Disillusionment Is The Beginning

The election is coming tomorrow and it’s just the beginning. The forces of division, greed and anger that Trump has aroused will not dissipate, whatever the result. Win, lose or delayed decision, Trump will continue to do everything in his power to stoke division and even violence. We must all vote and then peacefully, but with clear intention, do whatever is necessary to support the counting of all votes and the playing out of our legitimate democratic processes.

But it’s important to be clear-eyed about what we are dealing with. In a powerful op-ed piece in the New York Times last Friday, Don’t Fool Yourself: Trump Is Not an Aberration,  Jamelle Bouie eloquently points out that Trump’s Presidency, (‘the casual insults, the vulgar tweets, the open racism, the lying, the tacit support for dangerous extremists and admiration of foreign strongmen’) has only been possible because of pre-existing and still-existing currents in our American society. Bouie writes:

‘For as much as it seems that Donald Trump has changed something about the character of this country, the truth is he hasn’t. What is terrible about Trump is also terrible about the United States. Everything we’ve seen in the last four years — the nativism, the racism, the corruption, the wanton exploitation of the weak and unconcealed contempt for the vulnerable — is as much a part of the American story as our highest ideals and aspirations. The line to Trump runs through the whole of American history, from the white man’s democracy of Andrew Jackson to the populist racism of George Wallace, from native expropriation to Chinese exclusion.’

I often catch myself blaming Trump and the Republicans that have empowered him for disrupting the comfort and predictability of my privileged life. Trump has brought out into the open the forces of oppression, racism, sexism and nativism that, as Bouie says, ‘run through the whole of American history.’ But without these pre-existing currents, Trump would have remained a pretentious and self-congratulating con-man. Bouie goes on to say:

And to the extent that Americans feel a sense of loss about the Trump era, they should be grateful, because it means they’ve given up their illusions about what this country is, and what it is (and has been) capable of.

This reminds me of my sense of shock and disbelief in the days and weeks after Clinton’s loss four years ago. Trump seemed such a ridiculous mix of bluster, lying and fear-mongering, I couldn’t believe that people would actually vote for him. In the aftermath, I came to realize how unaware I had been of the depth and prevalence of the currents of dissatisfaction, alienation and fear in our country. Trump’s election four years ago proved that our country was not working for vast swaths of people who felt unseen, unheard and helpless in the face of the increasing cultural and economic changes of the times.

Over these past four years, I have continued to be shocked and disillusioned with our county. But much that has been hidden has come into the open. Trump’s anti-example has fueled the Women’s March and the unprecedented number of women entering politics, the MeTo movement which brought violence against women into the open, the Black Lives Matter actions that has brought awareness of systemic racism into our everyday conversations—all of this is a positive response to the loss of our comfortable status quo. The casually embedded inequities and violence of our vaunted ‘American Way of Life’ have been exposed for all to see.

These past four years have been painful for many of us and, in some way, necessary. Necessary because there is no other possibility—no other thing that could have happened, because this is what did happen. And necessary because only when we are willing to see and acknowledge the entrenched institutional inequities in our society can we begin to genuinely come together to move our nation toward its stated values and promises. Again I quote Bouie:

‘Perhaps more than most, Americans hold many illusions about the kind of nation in which we live in. We tell ourselves that we are the freest country in the world, that we have the best system of government, that we welcome all comers, that we are efficient and dynamic where the rest of the world is stagnant and dysfunctional. Some of those things have been true at some points in time, but none of them is true at this point in time.’

Whatever happens tomorrow is just the beginning. The fight is not really with Trump or even with the Republicans. It is a fight against disinformation, accusations and violence, wherever it occurs. We must stand up and be counted in the voting and after the voting to preserve and enhance our democratic forms of governance for the benefit of all. America IS an exceptional country. We were founded with soaring aspirations for a society of possibility. The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are the promises we have made to each other. Now we are called, as generations before us have been, to give our energies to make these promises true.

The Final Word

A friend recently asked me ‘if belief in reincarnation is necessary to travel the Zen road.’ He claims that as he prepares to pass the ¾ century mark he feels some increasing interest in finding closure. So I offer a few words to my friend and to everyone reading.

The historical Buddha lived sometime around 550 BC in what is now northern India and Nepal. He gathered large numbers of followers as he wandered through the countryside but he established no monasteries and left behind no written words. His teachings were passed on orally for several hundred years before they began to be written down. When people began writing down what had been orally transmitted, these writings, or sutras as we call them now, were rich, varied and self-contradictory.

Re-incarnation was a common belief of the Hindu environment in which the Buddha taught. Many of the original sutras talk explicitly about the goal of practice being to escape this endless cycle of rebirth—that we will be born over and over until we finally see the full truth of the Buddha’s teaching. This teaching of reincarnation and focus on a path of many lifetimes to freedom is often thought of as a part of Buddha’s original teaching.

But in a number of the sutras, the Buddha is clear that Buddhism is not a path of belief in a set of religious or philosophical truths. The Buddha once said, ‘A proponent of the Dharma does not dispute with anyone in the world.’ Stephen Bachelor in his detailed exploration of these issues in AFTER BUDDHISM adds: ‘The Dharma cannot be reduced to a set of truth-claims.’ Later on Bachelor reports that his personal Buddhist path ‘has led me away from a religious quest for ultimate truth and brought me back to a perplexed encounter with this contingent, poignant, and ambiguous world here and now.’

‘A perplexed encounter with this contingent, poignant, and ambiguous world’ is a lovely description of the Zen way. The Zen tradition can be seen as a reform movement in Buddhism arising in medieval China. Zen was a reaction to the codification and solidifying of Buddhist teachings into something at odds with the primacy of experience over dogma that the Buddha taught. Zen claims that all the wondrous teachings of the Buddhist tradition are contained in each moment of our reciprocal encounter with life itself. The true Dharma is beyond whatever can be said or written or even thought.

I’ve often repeated the story of the student who comes to the famous Zen master and asks: ‘What happens to us after we die?’ The Zen master replies: ‘I don’t know.’ The student persists: ‘How is it that you don’t know? Aren’t you a Zen master?’ The teacher replies ‘Yes, I am a Zen master, but I am not a dead Zen master.’

Anything we say about the life that happens after the life we know in this moment is speculation. But we can know the life-and-death of this moment. We can also appreciate that all of us are continually ‘reincarnated.’ I used to be the father of a young daughter, now she is the mother and I am the grandfather. I used to be able to shovel snow, go skiing and then get on with the rest of my day. Now I shovel snow and then come back inside to rest for a while.

Each morning I am reborn as myself again. I do best when I can be curious about who I am this morning and not assume that I am simply who I was yesterday. In this way, I find the teachings of reincarnation quite accurate and helpful. But I am quite skeptical of anyone who claims to have the final word on the shape and size of life. Even the final word of Zen is not to be trusted.

An American Coup?

This morning I woke up pondering the chances that many of us who have not been in the streets since the sixties and seventies will have to once again take to the streets to stop an illegitimate power grab by our current President. Between the pandemic and the sense of a new generation taking to the streets up the struggle against injustice, I have tried to support Black Live Matter and other protests against systemic racism from a safe distance. Coming into this election in which our President is consistently trying to undermine the legitimacy of our electoral process and has refused to pledge to a peaceful transfer of power, I am preparing to be more actively engaged.

For many of us, the idea of a ‘coup’ in America has always seemed far-fetched if not impossible. But in four short years, with the support of his Republican colleagues in Congress, Trump has undermined the powerful system of checks and balances that have allowed our country to survive through good leaders and bad. His increasing calls of ‘voter fraud’ have no correspondence in reality. His efforts, and the efforts of the Republican hierarchy, seem to be to restrict the vote as much as possible and to preserve their power at any cost.

Trump has been consistently trailing in the polls. He was four years ago as well. He lost the popular vote four years ago too. But he was, through the unreasonable and legitimate machinations of the Electoral College, legitimately elected as the President of our nation. Though we howled and protested, we went along.

A landslide vote for Joe Biden may make all of these worries seem overblown and I will be happy for that. But the potential for Trump to be declaring victory before all the votes are counted is real. He will say, as all coup leaders do, that he is acting in the interests of ‘democracy’ and that due to widespread fraud, he is taking action in the interests of ‘the people.’ He has created a loyal and insulated group of followers who will believe him and the media empire that supports him, rather than the facts on the ground.

ChooseDemocracy has an informative and encouraging web site with many resources as we head into the election and beyond. In the essay Ten Things You Need to Know to Stop a Coup they say a coup would be in process if the government:

• Stops counting votes;
• Declares someone a winner who didn’t get the most votes; or
• Allows someone to stay in power who didn’t win the election.

Given the actual rules of our democratic process, I would have to disagree with the second point. We have agreed together that the President is elected by the Electoral College. So I would say that if the delegates to the Electoral College reflect the popular vote of that state, then we would have a legitimately elected President, even if (as with Hillary Clinton and Al Gore) that person has not received the most actual votes.

The first three of the Ten Things You Need to Know to Stop a Coup are:
1. Don’t expect results Election night. — Everyone I know and trust is urging patience in the weeks ahead. Don’t believe everything you hear and read. There will be outrageous claims on both sides. Don’t react to the terrible affront that is reported until you have that actually verified. Keeping cool and acting strategically is essential.

2. Do call it a coup. – ‘People who do power grabs always claim they’re doing it to save democracy or claim they know the “real” election results. This doesn’t have to look like a military coup with one leader ordering the opposition to be arrested’.

3. Know that coups have been stopped by regular folks. – This was the most heartening reminder to me. Even if Trump and his allies stop the voting process and even if the recently politically re-jiggered Supreme Court rules in their favor, an illegitimate government can only govern with the consent of those governed. A number of attempted coups around the world have been thwarted by citizens who refused to go along, who actively and publicly resisted. Coups are especially vulnerable as they are trying to consolidate power, this is why we need to be prepared to act quickly and in large.

My hope is that Trump’s outrageous behaviors and irresponsible leadership have mobilized enough of us, that the vote will be so clear and the will of the people so evident that he will be removed from office through normal channels. But we should all be prepared to exercise our responsibility to preserve the rule of law and democratic values through the power of non-violent actions.

Choosing Peace

I attended a Zoom presentation last night by Mel Duncan, one of the founders of Non-violent Peace Forces, a group that trains and deploys people to go into regions of violence to protect civilians from warring factions. The protectors carry no weapons and accomplish their mission through the non-partisan clarity of their purpose (to prevent protect unarmed civilians and to reduce violence) and the relationships they build will all sides that allows them to communicate with all parties. Their peace keeping force which is recognized by the UN and invited into situations of ongoing instability and conflict is nearly 50% women.

Mel is from the Minneapolis area and although his work over the past two decades has been internationally focused, he is now back in Minneapolis working with schools and police and activists to create strategies to reduce the violence. He reported that the City Council’s bold vote to ‘defund the police’ has become more and more diffuse due to the lack of consensus on alternative proposals. He also said that gun shops in Minneapolis are selling guns so quickly that they are having a hard time keeping guns in stock.

I have not yet digested all I heard last night but I had long and complicated dreams of being up through the night in parts of the city I could not recognize—of being lost and in danger without knowing how or when I would get home. Let me offer a few of the things still with me from this evening sponsored by the Worcester Center for Non-violent Solutions many issues were raised, I’ll relate just a few that are still with me this morning:

• Security is a basic need of all humans. We require security to live healthy and productive lives, no matter our age, political views or circumstances.
• Many acts of violence are perpetrated in the name of security and thereby engender less security.
• Taking guns away from some police and banning choke holds will not solve our problem. The necessary protesting violence must be linked to new ways of thinking and the creation of new models of peace keeping that involve everyone.
• Oftentimes, just the presence of people committed to non-violence is enough to dramatically reduce acts of violence. One of the basic strategies of the Non-violent Peace Force is ‘accompaniment’ just to be there and walk with those in danger. Presence is a powerful force.
• Mel referenced and recommended Choose Democracy, an organization that is doing ongoing on-line training in non-violence for these times and is inviting people to join with them in their pledging

o We will vote.
o We will refuse to accept election results until all the votes are counted.
o We will take to the streets if a coup is attempted.
o If we need to, we will shut down this country to protect the integrity of the democratic process.

• Our country is exhibiting many of the conditions that have led other regions into conditions of ongoing violence: increase in polarization, increasing rumors and conflicting view of reality, increasing acts of violence associated with politics, lack of commitment to a peaceful transfer of power.
• There are more trained non-violent peace-keepers in the world than at any point in its history. (I must add parenthetically that I would associate this with the loss of the cultural norms that fulfilled this function. Though I may be looking back on an imagined past that was actually much more unstable and violent than I realize.)
• The outcome of our election on November 3rd will probably not be clear for days or weeks or even months. We must be patient and resist spreading the rumors and allegations that will inevitably arise.
• Security comes from relationships we build with people who are ‘not like us.’
• To support peace, make an unusual friend – someone who is different from you, someone with whom you may have large disagreements.
• To build a stable coalition for a peaceful and just society we must get out of our houses and onto the streets and make connections beyond our zone of comfort.

Thomas Jefferson once said that the cost of liberty is eternal vigilance. So let us stay engaged and vigilant. Let us not fall in to fear and panic. Let us avoid the comfortable trap of total distraction and avoidance. Stay engaged in the larger unfolding drama of this moment, but don’t put your life on hold until after the election. Love who you love, and treasure each day. Being alive is a precious, difficult and brief privilege.

Before the Frost

1. This will be the last morning for the morning glories. A hard frost is predicted for tonight. Well below freezing. A hard stop for the late coda of blooming we have enjoyed nearly through the end of October. The cool nights have killed off much of the morning glory foliage, but up top of the pergola, the blossoms nurtured through the bloomless summer have found their way to fruition.

Dozens and dozens of the light blue funnels have unfurled over the past few weeks. The relative cool of the days have allowed them to betray their names and live well-beyond their usual morning life-span. Perhaps, we should call these late bloomers full-day glories or fall glories. Whatever we call them, they are still true to their nature—blooming first in the morning and lasting only briefly as the fine fabric of their blossoms seems to dissolve even in the cool air. Only a few bees have remained around for the work and entertainment of pollination so seeds are few from these late bloomers. But still a thing of astonishment and beauty.

2. Though I have enjoyed our extended summer, I myself have slowly lost interest in the garden, abandoning my daily inspections and diggings for a more haphazard and sporadic approach. The varied rising thrills of spring and the lush colors of sequential blooms through the summer have worn me out. I’m ready for a break. I welcome shorter days, the cold and the snow. I am eager to fall back into the darkness of the earth for a season.

I’ve collected a few seeds and taken a few cuttings to winter over, but mostly, I’m content to let everything die back. A gardening friend told me a few years ago that the best strategy for supporting the bug, bird, insect and microbial life that is the foundation of any garden is to let everything stand as is. No need to clear away and make things tidy. Let the brown flower stalks stand through the snow until they fall over on their own. Let the whole tangle of spent life stand on its own and give itself to everything until spring. Having run out of inspiration and energy, this philosophy sounds quite wise to me.

3. A few weeks ago I planted a few spring bulbs given by a friend. I buried the little misshapen globes in bunches just before the leaves fell. Now they rest in the darkness. Their first job, before the miraculous blooming of the spring is the miraculous waiting of the winter. As they settle into their new home, they have give no thought to blooming. Not one is anxious about the impossible job that lies ahead. They rest in perfect faith that all that will be needed—the urges and the conditions—will be given to them at the appropriate time. For now, their full life is being contentedly buried. Unconcerned with the coming cold and steadfastly refusing to dream of future warmth, they life their dark lives of waiting with full assent.

4. It’s easy to fight the darkness. We’re taught to resist the falling back. Endless work and striving are the purported necessary path. It’s interesting that the tropics are associated with a more leisurely lifestyle. Perhaps without the rhythms of the enforced rest of the cold dark winter, there is a need for resting more in the midst of everlasting warm days. But not up here in the northern temperate zones. We puritans work hard in the summer and rest reverently in the winter—or so we properly should. But the urges of work and responsibility are hard to break. The lure of productivity beacons us toward the self-destructive goal of constant motion.

5. This morning, I’ll go out and appreciate the last green leaves and blossoms of the morning glories. I pick a few of the brilliantly orange nasturtium blossoms for a pre-Thanksgiving, thanksgiving salad. And I’ll cut the remaining zinnia and sunflower blossoms for vases to beautify the empty Temple where I live. The Temple too is wintering over. The ongoing viral conditions have brought us to an enforced absence of physical presence. Hopefully we can continue to learn to rest gently in these times of quiet disconnection, trusting that conditions and urges will, at some point, draw us together and enliven us once again.