I had this all set to go, until I read some comments on Facebook about what is happening in the U.S.. I KNEW I should have posted this blog last night! Now: a complete rewrite.
Hate is being peddled in the U.S.. It’s for sale and cheap. And fear? Fear is being handed out for free on every street corner, in every newspaper, every television station.
I read in this morning’s paper a sincere comment from a sincere woman, pointing out how important it really is to know President Obama’s religion because, after all, Islam is based on the Qur’an (“Koran”), which, according to the writer, “teaches the destruction of any government system contrary to Islamic beliefs.” Clearly she has never read the Qur’an. But she has learned to fear it.
Then I read the Facebook comments, about one of our politicians who appears to be building a huge career on fear and hate. She’s not alone of course. There are many politicians, as well as radio commentators, and newspaper columnists who are building their security on the fear of others. They seek to gain a following, if not love, by stoking the hatred of the “other.”
The question that those of us face, those who do not live our lives based on fear, and who do not build ourselves up by making the “other” into an object of fear is: how to react? Clearly there is an entire political party flummoxed by this question. It is not my desire or purpose to help them here.
But what about us? You and me? How do we react? I made a brief comment on the Facebook page. I made it because it’s hard to keep our balance in such times. And if the past is any indications, we really do need to keep our balance.
“There has always been an element of fear-mongering, and always an element of anti-intellectualism in the U.S. and really world-wide. But now there's also severe economic problems. The last era like this gave us Hitler (and less dramatically in the U.S. Huey Long). Hate is powerful. It has always been so. I think we need vocal, strong expressions of love to lighten the darkness.”
I did not mean to enter into my own version of fear-mongering. But the patterns between now and the pre-Hitler years give one pause. The “evil Jew” gave Hitler the glue he needed, just as the “evil Muslim” is giving many traction when they really have little if anything else to offer. The only fear I have right now, is the fear that FDR warned us of nearly 100 years ago. The only thing to fear is fear itself.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., admittedly a man whom I admire greatly, wrote, “Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” And anyone who feels that love cannot be strong and vocal needs to revisit the work of Dr. King.
That is why I would urge that we reply to the fear and hate with “vocal, strong, expressions of love.” That, as Dr. King reminds us, is the only way to lighten the darkness.
Which does indeed bring me to Interfaith. It is assuredly not the only way to bring light. But it is a good way, a strong way, and a loving way.
What is it to be called to Interfaith? It is to be called to the understanding of our common humanity. It is to be called to the realization that there is no “them” – that we are all a part of us. It is to be called to embrace the love that all of our varying spiritual paths have been begging us to embrace for thousands of years.
What is it to LIVE Interfaith? It is not simply to talk with people of varying faiths from behind the comforting walls of right belief. It is not to peep over the wall and wave. It is not simply to work on a project with people who do not share our faith. And to live Interfaith is not simply to come together once or twice a month to share sacred space. To LIVE Interfaith is to live it twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. To LIVE Interfaith is bring in and hold close to our hearts the reality that we are all, all in this together.
There is no them. There is only us. This is the call of Interfaith. It is becoming an increasingly urgent call.
