THE HEART OF DEMOCRACY
Rev. Kit Ketcham, April 10, 2016
We
had launched our boat trip down the Grand Canyon at the Vermillion Cliffs, at
Lee's Ferry, Arizona. It was about noon on that first day when we pushed out
into the Colorado River and headed downstream, past the tall cliffs that mark
the entrance to this 300 mile long geology lesson.
I've
always been a person who likes diving down to the heart of things, in this
case, the layers of rock laid down over millions of years of geologic history.
Over the next three weeks, as the river took us deeper and deeper into the
heart of the Canyon, our small party of boaters watched Earth's physical
history revealed in the layers of rock that striped and colored the cliffs.
We
had started out on the Kaibab Plateau, where the dusty white layer of sandy
limestone looks much like a pesky bathtub ring, and during the next few days,
descended through layers of time: the Toroweap Formation, Coconino, Hermit, and
Supai layers, and the brilliant Redwall Limestone which is responsible for so
much of the color that stains the walls of the Grand Canyon.
By
the time we reached the Inner Gorge of the Canyon, we had traversed in our
little rafts millions of years of Earth's formation and we still were far from
the Center of the Earth.
Jules
Verne, in his classic 1864 science fiction novel, depicted the Center of the
Earth as a hollow place full of prehistoric animals and natural hazards,
reachable through the interior passages of an Icelandic volcano.
This
novel, "Journey to the Center of the Earth", written about the time
that geologists were abandoning the literal biblical account of the creation of
the earth, had the educational purpose of showing how the world looked millions
of years ago, from the Ice Age to the dinosaurs, for Verne had carefully taken
his explorers down through the layers of rock, showing the different creatures
which inhabited each period in geologic history.
Humans
have always speculated about the true heart of the earth and our scientists'
investigations have revealed it as a molten core of liquid iron and other
minerals, alive and acting upon the body of the earth keeping it in a state of
constant metamorphosis, with earthquakes, eruptions, and other seismic events,
affecting weather patterns through its effect on sea currents, and thereby
impacting our lives every day.
All
living organisms seem to have a living core which keeps the organism going,
keeps its internal systems healthy, makes it possible for the organism to
interact with other organisms and produce communities--of bacteria, of
families, of forests and pods and gardens and the myriad of beings co-existing
interdependently on the earth.
You
and I have hearts as our living core, the most important organ in our bodies,
for without it we die. When my brother was so ill a few years ago, living on
the energy produced by a battery pack which he lugged around with him
constantly as his own heart deteriorated, his family and friends became deeply
aware of how essential a healthy heart is. And his heart transplant in 2008 has
meant the return of his life. Without that new heart, he doubtless would be
dead by now.
It's
easy to see what keeps a living organism going---its heart is that mechanism
which powers a body or a collection of cells which are shaped into diverse
forms, from the smallest bacterium to the largest being.
It's
not as easy to see what powers a living concept. Our theme today is "The
Heart of Democracy" and I invite you to go with me as we follow the
threads that lead us deeper and deeper into this concept which is so important
in our lives, both as Americans on the brink of an election and as Unitarian
Universalists who consider democracy to be a religious principle for us.
Our
human bodies are the visible manifestation that something lies at our core. We
feel, we bleed, we breathe, we think, we clearly are powered by some energy
that is not visible on the surface. Our senses may go, we may lose much of our
blood supply and even our intelligence but we are still alive. Even when we
cease to breathe, we may still be alive. Even when our heart has stopped, it
may sometimes be re-started.
What
is the most visible manifestation of democracy? I would say that it is probably
the vote, the expression of one's opinion in an election, when the majority
rules, when the greater body of voters decides how issues will be resolved or
which candidates will take power or what ordinances will become law.
Yet
we all suspect, I'd guess, that there is more to democracy than voting. So
let's look for the layers beneath that visible manifestation of one person, one
vote.
As
a sidebar, let me mention that it's a feature of our representative democracy
that we do not vote directly on every issue that confronts us as Americans. We
instead vote for our representatives, those women and men whom we expect to do
their best to provide a stable and just nation for us to live in. We expect
them to have the best interests of our nation in mind as they do their work. We
are, because of that, a (small R) republican democracy.
Because
we are at least one step out in the process for many issues that directly
affect us, we can hardly consider our representatives in Congress to be the
heart of democracy. They are a feature which makes it easier to get things
done, like the kidneys or the liver, but democracy would not die without
elected representatives.
This
powerful feature is right in line with our UU principles, particularly our
first principle, the inherent worth and dignity of every person.
Yet
we have seen the very public corruption of this facet of the democratic process.
We have seen the immoral character of some of our representatives smeared
across the headlines of our media. We have seen people accused fairly and
unfairly of heinous acts. We have seen the votes of our representatives bought
and paid for by corporate interests. We have seen individuals in our
communities talked into voting against their own best interests by leaders who
have only personal self-interest in mind.
So
no matter how inherently worthy and dignified we may be as individuals, the
truth is that our power and influence as individuals is limited in its sphere.
We are free to vote as we will, but our influence and power are negligible
unless we form coalitions and associations with others to strengthen our
position.
The
history of democracy is a checkered one at best. Non-democratic or
quasi-democratic nations hold elections, yes, in lip service to the idea of
"one person, one vote", but in reality, there is often no choice of
candidates, no real way to effect change in the nation. There may be only one
party of candidates. There may be threatened violence to dissenters.
There
may be coups which overthrow one elected regime in favor of another. This is
especially true in formerly colonized nations. And there is a great deal of
controversy world-wide about how to bring about a better democratic process in
non-democratic and quasi-democratic nations.
There
is controversy in our nation about whether our voting process is
corruption-proof and a good deal of concern about how to include every eligible
voter, how to handle voter fraud, and how to increase voter participation. If
"one person, one vote" is to be meaningful, every voice must be heard
and counted. When millions of people face losing their vote because of faulty
procedures or outright corruption, "one person, one vote" doesn't
mean much.
An
informed and fully-enfranchised electorate is not the heart of democracy,
though we are making progress in our journey to the center of the earth, excuse
me, the center of democracy.
Our
conscience, at its best, looks past its own point of view, looks for what will
maintain not only healthy humane life for all beings but health for communities
as well. Conscience is aware of both one's privilege and one's responsibility.
But
however keen our conscience may be, it is not easy to exercise conscience if
one does not have the freedom to do so.
Perhaps
the layer beneath conscience might be individual freedom and next to it, a
recognition and acknowledgement of that freedom. If we are unaware of our
individual freedom or if we are prevented from acknowledging it, like those in
oppressed conditions, we are not free.
So
freedom may be the heart of democracy, and recognition and acknowledgement of
that freedom may be its activating force. Without individual freedom and
awareness of that freedom, democracy will surely expire, as it has time and
again in oppressive regimes.
Now,
we may have dived down to the Heart of Democracy, but I don't want to stay
there. An active and healthy body does not strictly rely on heart function.
It
relies on the interdependence of organs, tendons, bones, blood, the many body
parts which together make our bodies fully functional. Like our physical
bodies, Democracy relies on more than individual freedom.
At
a ministers’ retreat awhile back, I spent three days with my UU colleagues in
ministry, a little R&R time for sure but also an opportunity to talk about
how we are together, how we support each other, how we care for each other and
for each other's ministries with respect and assistance.
Our
purpose was to create a collegial covenant together and we spent hours talking
about what it means to have a covenant. And this is where I want to draw our
attention today because it relates to the heart of democracy.
A
commonly spoken UU affirmation—which I have referred to in the past and have
used in the service today— contains the word "covenant" as does the
charter of the UUA. "This is our great covenant", it proclaims,
"to dwell together in peace, to seek truth in love, and to help one
another." And our denomination is founded upon principles that we covenant
to affirm and promote.
A
covenant is not a contract. It is not a business arrangement. Instead, it is an
act of mutuality, of consent and promise, of obligation to one another, of
shared destination, of shared affection.
It
is living, renewable, sustainable, reciprocal. It empowers us to reach out to
one another. It clarifies assumptions about our roles within the community.
When
we created our mutual covenant as colleagues, it read like this:
Mindful
of our common calling,
conscious
of our need for one another,
and
faithful to our liberal religious tradition,
reverently
we covenant to walk together
in
a sacred manner—
nurturing
one another,
honoring
our diverse ministries,
and
strengthening our capacity to serve.
This
is a covenant among ministers. It says, in effect, that we will take care of
each other, that we will cherish our time together, that we understand what it
means to have a calling to ministry, that we are mutually committed to our
faith, and that our relationships with each other are important and worthy of
nurture.
Just
as democracy is less than healthy if all its parts are not working well or are
not working together, a community's health is enhanced by a covenant which
speaks to our life together.
The
late Unitarian Universalist minister Napoleon Lovely once wrote: "The
bonds of love keep open the gates of freedom". A covenant based on shared
affection helps to insure the freedom of all in the community.
When
we are in a covenantal relationship, we promise to each other that we will care
for one another, that we wish to live in peace with one another, that we will
give and receive freely, that we will speak our truth with love and respect,
that we will say yes when asked for help. These are all religious acts,
spiritual disciplines, the promise of a covenantal relationship.
It
is not always easy to be in a covenantal relationship, as those of you who have
been married, who are still married or in a longterm loving relationship, can
attest. Very few covenants, even marriage covenants, are written down anywhere
but in our hearts, and the assumptions about the covenant between partners or
in a community can be wildly inaccurate. Those of us who are no longer married
can attest to that one!
A
covenant is dependent on trust, on a shared sense of purpose, shared affection,
and a mutuality of obligation. It is most successful when it is publicly
affirmed and written down somewhere besides just our hearts. And it works for the benefit of all within
the covenant.
Let
me end with a story out of my past experiences:
One
spring a few years ago, leaders in the Whidbey congregation became interested
in taking a stand on an important issue in our world: the issue of torture and
its illegality, its cruelty, and its uselessness. This is a First Principle
issue, for torture degrades and abases human worth and dignity.
To
determine the level of support in the congregation for placing a banner on our
property stating "Torture is a Moral Issue", a poll was taken via
email and many positive responses were received.
No
negative responses emerged at that time, but after the banner went up, we
discovered that several people in the congregation had not been aware that there
was a poll and a few were unhappy---not because they believed torture was a
good thing but because they felt it unwittingly sent an anti-military message
and this was hurtful to our Navy families who also hated the idea of torture
and would likely discourage new military families from feeling welcome here.
It
wasn't immediately possible to resolve this situation but we vowed to do so as
soon as we could schedule a meeting and
a couple of weeks later, 15 or so people met to talk about how to address the
issue of the banner.
The
conversation was respectful, passionate, and gradually a mutual understanding
emerged: that the language of the banner was the sticking point, that a new
banner's language would read: "Torture: End it Now!". I was in awe as
I saw this happen. I hadn't known what to expect. I had hoped for a peaceful
outcome, but to find this level of cooperation and understanding of other
points of view was remarkable.
I
saw the group striving for a mutual resolution that met the needs of both
sides. I saw two sides come together in respect and affection. I saw people who
had been uncomfortable expressing dissent speaking freely, no longer so afraid
that their truth was not welcome.
I
heard and saw love in the room, a caring for others, a desire for peace, a
sharing of purpose. I saw a sense of freedom and of relief that we can create
growth out of differences of opinion.
We
affirmed our spoken and unspoken covenant together that night. And I was
pleased. And those attending were pleased. And I believe the Universe may have
been pleased as well.
Let's
pause for a time of silent reflection and prayer.
BENEDICTION:
Our worship service, our time of shaping worth together, is ended, but our
service to the world begins again as we leave this place. Let us go in peace,
remembering that we are here together in love, that we shape our lives by
giving and receiving love, and that we share a common purpose, to increase love
and justice in our world. May we find ways to do this in our everyday lives, in
our work, and in our play. Amen, Shalom, Salaam, and Blessed Be.
