In this time of our many pandemics – Covid, racism, economic and environmental challenges we have also recognized the pandemic of loneliness.
Before the pandemic, roughly 50 of all Americans said they were Chronically lonely. The pandemic is only making this worse. This is not good for us.
In the Hebrew Scripture, the Creator recognizes that was not good for the human to be alone and created a strong partner. Together they would not be alone. To be in a community is to be in the presence of someone different from us, but who is also for us. In other words, our wholeness as human beings requires being in the presence of those different from us–to be with those different from us while being for us, and us for them. What Genesis 1-3 proposes for human beings, Genesis 12 proposes for human communities. The Abrahamic tradition begins with the Creator calling Abraham to be a blessing to all the people/nations/cultures of the world. In other words, our wholeness as human communities requires being in the presence of groups different from us while being for us, and us for them.
White nationalism as an ideology that denies this. White nationalists believe that only those who are the same can live together. Further, they believe that there is a hierarchy of cultures, with theirs at the pinnacle. Losing their sense of being in a privileged place in the United States, they experience this as being disinherited, as being oppressed. We saw the terrible, inevitable consequences of white nationalism on January 6, 2021. I believe that communities of wisdom, grounded in their own wisdom tradition are critical to our healing as a people. When communities of wisdom (temples, mosques, churches, community groups) relate in mutual respect and find joy and purpose for the common good we become a signal and a sign of hope that we can live together given our cultural differences. And, that those differences are vital to our survival and the thriving of our planet. You see, we can come to better solutions because we bring the best of our diverse perspectives to understand our problems. In doing so, we will find that we are not alone–and invite others to join us with all they have to bring. In doing so, we will re-commit ourselves both to our own humanity but also to the core of each of our traditions. In doing so, we will find our common humanity.
Creating these connections so we are not alone is why PTU exists.
We invite you to connect with us, join our Paths Network, take one of our online courses, and find partners to work with you: so we can work for the common good together.