Back in 2002, the priest sex abuse scandal was revealed, where mostly boys were victimized. Then the "Black Lives Matter" movement evolved after it was revealed how many innocent black men were being killed or injured. Recently, the #MeToo movement was the response when it was revealed that (mostly women) had to endure sexual abuse in the workplace. Now, we have #NeverAgain in response to the shootings at a high school in Florida, bringing our focus to gun violence as a still unaddressed issue.
So are these good times? Or are they bad times? Some people look at the headlines these days and react in disbelief that I could be an optimist. One thing I tell them is, "It depends on which news you’re paying attention to!" But my opinion is also based on a host of other factors and how I look at what's going on as part of a bigger picture.
It certainly can be difficult to get through all this. What's stressful is partly due to how much is coming at us and how fast. We have so much to learn! As soon as we recognize one big problem, another one comes along before we've had a chance to do much of anything about the previous one! But overall I think it's a good thing that we are finally having to face up to what has been going on in our culture as a whole. In that sense, these are actually good times in disguise, because we're starting to get involved in really changing all this.
Finally, with the rise of the concept of 'intersectionality' we're starting to think of these issues as part of a few big overriding issues for everyone. In the past, it has been common to rank the worth of people on a scale, from high to low, depending on their characteristics or classification as part of a group. Those rankings were used as an excuse to abuse power. Now, we're starting to realize that every person has worth, and deserves the same opportunities as anyone else, even if only some people choose to take advantage of the opportunities available to them.
And that leads me to Universalism. The idea that the dignity of a person is distinct from whatever steps they may have taken or acts they may have committed in life. That is, it's useful to judge an act, perhaps, while not vilifying the person who acted. Although you might think of Universalism as a theme with a Christian heritage, this kind of thinking also appears in eastern traditions, as well, as this article from Buddhists reveals. Perhaps the reasoning is different, but the resulting recommendation is similar.
So, I'm an optimist, yes. And I encourage you to have the courage to stand up, speak out, and be heard about acts that are hurtful or represent an abuse of power. But at the same time, I hope you can find in you heart to admit that blame and hate will do little good in the long run. If anything, intersectionality really means that we've all been struggling with discrimination or oppression in one way or another, in spite of external appearances. And we're all going to be needed to get together to improve things, now that all this is being revealed.
So are these good times? Or are they bad times? Some people look at the headlines these days and react in disbelief that I could be an optimist. One thing I tell them is, "It depends on which news you’re paying attention to!" But my opinion is also based on a host of other factors and how I look at what's going on as part of a bigger picture.
It certainly can be difficult to get through all this. What's stressful is partly due to how much is coming at us and how fast. We have so much to learn! As soon as we recognize one big problem, another one comes along before we've had a chance to do much of anything about the previous one! But overall I think it's a good thing that we are finally having to face up to what has been going on in our culture as a whole. In that sense, these are actually good times in disguise, because we're starting to get involved in really changing all this.
Finally, with the rise of the concept of 'intersectionality' we're starting to think of these issues as part of a few big overriding issues for everyone. In the past, it has been common to rank the worth of people on a scale, from high to low, depending on their characteristics or classification as part of a group. Those rankings were used as an excuse to abuse power. Now, we're starting to realize that every person has worth, and deserves the same opportunities as anyone else, even if only some people choose to take advantage of the opportunities available to them.
And that leads me to Universalism. The idea that the dignity of a person is distinct from whatever steps they may have taken or acts they may have committed in life. That is, it's useful to judge an act, perhaps, while not vilifying the person who acted. Although you might think of Universalism as a theme with a Christian heritage, this kind of thinking also appears in eastern traditions, as well, as this article from Buddhists reveals. Perhaps the reasoning is different, but the resulting recommendation is similar.
So, I'm an optimist, yes. And I encourage you to have the courage to stand up, speak out, and be heard about acts that are hurtful or represent an abuse of power. But at the same time, I hope you can find in you heart to admit that blame and hate will do little good in the long run. If anything, intersectionality really means that we've all been struggling with discrimination or oppression in one way or another, in spite of external appearances. And we're all going to be needed to get together to improve things, now that all this is being revealed.
RSS Feed