Dear friends,
I have been reflecting on “care of soul” for a number of years now. I have come to the conclusion that I cannot keep talking about this topic without talking directly about the soul of our country. We are not just individuals, but part of a larger fabric we call the United States of America. I have to be blunt here: we are in a most profound moral crisis in our country – not primarily political, social or economic. Let me say this again – we are in a moral crisis that will determine whether the American experiment and soul will survive. As I speak, this crisis is tearing apart our common fabric and affecting the soul of each one of us. Some have said there is nothing to worry about – it is folly to worry or panic, that this situation will sort itself out and that our institutions will save us. Others have found it more comforting to act as if this crisis is nonexistent; for them it is better to close their eyes to what is before us, as if this crisis were a only a bad dream from which we will awaken soon. However, it is time to panic if that’s what it takes to wake us up. We have been asleep a long, long time. William Barber, a renowned North Carolina minister who began Moral Mondays, has identified five phenomena (or elements) that tear at the soul of America: 1) systemic racism, 2) the war economy, 3) ecological destruction, 4) poverty and 5) right wing Christianity.
In the next five Care of Soul reflections, I will say something about each one of these issues and how they affect the health and well-being of our soul-individually and as a collective. All five of these phenomena are incredibly complex and complicated, but I will be short, sweet and blunt! My goal is to help “wake us up”, even at the expense of over simplification and even offending someone. Soul healing can only happen when we are as they say “woke.” I want to “woke” us up or get us to woke! Some things I say will be hard, but it’s becoming even harder not to say these things. Please know I will be coming from a place of care. I care about soul: yours, mine, the country’s, the universe’s. With that said I’m not a vacuum. I have social, political, religious and economic perspectives. Everybody does! Whether they name it or not. I am a Democrat, Catholic, white, male, economically secure, heterosexual. But most deeply, I am soul – part of you, part of the country, part of the universe! So get ready for some short, sweet but blunt statements on next month’s topic: systemic racism.
Be well,
Bill
