Give Voice to Grief

Give voice to sorrow and fear —
          the wracking sobs at family betraying family
          the shock at the chasm separating neighbors
“What will you do in the days ahead? one asked.
          “Hide in an attic,” another replied,
          her eyes as wide and dark as Anne Frank’s.
Already the assaults on bodies have launched
Already hatred has been emboldened
Already graffiti has defaced stone walls
Already harassment of the “Other” has begun
When someone announces they’re coming for you,
your worry doesn’t spring from paranoia.
It’s based on the evidence of history.

Give voice to denial and bargaining —
          the claustrophobic panic, desperate for a way out,
          clinging to any path that might alter the outcome
“Where we live we’ll be okay,” one says.
          “Who do you mean by ‘we’?” another asks.
You suppress the disorienting sense that you’ve fallen into 
the opening of a dystopian novel,
calming yourself that everything must turn out okay 
because the narrator is alive to recount the tale,
          ignoring the blankness of the next page.

Give voice to anger and rage —
          that truth and kindness mattered so little 
          that vitriol poisoned the community well
“They will try to use your goodness against you,” one said.
          “And rely on your reasonableness
          to accept the unacceptable,” another added.
Retain your goodness and your reason
          but always keep sight of the larger picture
          and the deeper values calling to you.
Let your passion for justice burn but not consume.

Give voice to acceptance and hope —
          this is where we are
          this is our new reality
“For some,” said one, “the world we awoke to on November 9th
was not much different than the one we’d been living in.”
          “Except,” said another, “that more people were woke to it.”
Already organizing is taking place
Already creativity and solidarity are sending out tendrils
Already resistance and resilience are storing themselves up
Already signs of love are picking up speed
When someone announces they’re coming for you,
you find your people 
you find your fearlessness
and you
don’t 
let
go.

---

This piece was written as the 11/13/16 Call to Worship at the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor.

The Potential of Tuesday

I'm not the only one who feels it.

In these waning days before the 2008 election - when the United States can elect an intelligent, grounded, inspiring man who would also become the nation's first African-American President, and when California can turn the tide on anti-LGBT sentiment in this country and even the world - the historic nature of this moment is palpable.

Newspapers and TV news and blogs and probably carrier pigeons are all sounding a similar theme. The Democratic primary alone made history in several directions. And the GOP Vice Presidential candidate, while completely unqualified for the job, does represent a milestone for that party. Everywhere you look, the tectonic shift occurring in our politics carries once-in-a-lifetime import.

Which made me wonder why it felt so familiar.

What happens on Tuesday has the potential not just to elect one candidate or another, or to shoot down one proposition or another, but to help this nation evolve. Will we choose compassion and mutual responsibility, or fear and isolationism? Will mutual respect win the day, or will one group foist their beliefs on another? Will we act like adults and finally live the values we were taught in kindergarten - sharing, playing well together, using our imaginations - or will we remain childish, insisting that there are monsters under the bed that need to be destroyed?

There was another Tuesday not that long ago when this country was also given the opportunity to evolve. Following the attacks on September 11, the world poured out enormous compassion towards the United States, mourning beside us in our grief. They stood with us graveside, their hearts opened by our loss, and offered the embrace of friendship in solace. The potential in that moment for humanity to come together and become better than we had been was incalcuable, though bought at a terrible cost.

I believe that of all the horrible things George W. Bush has done during his presidency, the squandering of that potential is the one for which he will pay the highest karmic price. In the weeks after the attacks, he and his administration flung off the world's embrace and told everyone to piss off. Their behavior during that crisis only began the litany of failures that followed, including a far higher body count than claimed by the Twin Towers.

However, the American people have another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity before us on November 4th. And this time, the power is in our hands, not dependent on a small group of small-minded people. This time, we can move humanity forward without the sacrifice of 3,000 more lives. This time, we can make a different choice, with our hearts wide open and the strength of millions of voices calling for change as one.

On this Tuesday, we can let the angels of our better natures carry the day. There's no one to hold us back but ourselves.

========================================
Read another post of mine about Tuesdays...

Election Day Haiku

Suffrage
Do they call it that
Because of all we endured
For the right to vote?


87 Years Later
I walked to the polls
With high heels and wide red purse:
Liz, Susan B. ... thanks.


The View from November 6, 2007
Light in the distance:
364 days,
Can't re-elect Bush