A Great Awakening

Nearly 200 years ago, Upstate NY was a hotbed of radical ideas and spiritual epiphany. From Onedia to Buffalo, the “burned-over district,” so named because fervor spread there like a forest fire, spawned dozens of social and religious movements that attempted to bring out the better angels within their followers. Some were short-lived utopian communities and laughable millenarian sects, but others had staying power: abolitionism, women’s suffrage, and the Social Gospel all had deep roots in our state, and went on, in their own unique ways, to influence the nation. What these movements had in common was a rejection of everything stale and status-quo. They embraced a positive vision of the future, to be made real by the hard work and sincere commitment of individuals.

Our country is experiencing another great awakening, and I believe we are on the verge of a breakthrough. But it requires each of us to do our jobs. We must continue to challenge things that threaten our vision, purpose, and values. We must believe, as the pioneers of old believed, that we can implement new and better ideas in this country without abandoning the fundamentals, like the separation of church and state, the Constitution, and due process.

We must take collective responsibility for creating this mess we’re in, and realize that it will take each and every one of us to break through to the other side. We need to challenge each other and ourselves regarding our opinions and the positions we take. We need to demand better policies and decision making from our elected officials, and we need to continue to evaluate and improve upon our system so that it serves all stakeholder groups effectively, not just the wealthy and powerful.

We need to rigorously ground the assessments we make, and stop being lazy about our assumptions. Every perspective is incomplete, even yours, even mine; but it is within our power to seek out the facts, challenging though they may be. We must stop generalizing, we must accept responsibility, and we must be accountable for our own missteps along the way.

But most of all, we must be loving. It is imperative that we extend loving kindness, not fear and hate, to those who see things differently. We must listen with the intent to understand, and we must be courageous enough to stand up and challenge anything that does not effectively serve our fellow humans.

Have the courage of the visionaries who peopled this land 200 years ago, and believed in a more perfect tomorrow. Refuse to accept the unacceptable. Do not fear change, even if that change must happen within your own heart.

If you hide your ignorance, you will never learn a better way.