FB Reflection: Resistance!

Good Monday morning, comrades who struggle for truth, and justice, and to stay on The Way.

I've been thinking of ways that I can be part of the Great Resistance we're going to need to get through the next 2-4 years (two years to flip at least one House of Congress in the midterms, four years to flip the White House).

Not all of us can be like Nancy Pelosi and stand up and point our finger at The Oppressor in a room full of His Men (see that famous picture posted below), but we can do what she did and take a picture he posted because he thought he was making fun of her and turn it around as a picture of the triumph and strength of The Good when it stands up to The Evil.

The first is that I am going to work really hard at being kind to myself so my first impulse will be to be kind to others.

That's a slightly different slant from The Prayer of St. Francis. I know this is going to sound like heresy to some, but I think there is a slight flaw in that most beloved prayer.

See? I don't think you can give away what you don't have. You can't sow love in the face of hatred if you don't love yourself. You can't sow faith if your mind and heart are filled with doubt.

You can't sow kindness if you are not, first, kind to yourself.

At least, I can't. If you can, well, you're a much better person than I, which is not hard to imagine.

So, yes, when I see someone with a Red MAGA Hat, I will take a deep breath, smile, and say, "Good morning."

But, I can not do that unless I am, gracious and kind to myself.

That does not mean, however, that I am not ready to protest and march and perform acts of civil disobedience and go to jail. It does mean that I am not willing to surrender my basic humanity to the representation of a force for cruelty and evil.

What's that old saying? Ah yes, "Smile. It makes some people wonder what you're up to."

Think of it: A smile as an act of subversion. Makes it easier to smile, doesn't it?

So yes, I will be kind to myself so that I can be kind to others. I think self-kindness can be a superpower when you - and the other people to whom you are kind - need to rise up and face the hatred that will be coming our way.

Or, the hatred coming the way of people we love.

And, make no mistake. It is coming. In fact, in some places, it is already here. Some people of color, some Hispanics, some LGBTQ+ people, including some adolescents, are getting text messages telling them that they have been selected for deportation, or to report to a re-education camp.

It is now law in Texas, by executive order of the governor, that you must show evidence of citizenship before being treated in the Emergency Room. It's not that they won't treat you. The Govn'r says it's to have a running count on how much it costs to treat "illegals". Right.

A friend who is a social worker said that the same thing happened in a hospital on the Eastern Shore. I understand that the ER person was fired.

And, of course, you know of the demonstration that happened at the campus of Texas State where men carried signs that said, "Women are Property" and "Homo Sex is Sin." This happened the day after the election.

This is just the beginning. (If you are one of the people who has gotten a text, please report this to the FBI (1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov.)

So, I am going to make a regular, searing inventory of myself. I'm going to work very hard at improving my strengths and equally hard on discovering why it is I have a tendency to do some of the things I do and say, and pray for the wisdom and courage to change the things I need to change.

This is very important. It's like Lent only more intense because now, the stakes are high. As one 80-year-old woman said to me in church yesterday, "I'm willing to die protesting in the streets if I have to because at least I'll die for what it is I believe."

If I'm going to die for what I believe, I'm going to be damn straight clear about what it is I believe and what I stand for, and who I am. Otherwise, it will be a waste of a perfectly good life.

I don't know about you, but some people are so clear about who they are and why they were put on this earth that all they have to do is stand up in a room filled with adversity and point their finger, and even though we don't know what was said, everyone knows.

Everyone knows. Everyone is perfectly clear.

I can't be Nancy Pelosi but I want to be more like Nancy Pelosi. And, Hillary Clinton. And, Kamala Harris. And, Maize Hirono. And, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. And, Pramila Jayapal. And, Elizabeth Warren. Oh, and, Meryl Streep.

I'm willing to bet good money that those women have gotten their superpowers because they regularly do a searching inventory of themselves - of their strengths and weaknesses;

the places in their souls where there is darkness and those places where there is light;

the places they need to be consoled so they can console others;

the goodness they can receive so they can give to others;

the places in their soul that need pardoning so that they can forgive and pardon others.

the places in their soul that need to die so they can help to call into creation new ways of being, new ways of helping people in need, and new ways of respecting (and restoring) the dignity of every human being.

I've learned that I can't magically pray myself into those things. It takes work. Hard work. Painful work.

Saying The Prayer of St. Francis doesn't make it happen, but with hard work and a little Divine assistance, we can be the kind of person we want to be, the person we know in our bones that God created us to be, and do our part in the Resistance we will need.

That will take a lot of self-care. And self-care, for many of us, especially women, is hard work. But, as Kamala says, hard work is good work.

Self-care is important if you are a member of the 'target demographic' of the incoming administration - immigrants, LGBTQ+ people - especially trans people - Hispanics, people of color, "fertile" women - but it is especially important for those of us who are deeply committed to making sure no harm comes to them.

For me, it's personal. For me, that means getting ready to protect and defend the hard-working, amazing Brazilian couple who clean our home every two weeks. It means the fabulous waiter at our favorite diner who has amazed us with his mastery of the English language from his native Turkish. The Columbian men who tend to our yard with great care, and the Guatemalan men who painted the inside of our home several years ago and are now thriving entrepreneurs with a working permit and a visa. The trans daughter whom I love of a dear friend of my heart. The transwoman I only know on FB but with whom I've had transformative conversations.

Good thing Advent is right around the corner. It will give me four dedicated weeks of work, four dedicated weeks of birth pangs, and four weeks to strengthen this beloved creature of God so that may better love myself and be kind to myself so I can better love and be kind to others.

I'm ready to do the work.

I hope something good happens to you today.