Haki R. Madhubuti
and as we aware, right now we need all the friends we can muster. When a good friend, Joe Bradley, requested a second contribution to the newsletter, it was with mixed feelings I accepted his request. If you are a regular reader, you are aware the CPF newsletter is consistently well written, thought provoking, realistically portraying our landscape with hope, and inspiring us to try to live our faith truthfully. Joe, himself, has become an iconic figure filled with wisdom. That wisdom, I believe, has come from a lifetime of saying yes to the Spirit, trying to do the right thing as often as possible. By contrast, I consider myself an awkward apprentice standing in Joe’s shadow struggling in God’s vineyard. I find some solace in knowing Joe would probably (humbly, and inaccurately) describe himself in similar fashion.
Traditionally, summer vacation is when we find time for a good book to digest on a beach, mountain top, or back yard. The opening quote comes from the poem, “Gwendolyn Brooks: America in the Wintertime”. Gwendolyn was an African American author, teacher, and poet. She was the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1950. Mr. Madhubuti’s poem pays honor to past heroes; “tubman, douglas, wells-burnett, dubois” while accurately portraying our current predicament as the “confirmation of liars, thieves and get-over artists”. Many of us share similar concerns with our political leadership. Rather than rehash the litany of our current travails, I thought we could glance towards literature and/or liturgy (often one and the same) to see what support the written word could offer.
Please do not share Oscar Wilde’s quote with the current administration. They might find it useful as a legal defense, or possibly a late-night tweet. Algernon in the play, “The Trouble with Being Ernest” goes on to explain how “tedious life would be and (that) modern literature an impossibility” if the truth were either. So as we grapple with alternative facts, it proves difficult to ascertain the “real” truth. That said, there are several such truths we could share with our fellow Americans; all of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were immigrants, zero were born on this soil; according to virtually all economists, on the aggregate, immigration is beneficial to the entire economy; numerous ethnic neighborhoods in Philadelphia are effective illustrations of those benefits on the local level; the lowering the rich’s taxes does not benefit the middle class or the poor (haven’t we been here before). One truth harder to define is the underlying hatred that seems to be given legitimacy by our current culture. The more exposure I have had to reading liturgies, and some literature, point to one effective response; resistance with unmitigated love. On a practical level this is a continuous, virtually impossible challenge. On a deeper, spiritual, almost counterintuitive level, it is possibly the only way we can retain and enrich our individual and collective humanness.
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Dickens’ quote, like many, grabs our attention in its first few words and is generally all we remember. The quote goes on to include “it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” Maybe you thought we had a lock on noisy authorities; the quote ends explaining how the “noisiest authorities insisted on being received in the superlative degree of comparison only”. The contemporary significance jumps out at you and seems like it was recently written. The famous quote by Dickens appeared a mere 158 years ago. To find real angst with contemporary significance, we might consider the “weeping prophet” Jeremiah writings from some 2600 years past.
9:5 “And they will deceive everyone his neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies; weary themselves to commit iniquity.” “Peace, peace; when [there is] no peace”
Jeremiah was more than annoyed with Israelites for reverting back to idolatry after the death of one of their holy kings. He condemned their actions and indicated those actions were the impetus for their destruction. Interestingly, when their neighbors, the Babylonians succeeded in proving his prophesy, Jeremiah did not desert the Israelites but urged them to seek redemption thru Yahweh. “And it shall come to pass, after I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land”.
Reading Flannery is not light summer reading. Her characters all have serious flaws and limitations; violence and mayhem seem to be ever present. Even within these dire circumstances, you can still find hope in her writings. I do believe now, more than ever we need to stand up to the falsehoods of the “Alt right”; to be vehement in our opposition to war, racism, me-ism, and desecration of our environment. I have a vague memory of the man with the sign opposing the Vietnam war standing faithfully on the sidewalk outside the White House. When asked did he think he would change the country he replied “no, but I just don’t want them to change me”. We should imitate this non-violent protestor’s persistence and commitment.
Which leads to my final quote, one of my favorites from the Gospel of Matthew:
The word plank is alternately translated as log, beam, or wooden plank. This introspection required by the quote is a healthy reminder of our own skeletons lurking in the background. The habit of judging others harshly seems to be universal. So, I would recommend a little soul searching and then grab a good book, decompress, and relax. Immediately afterwards, lead your life as humbly, truthfully, and courageous as possible, at least for the next three years and three months (date of the next president’s election).
Mike Connor Mike is a member of Bainbridge House
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