As a minister, I have the honor to be present at thresholds and transitions. This past week I married a young couple. I have been present with family after a major loss. I have the honor of being present with people during the highs and lows, and perhaps most importantly when there is a feeling of mundane tedium, when there doesn’t seem to be much important change happening. During these life events, I ask myself what it means for myself and others to engage these moments fully – to give oneself to them with tenderness and courage. I ask myself over and over again, how we can muster the vision to see the life we’re living now as the fullest expression of our life.
Democracy is about learning to bear our burden, and not force others to bear it for us. This was the fundamental point of the Civil War, and it is a lesson we are still wrestling to find the true import and meaning of today. We are wrestling with ghosts of Gettysburg, we are still wrestling with the idea of democracy.
Abraham Lincoln wrestled too. It took a toll. When the North won the Civil War, Washington DC was notified, and a crowd gathered in front of the White House. They shouted for Lincoln to give another speech. He told a messenger to say to the crowd that he was far too exhausted, and would they please just go home. Lincoln knew that democracy was about something more fundamental, tangible, and inspiring than anything that could be spoken. He got pretty close in the Gettysburg Address, and he polished his thoughts over the years, but the jury is still out for us about if democracy can lift humanity to its highest heights It is still a challenge hundreds of years later for us to imagine a system that doesn’t overburden others while alleviating others. There is a certain capacity that is needed to open us to the true possibilities of democracy. The first step is knowing what democracy is.
Democracy is not a system of government. Democracy is not something that was created for us nor can it be something that we pass down. We can learn and pass on guidelines of democracy, but we can never pass down democracy itself. Democracy fundamentally is a faith, and outlook, a way of life.
Yes, you heard me correctly. Democracy is a faith, perhaps one of the deepest faiths common to this land, and like any good faith, it doesn’t have much verifiable proof that it can live up to great expectations. Our reality falls short of our ideal, like any great faith. There is an inherent optimism to democracy. There is an assumption that people are basically good, and when individuals gather to govern and make important decisions that impact their lives, the greatest good will emerge. This takes great faith especially when faced with contradictory evidence.
But the point of this sermon is not to break our faith in democracy, but to understand how democracy could impact our everyday life. Youngstown is a hotbed of democratic values. It is a labor town, a union town, a place where organized crime and disorganized bureaucracy met. There is a sense to this day that we are here to help each other however we can. This attitude can lead to corruption, but I think it is rooted in a kind of neighborly you watch my back, I’ll watch yours.
The democratic principle is based on one thing – trust in the individual to discern what is right. Without this fundamental trust, democracy seems ludicrous. There is a deep trust in the individual to discern the right, or the thing closest to right in any given situation. I think this is part of the reason America remains a religious nation. We are a people still trying to discern what is right, what is worthy, what is just. We are still seeking good even when we are confronted with evil. It is hard to discern the power of a vote without understanding the power of a person offering the vote. When I hear about low voter turnout for major elections, I am beginning to wonder one thing: the sense of personhood in these communities. I wonder if they feel like a person worthy of a say in what is right, what is just. I wonder if they believe they have the power to exercise a fundamental right of conscience.
There are so many stories of democracy being corrupted, that is hardly worth mentioning. It is so prevalent, and it is fed to us on news loops. Who would put faith in democracy in such a time as this?
A person who understands democracy understands it is about personhood itself. It is deeper than a set of laws, it is deeper than corruption and scandal, and it is still alive and powerful even when it is underutilized and misutilized. Democracy is about trusting your sense of personhood, and seeking the good in the circumstances of your life, so that others might live and prosper. There is both a taking account of one’s self, and a perhaps naive but beautiful trust that one can think past one’s self toward a greater good that may not directly benefit one’s circumstances. It is a willingness to bear one’s difficulties, and not inflict on others an undue burden.
Democracy is an outlook and way of life seeing others as a group of individuals all seeking the good. It is the exact opposite of the divisive political time we find ourselves. It is seeking the highest for those who are considered the lowest, the most vulnerable to exploitation. Of course this is not an easy practice, and we can see its opposite taking effect daily. Democracy at its heart is a deep compassion for those who disagree, even for those who seek to undermine your liberty and personhood. That is the root of civil disobedience, the value of compassion for those who seek to harm and limit your potential. That is a heavy burden. I would say it is far too heavy for any person to bear on their own. So what does the democratic principle lead us to do? Go help bear it with those who are tasked with the unbearable.
It may sound horrible when I describe it this way, but it is a satisfying way to live one’s life. It is freeing to live in a world of good, rather than a world of greed and suspicion. It is a joyful experience to see each individual as a person capable of good, even as they seek to do harm. It is a liberating experience to find kinship with those who are seeking to express their humanity in unbearable circumstances. It is life changing to find a faith, a faith not just worth dying for, but worth living for. Democracy as a spiritual practice.
Before someone casts a vote, there is much that needs to be done. We must come to realize a sense of our own value as a person, and we must practice cultivating that sense of value in others. We must humbly recognize that our vision is always limited in terms of the good and just, and so we empower our neighbors, especially those who are overburdened unfairly. By putting faith in the people, we find something to put faith that is larger than our self, but depends on our self. It is larger than a system of government that has been passed down. It is larger than fraud and corruption. Democracy is a practice of belonging in the deepest and truest sense. It is an understanding that for better or for worse, like a marriage among a multitude of people, we will need to bear our lives wisely and judiciously. We will need to support those who are in need during life’s transitions, not just on a major election year. These transitions joyful, sad, and mundane gives us an opportunity to bear our life, and to bear each other’s lives for at least a little while, so that all may know the real meaning of freedom. A freedom from tyranny both foreign and domestic, both inside and outside, both here and in the future. A freedom from tyranny of the spirit and tyranny of the mind. A freedom from enmity, resentment, and hostility. A freedom from fear as we embrace that which is ours to bear.
