The Sustainist

Unity through Truth

As I watched the congressional impeachment debate, I heard many appealed for unity. The argument went like this – to avoid further division, lets forgive and forget. Having experienced at least 4 years of intentional divisive speeches and actions by the same people who now called for unity, it felt a bit ingenuous to me. The reason why we were divided in the first place stemmed from the lie that the election was stolen especially after all the states had certified the election results. This was why people gathered at the capital on Jan 6. This was why they invaded the capital.

 

Unity doesn't come about by ignoring the past for fear of punishment, losing power and further threat of violence. In our democracy, we are united by the agreement on the truth, and the rights and responsibilities laid out in the Constitution. If we really want to heal our nation and move people toward unity, I proposed the following four essential steps:

 

1. Truth matters: Trump and the politicians who insisted that the election was stolen have to to tell their supporters in no uncertain terms that the election was not stolen and Trump did not win by a landslide. For that matter, all lawmakers and senators should go back to their districts and states and do the same.

 

2. Money matters: Trump and the politicians who raised money for the purpose of overturning the election should return the money to their supporters and tell them why: there is not election to overturn.

 

3. Rights matter: Those who voted for Trump should take time to reflect on their fears and concerns as a result of their candidate losing the election -- concerns for selves, families, immediate communities, states and nation. Gather with others and share these concerns and find ways to made them known through nonviolent civic and community means. This is your right.

 

4. Responsibilities matter: Those who voted for Biden (Democrats, Republicans and Independents) should sit down (formally and informally) with people who voted for Trump (with neighbors, in community gatherings, places of worship, schools, workplaces, etc.) to listen to their concerns and have real caring and respectful conversations. The Biden voters should take the responsibility to collect what they heard and share them through civic and community channels back to the leaders of our communities, states and nation.

 

In a true democracy, we need caring winners and courageous losers.

 

Eric H. F. Law

Who Should You Vote For?

For the people of the United States of America, we are in the middle of a presidential election. In fact, many have already voted.  But there might be people who still have not made up their minds, or who are considering changing their mind.   So, in this blog post, I am providing a way to help people decide or to be a little more sure of their decision. I admit this method is a little brainy but this is a very important decision and using our brain in addition to our emotions is not a bad idea. You may use the process to engage your friends to help them discern how they will vote.

In January, the newly elected president will make the following oath, "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."  For senators and congresspersons, they also have to make a similar oath.   In order to make a sound decision with our votes, we should take a look at the preamble of the constitution.

Constitution of the United States

Adopted by convention of States, September 17, 1787; Ratification completed, June 21, 1788

PREAMBLE

We the People of the United States, in Order to
form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice,
insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common Defense,
promote the general Welfare, and
secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The Preamble consists of well-thought-out action verbs and themes - form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common Defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty. If you study these themes carefully, you will see how they work together and support each other to create a well-balanced approach to the governance of the country.

These are the criteria I would use to measure the qualifications of any candidate running for office in the United States.  I have created a chart below. Make copies of it and put the names of the candidates on them - one name per chart. You can use the same chart for all federal and local election as well.   For each of constitutional criterion, rate the candidate using the scale of 1 to 5: “1” being awful at it, “5” being brilliant at it.  Circle the number that represents your evaluation of the candidate for each statement.  Add up the circled and that will be the score you have for this candidate.  Do that for both candidates.  The one with the higher score is the one for whom I would recommend for you to place your vote on election day.

  

Eric H. F. Law

Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org                

Who are the "We" in We the People?

Who are the "we" in "We the People?"

Many of my friends were upset by the first so-called Presidential Debate. My response is: Don't let your upset-ness stop you from staying engaged. Instead, channel that energy toward discernment.

If you are an U.S. citizen, you have the power to choice with your vote. The question is: how do you decide? Begin with the first line of the Constitution. Appreciate how radical that is to begin such a nation-forming document with "We the People" and not "I the dictator" or "We the bullies."

Even though the "We" had evolved and changed since the beginning of the nation (see the article The myth of 'We The People'
by Tereneh Idia), too become more inclusive, we are the people who will continue to define the "we" as we move forward as a nation specifically with our votes.

To help you focus, please keep "We the People" as your mantra today. Say it regularly as you go about your day - with family, seeing your neighbors, going shopping, walking on main street, in your workplace, at school, in the park and online gatherings.

As you recite this mantra, consider the questions:

Who are the "we" in "We the People?"

Does a candidate's idea of "we" different from yours?  How might this difference affect the way you receive the candidate's message/ads/speeches/social media posts?

Which candidate - president, senator, congress-persons - takes "We the People" as we/you understand it today seriously?

Write your reflection and post it on social media and share it with your friends. 

Initiate a conversation with at least one other person with the question: Who are the "we" in "We the People?"

 

Ode to Joe (Biden) by Eric H. F. Law

In this uncertain no-touch time, I pray that this song will help people experience the up-close and personal Joe Biden - his kindness, gentle voice, caring touch.  The verses are inspired by the stories of Brayden Harrington (the young man who stuttered and Jacquelyn Brittany (the elevator security guard).   If you appreciate this song, please share with others and make a contribution to Joe's campaign at: https://joebiden.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jun9PO3oLCk

Ode to Joe (Biden) by Eric H. F. Law

You put your hand on my shoulder

and you whisper in my ear,

"Hey friend, you got nothing to fear.

If you tell the truth and shine your light,

I promise you; you're gonna be alright.

No more darkness, no more tears."

Up and down, I work in a box

People come in and out with their power and clocks

Most of them don't even know I'm there

Up and down, going nowhere

Then you walk in the box and want to know who I am

My struggles, my passions, my family by name

And you truly listen to what I have to say

You promise to keep my story in your heart

as you work and pray through the days

Then you put your hand on my shoulder

and you whisper in my ear,

"Hey friend, you got nothing to fear.

If you tell the truth and shine your light,

I promise you; you're gonna be alright.

No more darkness, no more tears."

Words of truth from a speech I wrote

Trying to get them out but they're stuck in my throat

People laugh and leave me standing there

In despair, going nowhere

But you hang out with me and want to know who I am

My struggles, my passions, my family by name

And you truly listen to every word I say

You promise to keep my story in your heart as you work and pray through the days

I don't have faith in those who say they know how I feel

But when it's you who say it, I believe that it's real

Cause you've been poor like me and you've cried as I had cried

You've suffered as I've suffered great losses in our lives

Yet, you didn't just survive

I saw you revived and thrived

Then you put your hands on our shoulders

and you whisper in our ears,

"Hey friends, we got nothing to fear.

If we tell the truth and shine our light,

I promise you; we're gonna be alright.

No more darkness, no more tears."

Copyright © Eric H. F. Law 2020

Check out the studio recordings by Eric at: https://erichflaw.hearnow.com/

Revolutionary Nature of Women's Creativity

"It began with the simple hope that love can help in community.  That hope led to a social enterprise called Thistle Farms and that led to learning that we reap a hundredfold the seeds that are sown in a loving community.  I became a student of herbs, teas, and trees because of my work with women.  I am a farmer, not because I grow plants well, but because I love all of creation and tend to the parts of it in my own vineyard.  Healing on this path is the central sacrament."  Becca Stevens, Letters from the Farm. 

Join us on August 7 at the Kaleidoscope Summer Online Institute and learn from the Rev. Becca Stevens, social entrepreneur, author, priest, founder of eight non-profit justice enterprises, and President of Thistle Farms.  She has been featured on PBS NewsHour, The Today Show, CNN, ABC World News, named a CNN Hero, and White House Champion of Change. Drawn from 25 years of leadership in mission-driven work. Becca leads important conversations across the country with an inspiring message that love is the strongest force for change in the world.

Our conversation topic is:  Creative Malcontent: Revolutionary Nature of Women's Creativity.

Music and Prayers will be provided by Conie Borchardt (she/they), a “Luth-opalian Sufi Dancer,” who is the Music Director at Edina Morningside Community Church (UCC).  

The workshop theme of the day will on how to create a gracious invitation to invite diverse individuals to come to a gracious and braver space for learning, working, sharing and exploring.

Register at: https://www.kscopeinstitute.org/summer-institute-2020

Check out the other amazing spiritual leaders of our time (Greg Boyle, Michael Curry, Alexia Salvatierra, Lily Yeh and more) who will be sharing at the Summer Institute.  You can register for one day or for the whole 9 days or anything in between.  If you are a student, you can register for the whole event for just $40.  So spread the word about this amazing event.

The Power of Radical Kinship

"So no mater how singularly focused we may be on our worthy goals of peace justice, and equality, they actually can't happen without an undergirding sense that we belong to each other.  Seek first the kinship of God, then watch what happens."  Fr. Greg Boyle wrote in his book, Barking to the Choir.

Join us on August 6 at the Kaleidoscope Summer Online Institute and learn from Fr. Greg Boyle, the founder of Homeboy Industries.  We will have amazing and insightful conversation about the Power of Radical Kinship.  Of course, we will also learn how the kinship-based social businesses sustain this life-changing ministry.  

Music and prayers will be provided by Jeannine Otis, who is the director of music of St. Mark’s Church In-the-Bowery in New York City She has worked for years with communities labeled as "at-risk" and focuses in many settings on developing programming that addresses social justice issues. 

The workshop for the day will focus on Transforming Your Ministry to be More Relational, that is, how to seek first the kinship of God.

"We stand there with those whose dignity has been denied.  We locate ourselves with the poor and powerless and the voiceless. At the edges, we join the easily despised and the readily left out.  We stand with the demonized so that the demonizing will stop.  We situate ourselves right next to the disposable so that the day will come when we stop throwing people away."  from Fr. Boyle's book, Tattoos on the Heart.

Register at: https://www.kscopeinstitute.org/summer-institute-2020

Check out the other amazing spiritual leaders of our time (Kelly Douglas Brown, Michael Curry, Alexia Salvatierra, Lily Yeh and more) who will be sharing at the Summer Institute.  You can register for one day or for the whole 9 days or anything in between.  If you are a student, you can register for the whole event for just $40.  So spread the word about this amazing event.

 

 

 

Radical Inclusion Across Generations

"... seeing diversity as proof of new life can become a powerful tool for our emotional journey. [This] change in perspective can be so powerful that it could bring as much comfort as suddenly recognizing a street when we're lost in an unknown place." Doug Avilesbernal wrote this in his book: Welcoming Community. He is the current Executive Minister of Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches, which is an faith organization that began with making the vision of diversity as proof of new life a reality.

"Everyone was invited to build the table, set the table, decide the menu, and share in the meal." Marcia Patton, the founding Executive Minister of Evergreen explained, from her book, Intentionally Inclusive, the process of creating truly inclusive community using the table analogy, "Everyone stayed around for the clean-up and planned for the next meal. Everyone was represented at the vision table; . . . all were expected to give their voice. As a result, we built ownership into the process.

Join us on August 5 to learn from Doug and Marcia: how Marcia nurture the birth of a radically inclusive organization and how Doug continued this journey as the next generation leader. 

Our prayers and meditation will be provided by Carolina Hinojosa-Cisneros, who is a Tejana, Chicana, and Mujerista writer from San Antonio, Texas. She is the 2019 recipient of the Rubem Alves Award in Theopoetics and has a chapbook of poetry titled, Becoming Coztototl, published by FlowerSong Books in McAllen, TX. Carolina is the poetry co-editor of the Journal of Latina Critical Feminism and is a proud member of Santa Fe Episcopal Church.

At our workshop that day, you will learn method called Kaleidoscope Text Sharing to build inclusive community around a common text, such as a poem, a mission statement, key documents of a nation, or the Bible.

Register at: https://www.kscopeinstitute.org/summer-institute-2020

Check out the other amazing spiritual leaders of our time (Greg Boyle, Michael Curry, Alexia Salvatierra, Lily Yeh and more) who will be sharing at the Summer Institute.  You can register for one day or for the whole 9 days or anything in between.  If you are a student, you can register for the whole event for just $40.  So spread the word about this amazing event.

Learn to be a Braver Angel

Braver Angels is a citizens’ organization uniting red and blue Americans in a working alliance to depolarize America.  According to their website:

• We try to understand the other side’s point of view, even if we don’t agree with it.
• We engage those we disagree with, looking for common ground and ways to work together.
• We support principles that bring us together rather than divide us.

When I read Braver Angels' mission statement, I immediately realized that Braver Angels and the Kaleidoscope Institute share a common vision for creating brave and gracious space for dialogue.  At our Summer Institute, we will have the opportunity to learn from Mr. John Wood, Jr., the national ambassador for Braver Angels.  On August 4, I look forward to having amazing conversations with him about Re-introducing Non-Violence in Race and Politics.  Mr. Wood is a former nominee for Congress, former Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, and a noted writer and speaker on issues of political and racial reconciliation.

Our musical guest for that day will be Julie Tai, who is a 2nd generation, Korean American born and raised in Los Angeles. She is the Director of Chapel at Fuller Theological Seminary, where she received her Master of Arts degree in Intercultural Studies with an emphasis in Worship, Theology and the Arts.

At our workshop that day, you will learn about our Building Bridges Now dialogue program on race relations and other issues of our time.

Register at: https://www.kscopeinstitute.org/summer-institute-2020

Check out the other amazing spiritual leaders of our time (Greg Boyle, Michael Curry, Alexia Salvatierra, Lily Yeh and more) who will be sharing at the Summer Institute.  You can register for one day or for the whole 9 days or anything in between.  If you are a student, you can register for the whole event for just $40.  So spread the word about this amazing event.

• 

Fear Not: Kaleidoscope Summer Online Institute

I am so excited about the conversations I will have, during our Summer Institute, with amazing people like Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, Fr. Greg Boyle, Rev. Becca Stevens, Dr. Alexia Salvatierra, Dean Kelly Brown Douglas, Rev. Rudy Rasmus and many more. Take a sabbath and join me, Aug 3-13. You can register for one day or for the whole event or anything in between. Learn about creating social business/ministries from the founder of Homeboy Industries and Thistle Farm. Learn how to create a truly multicultural community from Evergreen. Learn about faith-rooted community organization from Alexia Salvatierra.  If you are a student, you can do the whole thing for $40! The workshops throughout this time will cover many Gracious Leadership skills needed to live Grace and Truth in a Divided and Frightened World.

https://www.kscopeinstitute.org/summer-institute-2020?utm_source=Christian+Century+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ca918e3fde-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_07_02_12_54&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b00cd618da-ca918e3fde-82371539

Summer Institute 2020 – FEAR NOT: Living Grace, Truth and Diversity in a Divided and Frightened World

In an increasingly polarized and fearful world, there are few places where people can have a reasonable and constructive dialogue about race relations and other important issues of our time. Summer Institute 2020 brings together spiritual leaders to provide insight and guidance and community leaders who want to see things differently to provide gracious time and place for truth-seeking dialogue that can achieve non-violent mutual understanding and learn tools to lead discussions that will lead to brave and gracious community.

August 3 – 13 (excluding Saturday and Sunday), Institute participants will meet online from across the nation each day.

Daily Schedule:

9 a.m.  – Music, prayer and meditation

9:15 a.m. – Conversation with Spiritual Leaders and Q & A

10 a.m. – Workshop teaching KI skills and tools for creating inclusive community

11:15 a.m. – Closing prayer, things to ponder for the next day

The Bush is Blazing But Does It Have to Consume? A statement on the death of George Floyd

“In faithfulness to our Savior who lived a life of non-violence and sacrificial love, we align ourselves with those seeking justice for the death of George Floyd and countless others through the sacred act of peaceful protest.” This the end of one of the first statements that Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Diocese of Washington made in response to President Trump’s deployment of the millitary in riot gear using tear gas and force to clear the Lafayette Square so he could walk over and stand in front of an Episcopal church holding up the Bible.  Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church also responded by saying, “For the sake of George Floyd, for all who have wrongly suffered, and for the sake of us all, we need leaders to help us to be “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”

I am thankful that both bishops helped us focus on the real issue: the murder of George Floyd. In the midst of the diverging coverage of the protests, destructive activities and conflicts between the demonstrators and the police, our country has a habit of following the sensational distractions (such as looting, smoke producing tear gas, the sound of shooting rubber bullets and conflicts actions between the hand-raising protesters and the riot-gear-enhanced police force) and forgetting the deep-seeded issue that we need to address if we are to work toward lessening the possibility of this happening again.

My good friend and colleague, Richard Webb, a resident of Minneapolis, posted this: “Please remember that with all the energy, fury, and the comments made in posts, about the looting, damage, and destruction, driven in part by the preferential treatment provided to 4 police officers who have now been fired and charged, not convicted for murdering another Black man. Please do not turn away from seeing and hearing the same call of Black Lives Matter. Stop killing us in the street, stop killing us in education, stop killing us with mass incarceration, stop killing us in employment, stop killing us in church, stop killing us in every social institution built to maintain, and sustain white dominance. This is not a new song, this is an old harmony normalized globally. This might be the first time you are actually hearing the melody and you are witnessing the cities burning across the country. To others, this is just the remix and we are tired of hearing and witnessing another remix. . . . Take some time to really understand in a deeper way, the foundation of No Justice - No Peace. Make a commitment to being a solution, instead of providing an opinion that may not be informed, . . . this is a time to fully disrupt the idea, myth, and behaviors that support "non-racist". This is a time to live as an anti-racist, anti-oppressor, and truly live into building a beloved community.”

In the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, as a result of coordinating and facilitating interracial dialogue involving 9 major religious communities across the greater Los Angeles area, I wrote a book titled, “The Bush Was Blazing but Not Consumed.”  The central idea is to develop and facilitate time and place where we can burn with passion for justice and yet not be consumed or consume others.  We witnessed many racial injustice fires burning and instead of it being a burning bush, a holy fire that brought people together to transform the oppressive system, it inevitably got coopted into an unholy fire that burned and consumed people and properties.  These unholy distractive fires, embraced by the media, reinforce and spin one more time the cycle of destruction, setting the stage for the next destructive fire.  This destructive cycle has replayed itself many times in my lifetime and surely will replay again if we do not act to disrupt this unholy fire and transform it into the burning bush.  Just as the burning bush was the place where Moses and God made a plan to liberate the Israelites who was enslaved for generations, we must build a burning bush that gathers leaders, whether they know they are leaders or not, to plan a transformative and liberating strategy so that we can truly blaze with our passion for justice but not be consumed or consume others.

The Kaleidoscope Institute pledges to:

• Keep our eyes on the real issue and naming systemic racism and oppression.
• Design processes to create gracious and brave space (cyberspace and physical space) for people to dialogue on hot topics without consuming each other.
• Engage institutions and organizations to focus on, not be distracted from, the centuries-long, deep-seated issues that we as a nation must confront and faithfully work through with real encounters, real skills to listen with understanding and real actions that truly transform our system into “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”

Here are some of the resource/programs that the Kaleidoscope Institute provides:

• Building Bridges Now – Dialogues on Race Relations and other important issues of our time
• Anti-Racism Training for Churches and Not-for-Profit Organizations
• Neighborhood Interracial Dialogue
• Law Enforcement and Community Dialogue
• Law Enforcement Anti-Racism Training
• Anti-Racism Training for Legal System

Join us in building the pathway to ending systemic racism, and the oppression and killing innocent people simply because of the color of their skin. Join us and transform yourself and your community to truly “seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.”  Write us ([email protected]) and let us know how can assist you and your community on this pathway for justice.  Or you can make an appointment (ki.appointlet.com) to talk to one of our KI Associates to discuss how KI can help you and your community discern the truth, and foster justice and wellness in your community.

The Rev. Dr. Eric H. F. Law

Founder and Executive Director

[email protected]