Recently my heroine, Elizabeth Warren, declared that we would “use our pain to make power.”
Transformation happens. And change is incremental. Week 1, post Kavanaugh’s confirmation, may I share my first, baby step towards empowerment?
Here’s something I’m beginning to understand: Cruelty is a blunt, crude tool being used to demoralize and weaken those of us who believe that Love is Love is Love, or that Black Lives Matter, or The Golden Rule, or When In Doubt, Choose Kindness, or that climate change is real and, ohmygod, we don’t have much time!
I have discovered this week that when I recognize this fundamental, cruelly- brilliant strategy when, for example, learning more about the proposed changes to “Public Charge,” or when reading despicable tweets or online comments, my experience feels different! Feels as though I’ve laid down my self-righteousness and strapped on armor. Feels as if I can let those hateful, nasty words go—or, to put it another way, feels as though I don’t get caught up in mentally arguing about these hateful words, one by one, but see them for what they are. A strategy.
Something Else (and still a little foggy): I think Cruelty is unsustainable. I think its practitioners shrink as they wield their blunt, crude tool. They get small. And, like the public outrage when the truth of caged children became known, cruelty is not invincible.
Something Else I AM Sure Of: Love is love is love. And renewable. Sustainable. Invincible.
But, then,The prologue to John says much the same thing, doesn’t it! The Light shines on in the dark, and the darkness has never mastered it.
Dearest Patricia,
Hello, there, my absolutely AWESOME soul sistahfriend Christian Quaker woman, Patricia!!!!!! AWWW, oh, sister, how I’ve so longed for, yearning for, wanting to respond to all,of your brilliantly beautiful blog posts articles much sooner than this but these silly very bad, permanent, chronic physical disabilities with the very bad, permanent, and chronic constantly flaring up pain and fatigue and other physical medical stuff has made me unable to do so as much as I love to do so!!!!! I’d so, so very much rather do a longer, more detailed and thorough response but I don’t want to go on not writing anything at all so I’m doing a shorter summary. I’m just so, so very much inspired, emboldened, and encouraged by your awe-inspiring blog post article here, sistah!!!!! Sen. Elizabeth Warren is my heroine also AND SO ARE YOU AS WELL. my dear, dearest, darling, precious sisterfriend, Patricia!!!!! Your very words act as such a healing balm for me, my friend!!!!! Your very aptly empowering conclusion gives me great heart and the courage and spirit to carry on!!!!!! Awwwww, oh, how I just so, so very much love and cherish YOU, Patricia!!!!!!!😃👅!!!!!!!!