I've been a part of the same faith community since I was an undergraduate at Temple. It has grown me into the person I am today. I go in peace with gratitude and fondness.
Very sobering points, and as a wanna be prophet, maybe l get a little too enthusiastic to be practical. I think just having read this now, l sort of immediately react that speaking as an American having voted for lessers of two evils and campaigned pretty hard for them often… l am not too pleased with what l as a collaborator with others, what we have accomplished… in terms of environmental care, wars, nuclear bomb build up, economic inequality, incarceration inequality, foreign state impact toward democracy, quality of life, public education, physical health, money out of politics, justice for Palestinians… I’m pretty sure the candidates l’ve strongly supported and the political party I’ve been constituent in, and the liberal identity l’ve shared in as one part of… has fairly ‘participatorally’ contributed to what l read as negative ends. My sense is that when we radicalize, we know it when opposition for exploitation-oppression-violence-ecocide assaults us… then we know we’re threatening in their well-trained and financed eyes… and we witness the string of assassinations in the 60’s, the ‘war on drugs’ (l think ie Black America and peace activists), the violent push down in Seattle, the expulsion of Occupy, the expansion of surveillance and suspension of rights after 9/11, the derailing of Sanders, the violent opposition to George Floyd marches… l think are indicators that in these endeavors into radicalism, we were actually making progress… and l think l’m right to say that when the church started it did so with a leader so radical he was executed and all the first top level leaders (except one incarcerated) were also… and Rome knew danger when they saw it… and Rome was right to fear… as that group with absolute radicalism but not a spear thrown, that group played the radical long game and brought the world’s most powerful empire in history to submit itself to that same founder-god they had executed. That is my hope and faith… that l’m trying to muster the courage to work out with fear and trembling.
Very sobering points, and as a wanna be prophet, maybe l get a little too enthusiastic to be practical. I think just having read this now, l sort of immediately react that speaking as an American having voted for lessers of two evils and campaigned pretty hard for them often… l am not too pleased with what l as a collaborator with others, what we have accomplished… in terms of environmental care, wars, nuclear bomb build up, economic inequality, incarceration inequality, foreign state impact toward democracy, quality of life, public education, physical health, money out of politics, justice for Palestinians… I’m pretty sure the candidates l’ve strongly supported and the political party I’ve been constituent in, and the liberal identity l’ve shared in as one part of… has fairly ‘participatorally’ contributed to what l read as negative ends. My sense is that when we radicalize, we know it when opposition for exploitation-oppression-violence-ecocide assaults us… then we know we’re threatening in their well-trained and financed eyes… and we witness the string of assassinations in the 60’s, the ‘war on drugs’ (l think ie Black America and peace activists), the violent push down in Seattle, the expulsion of Occupy, the expansion of surveillance and suspension of rights after 9/11, the derailing of Sanders, the violent opposition to George Floyd marches… l think are indicators that in these endeavors into radicalism, we were actually making progress… and l think l’m right to say that when the church started it did so with a leader so radical he was executed and all the first top level leaders (except one incarcerated) were also… and Rome knew danger when they saw it… and Rome was right to fear… as that group with absolute radicalism but not a spear thrown, that group played the radical long game and brought the world’s most powerful empire in history to submit itself to that same founder-god they had executed. That is my hope and faith… that l’m trying to muster the courage to work out with fear and trembling.