Thank you, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Harvard Philosopher Ian Marcus Corbin, for your recent article in the Beast. I agree that “The Left Needs a Spiritual Renaissance. So Does America.”
Your stance shows compassion when most officials simply do not, especially not publicly; such a stance is misaligned with the prevailing hate and fear that is promoted. Thank you for having the courage and honor to even take a stance, something most politicians do not display. You showed leadership. Hence, you get the benefit of the doubt, even if I don’t know you well.
There are legions of people willing to fully give themselves over to the cause of American vitality, which starts in the homeland, which is incomplete and unattainable without spirituality. This is to address that lost soul of America that gets convenient lip service. A spiritual renaissance uses education to bring forth what the soul knows. Where impassioned service for our neighbor replaces greed and the lust for power.
Sample Factors Effecting a Spiritual Renaissance
So yes, all of America, starting with bona fide leaders, need to wake up to good. In general, we (Americans) are screwing up more things than we are getting right, at home and around the world. Improvement is at once within each of us and far greater than our individual selves.
On one hand, spirituality could help us overcome the lying, cheating, and stealing that has become an accepted, even dominating, political behavior. On the other hand, religion does not dictate public policy. The government does not tell Americans what to believe or how to practice their faith, at least as our democracy is defined. Separation of church and state is still paramount.
Discrimination is not justified under the guise of religion. While potentially lifting us from social decay, division of church and state must be preserved. So, assumedly, you are not advocating for White Christian Nationalism, a phenomena of manipulation taking down key components of democracy. Let’s not fall to the MAGA messiah force on display during the January 6th assault on America. Evangelicals claim a spiritual revival is already complete and it has given them new righteous powers.
Spirituality Gives Hope, And Also Substance
Jon Meacham’s latest book on Abraham Lincoln does a great job of putting religion in national context. It suggests how spirituality serves in troubled times, especially for leadership.
A spiritual renaissance represents an organizational change of the largest magnitude, which will have to influence the prevailing culture. People have long seen this as vitally important. We are essentially still behaving like the killer cowboys Black Elk described.
Misters Murphy and Corbin, you likely see and know the preceding, but there is need to confirm and get the word out, otherwise we are on the fast track for the light to go out – in America and on America. Still. many would work for spiritual good, but it means overcoming sacrosanct structural evil, such as the Supreme Court. It doesn’t go unnoticed that two central people in your discussion were killed by the system. Neoliberalism knows no bounds and is antithetical to a revival. This is not to dissuade you, but for all to think about the long hard fight that must be waged.
Respectfully, where are you on your walk to revived American spirituality? Who can stand against the bipartisan harvesting of America’s bounty and character? What is the viable community to which thinking caring people can align themselves? No one is giving up; your stance is not a flash in the pan. Thank you.