Faith in the Collective

The sun shone on families and single people, babies and elders, and thousands of bodies blocked the wind in Civic Center amphitheater. At the rally to Protect our Muslim Neighbors we sang "This Land is Your Land" and listened to poetry, took pictures of creative signs, such as The Statue of Liberty issuing (via mouth bubble) "did I stutter?" and "Jesus said love your neighbor, your Muslim neighbor too."  Fellowship and faith and resolve blended in a heady spirit that lifted the multitude.

On the way home I wrestled again with the issue that puzzles me most - with all this goodwill and embrace of common bonds, why do so many feel excluded and angry?

We all agree that the pillars of democracy show cracks, weighted down by growth in population, changing economics, the explosion of technology, and the Supreme Court decision lifting corporations to the status of citizens.  Global pressures like terrorism and climate change add to the weight. The vast majority of us realize that our centuries-old form of government has veered off course. But we part ways when deciding what should be done.

One faction believes that current structures must be broken down or removed in order to make way for new. On the extreme end, individuals feel that wholesale destruction of the free press, government agencies, even the democracy itself must occur before the government can be remade. I worry that an individual who believes only in himself makes an arrogant presumption that he alone has the foresight and ability to divine the needs of the nation. This viewpoint shows a willingness to sacrifice many in pursuit of the goal, to do away with health care, retirement, health care in retirement, national parks, clean air and water, banking regulations that prevent fraud. Many will suffer.

Another group insists on faith in the collective, defies the paradigm that requires wholesale destruction prior to evolution. Build, not tear down. Invest in what binds us, our desire for healthy families, meaningful work, education, health care, wild lands, parks, representatives who care more for the people than for corporations. Will it be more difficult to graft changes onto existing structures? Perhaps. Will growing pains still afflict the nation, particularly those who are less served by the national story? Yes.

But the collective believes in leading, creating, investing, inventing. Find solutions, build the peace. Strive to include every facet of society, including those who don't agree. Sacrifice no one. Focus on what binds us. Recognize the strength in our Constitution, our free press, our judiciary. Grasp facts, even the hard ones, and seek a real truth. Serve others. We need everyone to rebuild, re-envision, re-tell our national story. No one can sit the bench, all are needed for victory.