A collaboration between Spirituality & Practice and the Fetzer Institute
July 2, 2020
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Dear Colleagues,
As we approach the Fourth of July holiday, it's hard to keep our heads from spinning over enormous questions arising in the United States and many places around the globe, especially ones that concern the meaning of freedom and independence. The vital fight of the Black Lives Matter movement and the ongoing debates about when and how to reopen communities during the pandemic are two examples, but we could name many more, as everything from freedom of speech, rights to privacy, and pure and simple civility come up for reexamination.
We have put together a toolkit of practices and other resources that we hope can help support you as you consider your own role in these times. American social reformer, abolitionist, and orator Frederick Douglass said that "the life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous." Let's envision together ways to restore that kind of security.
Salaam, Shalom, Shanti, Peace,
The Spirituality & Practice Team:
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Patricia Campbell Carlson
Keziah Grindeland
Susan Tracey
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By Patricia Campbell Carlson
On any day of the year, we do well to contemplate what liberty means and how our government serves — or does not serve — to protect this and other rights. But Independence Day gives us a more focused opportunity.
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By Micah Bucey
These funny, poignant alternative lyrics remind us that patriotism isn't merely a grand feeling. It requires questing, desire, and determination to manifest an ideal. For more democracy songs, see:
("America, the Beautiful")
("My Country, 'Tis of Thee")
("The Battle Hymn of the Republic")
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By S&P Team
The Freedom Train (1947 - 1949) carried original copies of the documents fundamental to American democracy for people around the country to view. Read the Freedom Pledge visitors signed. How would you put it in your own words?
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Designed by Margaret Wakeley and the S&P Team
Visit a gallery of breathtaking scenery of National Parks and Monuments from Acadia to Zion, and practice Visio Divina, the art of close observation that yields insights and inspiration (instructions included).
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By Gregg Krech
When you reflect on your personal freedom you can't help but see the interdependence of life. We depend on people. Lots of people.
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By The We the People Book Club
Their Eyes Were Watching God
is one of 12 books included in the We the People Book Club, an opportunity to contemplate past and possible visions of democracy as presented by classic and contemporary literary voices. Nora Zeale Hurston's powerful novel indicts the myriad forms of discrimination that get in the way of a black woman's self-expression and freedom.
Learn more and sign up:
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Directed by Spike Lee
Spike Lee's hard-hitting, well-acted, and prophetically daunting film revolves around the return of four members of an American platoon to Vietnam 50 years after they fought there. It offers a troubling portrait of the Vietnam war and its toxic impact on so many black soldiers.
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Directed by Jon Stewart
Writer and director Jon Stewart brings both his political seriousness and his out-of-the-box comic perceptions to the question what might happen if the electorate, instead of being manipulated by politicians and their handlers, decided to upend the process.
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By Erin Gregor Smith
This brief, nonpartisan perspective on voting looks at the history of voting rights, including recent turnout numbers. It includes a helpful checklist on ways to encourage people to vote.
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By Marilyn McEntyre
Dazzling us with the amazing power, variety, and impact of words, McEntyre reminds us that these "instruments of survival" and "acts of stewardship" help us act justly.
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By Jesse Wegman
Two of the five last U.S. presidential elections have resulted in the victory of candidates who were defeated in the popular vote. This overview of the problems with the electoral college helps explain why and outlines the benefits that would accrue from abolishing this system.
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By Christine Evans
This story about making multi-cultural paper-doll chains helps children understand how an inspiration, which may seem small-scale at the outset, can blossom into a phenomenon that transforms hearts, minds, and social interactions around the world.
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Curated by Keziah Grindeland
As a faith leader and organizer, Barber brings together diverse political coalitions to demand a moral response to this time in history. These quotes, books, video clips, interviews, and articles reflect his profound understanding of how all people deserve respect, autonomy, and power.
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Curated by Keziah Grindeland
Cornel West, often called Brother West, is Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University and holds the title of Professor Emeritus at Princeton University. His deep passion for democracy and truth telling shapes his work and shines through these quotes, books, videos, interviews, and articles.
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Curated by Habib Todd Boerger
Delve into the results of a remarkable quest for quotations about democracy, each sorted by the values, virtues, and practices it presents. These hundreds of quotes range from before the American Revolution to the present day, and from the United States to further reaches of the globe: Austria, India, Ethiopia, South Africa, and elsewhere.
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Practicing Democracy Blog
By Mary Ann Brussat
Maybe it's natural, given the way our brains are wired, to think about what we aren't getting from government. But there are lots of services to be grateful for.
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Practicing Democracy Blog
By Keziah Grindeland
In his speech at the end of the virtual Mass Poor People's Assembly and Moral March on Washington on June 20, William Barber outlined a list of things the nation could do if resources were reallocated. Check it out to see which ones you support.
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Praying the News Blog
By Micah Bucey
Much power can be packed into a single sentence. Here you will find blessings for those who have trouble speaking up, for the bubbles on our ballots, for those who don't feel brave, and more.
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