. I told her that if she ever felt excluded or unwelcomed by anyone in the congregation, I would stand with her. And I mean it. "Republican" is not the equivalent of evil, and the reasons people vote the way they do are complex.
...
Below is a meditation we did at the beginning of the group. It is based on the Buddhist Metta (Lovingkindness) meditation, but has been adapted to include God-language. I thought it (or something more atuned to the original Buddhist tradition, which you will find behind the link along with an explanation) might be useful to some of you (whether Democrat, Republican, and/or third-party voters) during these tension-filled times.
A Compassion Meditation
Part One: For Oneself
May I be free from danger.
May I flourish with good physical health.
May I dwell in emotional tranquility.
May I experience deep well-being.
May my relationships be honest and joyful.
May I know that all life flows from God.
May I open my heart to God in trust.
May God's love guide my actions.
May my life give honor to God.
May God bless and keep me, now and always.
Part Two: For Another (especially one from whom I am estranged)
May you be free from danger.
May you flourish with good physical health.
May you dwell in emotional tranquility.
May you experience deep well-being.
May your relationships be honest and joyful.
May you know that all life flows from God.
May you open your heart to God in trust.
May God's love guide your actions.
May your life give honor to God.
May God bless and keep you, now and always.
Part Three: For a Group or Community With Whom I Disagree (same as Part Two)
I view it now as a huge mistake (even though the overall outcome was that Clinton was re-elected). And I think George W. Bush is a lot "worse" than Bob Dole. And I'm committed to working for change now more than ever. But I keep coming back to how I could possibly sit in judgement of people who voted for Bush. Or what that would accomplish. As someone(s) on my friends list have stated, how do you intend to get your point of view across or change people's minds if you won't even converse with them (yelling and condescension don't count)?
The church we attend now is a fairly diverse "liberal Christian" congregation. We have areas that need work, as do most organizations and institutions, but we do explicitly include various groups in our mission statement. And we do have a variety of political views present in the congregation. But we were at prayer group last night (which probably tends to swing more liberally than the congregation as a whole), and as we went around the room talking about how we'd been feeling this week, it became apparent only one person was upbeat about the election results. She's from Texas, and she holds some fairly conservative beliefs, both theologically and politically, compared to the rest of the congregation. She identifies as evangelical (although as another member pointed out, "evangelical" represents a broad spectrum of beliefs, unlike how the media likes to portray it). And she pointed out that for all our celebration of diversity, we don't really do a good job of even tolerating political diversity (though at least our pastor gives it some lipservice). She said, "I am the red state." And she feels sometimes within the church and the group very marginalized because of that. She feels sometimes like "she" is hated, feared. Not her, per se, but what she represents.
Yet she is one of the spiritual pillars/leaders of the church, one of the most loving, caring, open, compassionate people within the congregation. When a lesbian couple from the church who is adopting a special-needs child (and who are the primary caregivers for a relative's child) were experiencing difficulties, she offered to move in and help out. People can't be put into simplistic boxes. Labels aren't the person. I told her that if she ever felt excluded or unwelcomed by anyone in the congregation, I would stand with her. And I mean it. "Republican" is not the equivalent of evil, and the reasons people vote the way they do are complex.
...
Below is a meditation we did at the beginning of the group. It is based on the Buddhist Metta (Lovingkindness) meditation, but has been adapted to include God-language. I thought it (or something more atuned to the original Buddhist tradition, which you will find behind the link along with an explanation) might be useful to some of you (whether Democrat, Republican, and/or third-party voters) during these tension-filled times.
A Compassion Meditation
Part One: For Oneself
May I be free from danger.
May I flourish with good physical health.
May I dwell in emotional tranquility.
May I experience deep well-being.
May my relationships be honest and joyful.
May I know that all life flows from God.
May I open my heart to God in trust.
May God's love guide my actions.
May my life give honor to God.
May God bless and keep me, now and always.
Part Two: For Another (especially one from whom I am estranged)
May you be free from danger.
May you flourish with good physical health.
May you dwell in emotional tranquility.
May you experience deep well-being.
May your relationships be honest and joyful.
May you know that all life flows from God.
May you open your heart to God in trust.
May God's love guide your actions.
May your life give honor to God.
May God bless and keep you, now and always.
Part Three: For a Group or Community With Whom I Disagree (same as Part Two)
no subject
That's a nice adaption of the metta... :)