Good guys and bad guys

I got sucked into a couple of Facebook discussions yesterday, where I was quite promptly dismissed for "misguided liberal compassion".  You see, I was guilty of challenging a statement made by one of the persons on Facebook that the only things the government should fund are those that were listed in the constitution.  Oddly, in an early dialogue, this same person was mocking President Obama for no longer supporting the space program.  Seems for some the President can do nothing right!

I kinda chuckle when being called on the carpet as a misguided liberal.  Many years ago I presented to a group of retired gentlemen from a service organization on the mentoring program I was directing. After the presentation one of the guys asked me afterwards, "What are you, some kind of a 'do gooder'?"  The man sitting next to him then inquired of his club member, "And what are you, some kind of a do badder?"

If we are to quick to stereotype others into liberal and conservative camps, with one being all good, and the other evil, it doesn't make for a civil conversation or a willingness to compromise.  The more strident voices I heard on Facebook seemed to loath compromise and viewed Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner's willingness to flex on a possible tax increase as spineless.

This holiday season I'll be saying a prayer for our government leaders and those many Americans who are no longer open to change and compromise.  As my friend, Father Gregory Boyle often loves to say, there is no "us and them", there is only "us".

Recognizing the Being in ourselves and others

Pedestrian bridge

What is your perceived identity?  A mother, father, son, sister, plumber, preacher or teacher?  It likely also revolves around nationality, race, religion, gender and possessions. Eckhart Tolle, author of A New Earth: Awakening your life's purpose suggests that these are all just thoughts and mental constructs of what he defines as the "egoic self".  By identifying with these things and roles we appropriate them to ourselves and consequently are consumed with working to strengthen these identities. So we feel an illusion of strengthening ourselves through our jobs, the clothes we wear, cars we drive, and even the people with whom we associate. This longing for identity outside of ourselves feeds a consumer society. Our egoic self drives us to consume more, seeks to gain popularity and rise up the ranks in society.

Hennepin Avenue Bridge

Eckhart Tolle contrasts the egoic self to our core state of Being.  When we are able to move our focus to our Being, we are no longer bound by identification.  It is this state of Being to which Jesus claims identity; simply defined as "I Am".  When we are focused on Being, we listen for the still small voice of God, rather than the incessant chatter that often occupies our minds.

As we calm the chatter of our minds, then we are more fully recognize others for who they are as equally valid and important.  We need not be in competition, believing one of us is right and the other wrong.  As Father James Boyle with Homeboy Industries likes to observe, there is no "us and them", there is only "us".  We are all kin, whatever our color, age, gender or creed.

Building Kinship

"There is no us and them, there is only us".  These insightful words come from Father Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest that has dedicated his life to working with gangs in East L.A. .  He spoke yesterday as a part of the Faith and Life lecture series at St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN.

Father Boyle shared many touching and humorous stories of relationships fostered between gang members, who once were arch enemies, as they worked side by side with Homeboy Industries.  His primary message was encouraging us to live by a simple mission shared by Jesus "That you may be one". He noted that we enter the Kingdom of God as we form relationships and help others to recognize that they are exactly what God had in mind when God made them.  Working with many who have been disenfranchised, Father Boyle is about creating a community of kinship such that God might recognize it.

An interview with Father Greg Boyle, aka "G Dog" is available from Minnesota Public Radio.