I didn’t closely follow the discussion here on the Moral Mondays misinformation issue. I did, however, get the gist of the genuinely hurt response from many posters who had heretofore believed of all people, Reverend Barber was beyond any possible attack from Democrats.
He is sacred. One of the definitions of the word sacred is to set apart. It’s a conscious choice, not a reflex. It can happen quickly in life when the power of someone’s life force hits you like a ton of bricks — it’s probably a good idea not to judge that experience as the same as quotidian experiences.
I’m learning more and more as this primary campaign unfolds that during this type of conflict, nothing much is sacred politically — for to be sacred politically means you’d have to agree this or that person or idea or value is sacred, not to be challenged.
But this is political conflict we are all experiencing. Perhaps, hopefully, something sacred will emerge from this battle, not something we can’t challenge or disagree with or criticize, but that we hold the root values sacred and acknowledge the form is not what is enduring, but the content.
In my view, I hold Bernie Sanders sacred, set apart, in the political sense. It is both an emotional, spiritual and intellectual choice on my part.
Imagine my dismay when I found that throughout this journey, what I hold sacred isn’t shared universally by my peers.
Oy.
Really, though, I am not worried. The truth will shine out for those who seek it. This is a real and valid and true conflict that is being had for the future course of the Democratic Party. I for one won’t pretend to gloss it over as something not to be confronted, to be avoided, to be shunned and shamed. Conflict is an important energy to learn to experience properly when it comes atcha.
If what is sacred to us is truly sacred, then it will be tested. How we respond to those tests is part of making what is sacred our own. That is quite a treasure to gain, more valuable than gold or jewels, and I’m not being metaphorical here.
So in conclusion, the sacred and politics are a truly bizarre dynamic, yet the sacred is in politics and of it as well.
Reminds me of that Stevie Wonder song about “So make sure when you say you’re in it but not of it … you’re not helping to make this earth a place sometimes called Hell.”
Ah, found it through the sacred Internet and the sacred YouTube — “As”:
To my allies and my foes … may something really fabulous prevail.