Building Our Democracy Anew at 250

After a hiatus, I attended Mass yesterday in my childhood parish of St. Columba in southeast Alabama. The first reading began with Amos 5:14-15, “Seek good and not evil…Hate evil and love good, and let justice prevail at the gate…” Hearing those words from Scripture was like receiving a personal welcome and a warm embrace of my body and soul.

Beyond the racial and gender divides of the 1960s, my family’s entering the Catholic Church was not respected by many Protestants who were the dominant group in our city, state and region. Even today, there are some who do not recognize us as Christians. As a child in a very dualistic society, the Universal Prayer from the Good Friday Liturgy was a source of wonderment. It revealed God to me beyond the Catholic Church as we prayed for people of different and of no faith traditions. I do not know the intention, but for my developing heart and mind, it transcended the normative of dualism by acknowledging mystery.

As a citizen of this broken nation, who lives as a woman in a Black body, my faith is not an isolated part of my lived experience. My vision and perspective are from the intersectionality of who I am as a heterosexual, cisgender, Catholic woman in a Black body. This same vision and perspective are enhanced by relationships with people who are very different from me. The diversity in which I dwell expands my capacity to be a faithful Catholic accepting of uncertainty, complexity and mystery, especially the Great Divine Mystery.

Also, my life – as is yours - is influenced in unimaginable ways by named and unnamed people whom we never knew. When my family moved into a new and undeveloped neighborhood, I wondered about the Muscogee people who had lived on the land long before roads were cut and named. Riding my bicycle on dirt roads, I longed to find some remnant of their lives.

Two hundred and fifty years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, a dominant narrative has been constructed to simultaneously portray a myopic and xenophobic perspective celebrating half- or partial-truths and omitting references to that which would humble and enrich our collective identity. Tragically, this narrative easily infiltrates the systems of society as a common framework that is not to be questioned. There has been and continues to be so much pain, suffering and evil in the construction of the United States of America. This whitewashed version is like a fairy tale without the capacity to differentiate between good and evil. It is for readers who demand clarity but lack the curiosity and maturity to appreciate nuance.

My familial lineage is primarily, but not exclusively, rooted in the African continent across millennia. My ancestral families were broken apart as some ancestors were kidnapped, racialized, and chattelized. These grave crimes against humanity were designed to negate the humanity of African people. As chattel, they were legally considered to be property of another for the duration of their lives. The decision to racialize persons of African descent was intended to stigmatize people in Black bodies whether enslaved or free. Human rights and bodily autonomy did not exist for them. Women were raped for breeding purposes, and enslavement began upon leaving the womb. This was accepted by the law and society.

At an early age, I learned of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist terrorist organization, and their hatred for persons in Black bodies. In typing the organization’s name, my body still has a visceral reaction. Later, I learned that their hatred and terror were not exclusively for African-Americans. Catholics and Jews were targeted by them also. However, our having been racialized made us easier to identify. I cannot speak for my Jewish siblings, but it is disturbing that so many of my Catholic siblings in white bodies appear to have forgotten this recent history.

Like Christian nationalists, slave owners and the Klan also distorted the Gospels. Certainly, this is not the first time that Christ has been weaponized in 2,000 years, but it is disturbing to see it unfold in real time. Ten years have passed since Barack Hussein Obama relinquished the authority of serving as President of the United States. It is a log in our nation’s eye that so many still deny his self-identified Christian faith but embrace the self-identified Christian faith of Donald John Trump.

Speaking of history, who could have foreseen the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence accompanied by the rise of white Christian nationalism; and two branches of government and major corporations acquiescing to the whims of an impetuous conman, traitor and autocrat who was given the keys to the White House after being convicted of multiple felonies? The relationship with King George III was severed but many, including the current president, have sought to sit bejeweled with wealth and privilege upon a throne.

Throughout the nation’s history, proximity to wealth and whiteness have led many to deny their own interests. Often, the powers that be play one marginalized group against another to secure their own pursuits. The convergence of entitled greed and privilege, excessive wealth, white supremacy and racism have led us to this consequential moment. The pull of magnets in moral compasses appear to have weakened. Those of us who believe that all are created equal, bear a solemn and patriotic responsibility to resist autocracy and protect the Constitution from enemies even if they are domestic and in white bodies.

As we begin building our democracy anew, let us use contemplative practices to remagnetize our magnets for the long term as we create inclusive circles committed to the beloved community and the common good. This is not a one-time event, but an ongoing effort of intentional participation in a living democracy. May we not fear nuance or questions as we “seek good and not evil…Hate evil and love good, and let justice prevail at the gate…”