What is needed

Every day there seems to be another dumping of what can only be considered political and policy crappiness. There’s a bill in PA to criminalize homelessness. Yeah, because that will help someone taking shelter in their car or sleeping on a sidewalk. There’s a bill in PA to allow “chaplains” to replace school counselors. Professional chaplains are opposed to the bill. That should tell you something.

On the national level there is the bill that president is promoting. It will cut millions of people off of medicaid, increase student loan payments, and more, all while giving a nice tax cut to the wealthy. So much for bringing good news to the poor.

That’s all on top of a military action with Iran that is just starting – why exactly are we fighting with Iran? I don’t know what our national interest is in picking a fight with this foreign nation. Did we not learn anything from two decades of war in neighboring Afghanistan? Or are the profits of military supplies down recently?

And there’s ICE activity. And anti-Trans hysteria. And there are religious charlatans and frauds claiming to speak on behalf of God in favor of all of this (just make sure you send them seed money for their prosperity gospel crock). And so much more.

What is a person of faith to do?

This is the question I have been struggling with for the last few weeks. Ok, months. There aren’t nice easy answers to this. Sorry.

First I think it’s important to acknowledge something – this all sucks. But it is not anything new in human history. I don’t say that in order to just ignore it or wave it off. I say that to remind myself and maybe you, dear reader, that cruelty, incompetence, violence, war, corruption, and conmen have been the most common thread that has run through human history. That doesn’t make any of it right. It just means we’ve been doing this for a long, long time. It also means we can look at what people in the past have done to counter this common history.

There are whole histories written about how people countered all these things in the past.

Here’s a few suggestions. Don’t ignore what is happening, but be intentional about how you approach it. Don’t just complain about these things, act in ways that counter the common narrative. If cruelty is the common theme, then what can you do to emphasize empathy and compassion? What are actual activities you can do? If violence is the theme, then what are the actions you can take that promote peace? If it’s conmen, then how do you build trust? If it’s incompetence, how do you build up expertise and credibility? Whatever is presenting itself, determine what it is that you want to expand and work towards that.

Build community and mutual aid. The crappiness wins when you try to face this alone. Don’t ever try to face it alone. Be in community and act together. Build something together. Offer aid willingly. Do whatever you can to see the humanity in others and so that others can see it in you.

Civil disobedience. March peacefully. Do vigils and sit-ins. Hold a mock court putting policies that promote cruelty on trial. Create art that tells the story and counters the narrative.

Don’t get caught up in internet fights. They are a waste of time and energy and are only going to drain your energy and leave you frustrated. Facts don’t change people’s minds. Tell stories – personal stories of how things impact real people. Share stories. Humans are wired to be moved by stories, not facts. Enflesh issues with names, faces, stories, experiences, and more. Touch hearts, find out what you hold in common with someone else and listen to them and acknowledge their fears and work together.

Create sanctuary for people. This can be a church, but it doesn’t have to be. Sanctuary is a space of safety. It’s a place where people can meet the divine, to know they are seen and heard, to know they are not alone, to receive hope, and to go out and offer an alternative.

And for people of faith, we have to keep this in mind – We keep preaching the Gospel, and living into it, without exception.  We keep preaching how Jesus sees and hears people, reminds them that they are not alone, offers hope, and sends us out to do the same.  We keep living kingdom of God values.  We don’t argue with the idiots or try to destroy others.  We do things that make no sense to those proclaiming the common narrative and in doing so we confuse them.  And when we they are ready, they are invited to participate in a better way leaving behind the common human themes that only cause death and destruction.

There is a better way. But it requires patience. This has been going on for eons. It won’t be over soon. But God’s way of love and peace is persistent. The common ways keep rejecting God’s ways. They keep saying “No”. But the no’s will die off. They are not sustainable. They will grow tired and weary. And God’s yes will persist.