I am still reeling from the Kavanaugh appointment to our highest court. The rational part of my brain knows that this was simply the exercise of power. I am also clear that the best, in fact the only effective response, will be for those on the progressive side to take back power, or at least regain a balance of power. Deadlock would be so much preferable to the damage the last 18 months have brought.

But I am still reeling. And we all need to be prepared to survive the onslaught of the mid-term elections…even those of us who try to avoid or block out the worst of this divisive process.

The conversation in the public square and on the airwaves seems to center on the impact of the Kavanaugh appointment on either grievance or gratitude. Gratitude felt by those on the right for re-creation of the high court into a clearly conservative institution. Grievance felt by progressives for that tectonic shift to the right and the disregard of the values of human respect that made it possible.

Even the pretense of fairness has been lost.

I am proudly on the progressive side of the aisle. I feel the grievance and the danger of our current course. I am appalled that our President now tried to trump up grievance on their side as well, claiming that progressives resorted to mob rule in our opposition.

Grievance and gratitude.

Here is what I am struggling with. Both grievance and gratitude ask us to value our tribe…whether the conservative tribe that now holds the levers of power or the progressive tribe the reaches to grab those same levers…

Both ask us to value our tribe above all else. It is a kind of idolatry that is being demanded of us that closes off our most grounded capacity for compassion and discernment.

Unitarian Universalists quote our Principles far more often than the Sources on which we draw, but those Sources are in our founding documents just as prominently. Those sources conclude with the warning against idolatries of the mind and spirit.

I want an end to the unfettered power of the right. But I do not want to replace it with unfettered power on the left. Nor do I believe it is possible to return to a national politics of genteel public debate, with power exercised in backroom deals. That model of leadership is what has sustained the culture of white supremacy and patriarchy for generations.

Oregon is reliably “blue” in terms of these national power struggles. And there are local issues aplenty that demand our support, including several ballot measures of great importance. Oregon’s Sanctuary Law is being threatened. Use of public funds to support a woman’s right to choose could be ended. And First Unitarian will be hosting a gathering this very evening for supporters of the Portland Clean Energy Fund.

We need to vote against the measures that would take us backward and support those initiatives that move us toward the Beloved Community…here at home. As I preached last week, we need to build Beloved Community in every way we can. In little random acts and grand gestures. However, wherever and whenever we can.

But I hope that we can hold fast to the values of respect for one another and for ourselves that are the required result of our commitment to the inherent worth and dignity of all persons. Respect is an unavoidable requirement if you take that principle seriously.

Audre Lorde told us that the master’s tools can never dismantle the master’s house. We need a different tool kit that includes respect. Who could have imagined that our democracy would chose our current president to play the role of master?

We do not need to out-Trump Trump.

Instead, I hope we can find a gratitude that grows out of our religious grounding in this election season.

Blessings,

Bill