The Power of the Powerless

-

The election is over. The people have spoken. Some, no doubt, are joyously celebrating the result, perhaps even praising God. Many, however, see a dark cloud hanging over our nation. An undeniable shift in the body politic has taken place—a shift that has many grieving profoundly what has been lost and deeply anxious for what may yet be lost.

Count me amongst the latter. If I seem more composed than some others, it’s simply because I’ve done a fair amount of preparatory grieving already. No, I did not see what was coming. It’s just that I’m Buddhist, and Buddhists value equanimity. I knew that I wanted (needed?) to wake up after the declaration of the winner of this election and get on with living, regardless of the result.




Which is not to say that I don’t know what it feels like for those who are deeply grieving right now. I was and am horrified that women’s bodily autonomy has been stripped away—at great risk to their liberty and their lives. I continue to be disturbed by the hateful rhetoric and the increased risk it poses to marginalized groups. I anxiously contemplate what might be in store for immigrant families that may be broken apart by the deportations that have been proposed. And all this exists against a backdrop of foreboding as our nation’s embrace of authoritarianism grows stronger. Yes, I understand what it means to be grieving right now.

However, I came to realize something as I was processing my grief. I realized my anger at the justice system having been subverted on behalf of one of the candidates was largely because I’d always thought the justice system was, well, just in the first place. I realized that my lament for our democratic institutions being cynically toyed with in shameless plays for power stemmed from my belief that those democratic institutions had generally worked for me in the past. I realized that my indignation at the unfairness of unqualified individuals being placed in positions of power arises primarily from my having, in large part, grown up in a meritocracy.

In other words, my grief is a function of my relative privilege and power. The less powerful have long found the justice system suspect. The less powerful have long had their liberty denied by “law and order” and their political voice diluted via gerrymandering. The less powerful have long been denied the resources to show what merit they might be able to earn if the system were only more equitable.

Thus, I began to see the silver lining to my dark cloud of grief. I began to feel a stronger affinity for all those who have ever been or felt powerless. I began to see with greater clarity the bond we all share. I began to realize that maybe some people voted for the other guy because he gives them respite from their own sense of powerlessness. Might we use this shared sense of powerlessness to seek commonality, reach understanding, build trust, forge alliances, and, dare I say it, find greater power in true unity? With liberty and justice for all, I might add.


P.S. If you'd like to join others who are building bridges amongst and between disenfranchised individuals, check out the Poor People's Campaign, founded by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II.

 

Copyright 2024 by Mark Robert Frank

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dogen's 'Flower of Emptiness' - Part 2

-
Image
Dogen’s Shobogenzo contains a fascicle known as Kuge , or Flower of Emptiness . As discussed in Part 1, kuge is a term that is sometimes used to describe apparitions caused by cataracts or some other eye disease – ‘flowers in the sky’, so to speak. Within the context of a Buddhist discussion, kuge is sometimes used in reference to our obscured vision of ‘ things as it is ’ – vision which presumably becomes clarified over the course of our meditative practice. In Kuge , Dogen uses our more commonsensical understanding of ‘flowers in the sky’ as a means to discuss the true nature of emptiness , shunyata , as he understands it. Thus, the translation of Kuge as The Flower of Emptiness (Nishiyama, 1975). For those who have not yet had the opportunity to read Part 1 , I will reiterate the caution regarding interpreting in a nihilistic way Buddhist teachings related to emptiness . Without correct understanding of emptiness we might misinterpret the teaching that no thing
Read more

A Buddhist Takes Communion / A Buddhist Take On Communion

-
Image
Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” – Luke 22:19-20, NRSV   Yes, at the risk of prompting the eyes of many Buddhist-leaning readers to begin glazing over (What, is this going to be a sermon or something?), and at the risk of prompting the eyes of many Christian-leaning readers to narrow in suspicion (What does this Buddhist know about Christianity, anyway?), I’m going consider how the Lord’s Supper might appear if viewed through a Buddhist lens. In doing so I hope that Buddhist and Christian alike will glimpse something that leads to deeper spiritual understanding within each respective tradition.       Perhaps a little personal background will assuage your curiosity as to why I’m even considering such a top
Read more

Six Types of Happiness in Hesse's 'Journey to the East'

-
Image
Every so often I find myself drawn to one of the books of my youth. Part nostalgic reflection, part introspective rediscovery, part discovery anew, rereading a great work of literature after many years of lived experience can be an interesting endeavor. I first read Herman Hesse’s The Journey to the East back in my youth. I’d been introduced to his work when I read Demian for a college humanities class, and I then went on to read Steppenwolf , Siddhartha , and “ The Journey ” in fairly quick succession. For some reason, though, I subsequently began and then abandoned mid-read The Glass Bead Game ( Magister Ludi ). Perhaps it’s fitting that I should wait until later in life to finish that one given the fact that it was Hesse’s final novel and all. Such a thought especially resonates with me now that I’ve discovered that I am presently the same age that Hesse was upon completion of The Journey – a realization that has me wondering whether I finally have enough life experience in my
Read more