The Crises We Face and the Great Turning

The Crises We Face and the Great Turning
The Rev. Douglas Wilson
The Unitarian Society of Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
25 June 2006

Please be so kind as to excuse my talking about politics. It is often said that if you want to keep your friends, do not talk about religion or politics, but to me, these seem to be what is most interesting, engaging, and challenging.

The term conservative is a venerable word. It means, “to preserve old institutions, methods, customs, and the like,” and “modest, prudent, safe.” Neo-Conservative Republicans, who have traditionally been called conservatives, no longer deserve to be described by this venerable word. The word conservative implies respect for and preservation of the systems and institutions human beings have created, as well as the natural system within which our institutions live.

The neo-cons who are currently running our government no longer practice levelheaded, modest, sane leadership. The two central pillars of neo-con ideology is their belief that overwhelming unilateral military power is the most important tool to solving international problems and the belief that the market place will solve all our problems. The belief in military power is the classic view of empires and people who have that view are imperialists. Neo-Cons are imperialists and their belief in military power is wrong. The belief in the marketplace has led us to turn power over to multinational corporations, whose goals are making a profit, not creating a world that preserves and protects life on earth.

War is not conservative. War destroys civilizations and it deeply harms the soldiers who fight. Americans have forgotten the effects of war, because we have not had a war on our soil since the Civil War, almost 150 years ago. Civil wars can kill vast numbers of people and create hatreds that can last for centuries. In our country, it is only our soldiers who know the carnage war brings, but most of the neo-cons currently running our government avoided serving as soldiers in the American invasion of Southeast Asia. Instead of being soldiers, they became idealogues. Europeans remember the devastation of World War II; Iraqis and Iranians remember the devastation of the Iran-Iraq war from 1980 until 1988. Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship was armed and financially supported by the administration of Ronald Reagan. Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney were deeply involved in supporting Saddam Hussein during that long war, because our government opposed Iran.

Three-and-a-half years ago, against the advice of most of the world, we invaded Iraq. Several months ago, an authorized military spokesman slipped up and shared a bit of the truth about our invasion. He was discussing a big new American offensive and said the United States controlled 50% of Iraq and he predicted that if we continued these offensives we would soon control 75%. While the 75% is wishful thinking, in an unguarded moment the spokesman admitted the greatest power in the history of the world only controls 50% of Iraq. Astounding!

Now these same people are got us bogged down in a war we cannot win are talking about using nuclear weapons against Iran. The neo-cons are threatening to drop our nuclear weapons on Iran because we don’t want Iran to have nuclear weapons. When I was learning English, the word for this was hypocrisy. It is also crazy.

We are in a lose-lose situation in Iraq. It’s too late to send in more troops, but getting the Iraqi army “to stand up so we can stand down” is not as easy as it sounds. In the dictatorship under Saddam, the police and the military were often ruthless, and the situation isn’t much better now. Replacing American troops with the South Vietnamese never worked; that same failed idea will not work in Iraq, either. Still, our leaders keep repeating that we will stay “until the Iraqis can defend themselves.” I believe they are building permanent bases, but they have never been honest with us, and the are not lying about their long-term plans. Congressman John Murtha has a more honest view. We need to get out of Iraq, because the violence will never end until we leave.

Our government has played directly into the hands of Al Qaeda. Osama bin Laden’s goal is to overthrow pro-Western governments like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Egypt in Muslim countries and al Qaeda it is much closer to that goal than it was four years ago. The invasion and occupation of Iraq has radicalized a large segment of Iraqi society.

We lost the war for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people when we failed to establish control of their country. The exposure of the scandal at Abu Ghraib, where American guards humiliated and tortured Iraqis, many of whom were innocent, lost us whatever support we still had from the Iraqi people. If we wanted to hand Al Qaeda a recruiting tool, we could not have done any better than Abu Ghraib. Muslims throughout the world know a lot more about that is happening in this war than the American people know.

How is the war in Iraq being paid for? Neo-Con politicians are charging it, and it is our children and grandchildren who are going to have to pay for it. These same people claim they are not raising taxes. Deficit spending has been a characteristic of underdeveloped third world countries that live beyond their means. That is what we are doing. This war could undermine our country financially, which could cause the entire world economy to collapse. This is not conservative.

Through the second half of the 20th Century, our ever-expanding military system has increased its control over our country, leaving us lopsided and unbalanced. Dwight Eisenhower warned about this possibility as he left office, when he coined the phrase “the Military-Industrial Complex.” Corporations make money from wars and the preparation for wars and corporations are mandated to make money. It is too bad Eisenhower didn’t talk about this in his inaugural address, but at least he named the beast on his way out.

In the year 2000 arrogant radical right-wing neo-con ideologues seized power in this country. These neo-cons refuse to recognize any limitations to military solutions. Although their predictions about Iraq turned out to be dead wrong, the administration is now beating the same war drums about Iran.

These neo-con ideologues fear investigations into what they have been doing, and to avoid these investigations, they need to keep control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. To keep their control they may launch air strikes against Iran in August or September and they will play the patriotic, support America card. If you don’t think that these people are capable of such manipulation, you haven’t been paying very close attention.

For close to 200 years the United States of America was the inspiration and the bright light of the world. Despite our shortcomings, we were a beacon of freedom and dignity. Historically, our greatness has been defined by our idealism, our inventiveness, and our courage. We said that torture was wrong. Period. We led the way in the Geneva Accords that the neo-cons are now ignoring.

Before 9/11, many people in the world did not like us, often because of American foreign policies, but there was a great deal of affection for America, too. America has a lot about it that is loveable, and many people have relatives who emigrated here. But now, more people than hate us at any time in our entire history.

Terrorism is a major problem. Combating terrorism requires international cooperation and coordination. Developing and keeping alliances is not easy; it requires diplomacy and compromise, because countries have competing interests, but the neo-con bullies believe only in military solutions and extending the power of multinational corporations. The neo-con idea that we can control the world through our superior military power is false. We cannot do it. The designers of this invasion should resign in disgrace for destroying America’s good will and prestige. Sooner or later empires overreach and collapse, and our policies are courting disaster.

Second only to the threat of nuclear war, the most serious problem facing humanity is the heating up of the planet. Holland, Venice, Bangladesh, island nations, and Manhattan will be among the first places to suffer the massive problems that global warming will bring. At 1992, President George Herbert Walker Bush said, “The American way of life is not negotiable.” This is arrogant

After Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, our leaders could have united the people of our country and the people of the whole world. There was an opening where we could have transformed the future for the betterment of all people and the long-term health of our planet. We could have begun what Joanna Macy calls “the Great Turning,” working together to move toward a sustainable economy. Such a massive change in our goals has the potential to revitalize our economy by creating whole new industries. We could have begun to solve the problems of global warming, starvation, and war, which would have undermined and isolated the terrorists by taking away the basis of their anger, which is tied up with the injustice of American foreign policy.

People are realizing that our needs can be met without destroying our world. Future generations, if there is a livable world for them, will look back at the epochal transition we are making to a life-sustaining society and they will call this the Great Turning. Although we cannot know yet if it will take hold in time for humans and other complex life forms to survive, it is under way. It is happening now, and it is gaining momentum. To see this as the larger context of our lives clears our vision and summons our courage. We need to begin to move toward a saner, less militaristic, more humble world. We need to show some of the idealism, inventiveness, and courage that once made America great.

When people ask me what to do, I usually answer, “You need to do whatever you are called to do. Not what someone says you should do, but what you are called to do. We need to recognize that we are simply cells in a much greater body. It is important for each cell to do what it is supposed to do. Do something. For example, it makes sense for a lawyer to do legal work and not to expect a kindergarten teacher to file legal briefs or for a lawyer to teach children to tie shoes. We are, in fact, part of a very large movement. We can never see the whole picture, and it can feel depressing to look at the momentum of the status quo, but look at what happened in South Africa. No one saw that coming, except perhaps Nelson Mandela.

Joanna Macy says there are three dimensions of the Great Turning:

1. The first dimension involves actions to slow the damage being done to the earth and all its beings. This includes the political and legal work required to reduce the destruction. Direct actions can slow down the Industrial Growth Society. Work of this kind can save lives, save ecosystems, save species, and save cultures, but it is only part of what needs to happen.

2. The second dimension is the analysis of structural causes to these crises and the creation of structural alternatives. To free ourselves and our planet from the damage being inflicted by the Industrial Growth Society, we must understand how the Industrial Growth Society works. It is not a pretty picture. We need to demystify the workings of the global economy. It appears invincible, but it is fragile and it is doomed to devour itself. We need to create structural alternatives. Like spring, there are green shoots pushing up through the concrete. Do not wait for politicians to lead. If we are lucky, they will get out of the way when we gain our momentum.

3. The third dimension involves a Shift in Consciousness. The structural alternatives need deeply ingrained values to take root and grow. These values require a profound shift in our perception of reality. That shift is happening now, both as cognitive revolution and spiritual awakening. The shift brings with it a grief for our world. We are part of each other; we are part of the earth, and to feel that hurts. Our planet is alive and we feel the pain. Our world, Gaia, is a sacred whole, worthy of adoration and service.

Here is one example of what the Great Turning might mean: Our country has ingenuity, spirit, and the scientific depth to solve our energy and global warming problems. There are people with ideas that can enable us to end our dependence on foreign energy. Money follows vision. What is missing is leadership, vision, and will. Continued energy dependence will mean continued war. In 1973 the first shock wave of energy dependence rocked our nation and our economy was brought to its knees.

Imagine pulling into a gas station for a fill-up and the attendant asks, "Which of your children will you sacrifice to pay for this gas?” We have invested hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of young people's lives so we can fill up our tanks. Wouldn't it make sense to invest in a program like Manhattan Project or putting a man on the moon? Isn’t this smarter that spending a trillion dollars on the Iraqi War? Isn’t this better than asking our young people to die, better than asking your son or daughter to die?

There are guidelines that can help us participate fully in the Great Turning

Begin with Gratitude. We are alive in beautiful universe, dancing with life -- it a wonder beyond words. Gratitude for the gift of life is the wellspring of all religions, the hallmark of the mystic, the source of art.

Don't be Afraid of the Dark. Compassion means, literally, to suffer with. We are in this together. We need to take care of ourselves, and each other, notwithstanding the nonsense that the free-market pirates are telling us.

Dare to Vision. A new world can arise from our dreams. We will never be able to build what we have not first cherished in our hearts.

Roll up your Sleeves. Shall I save the whales or help battered children? Find what you love to work on and take joy in that. To heal one part of the whole helps the other parts to heal as well. Link up with others; you'll spark each other’s ideas and sustain each other’s energy.

Barbarian powers have arisen. This is a time when all life on Earth is in danger. This is the time for moral and physical courage. This is a time for us to make decisions about the way we live our lives.

We need insight into the radical interdependence of all phenomena. We need to recognize and feel our pain for the world. We need to experience of our radical, empowering interconnection with all life. With that wisdom we can know that this is not a battle between "good guys" and "bad guys," because the line between good and evil runs through the landscape of every human heart. We need the heat of compassion. We need to enjoy creating the Great Turning.

Thank you very much.

Douglas Wilson is a Unitarian Universalist minister and has been Executive Director of UU Rowe Camp and Conference Center for thirty-three years. dougw at rowecenter.org

Let us know of any comments, errors and corrections - thanks (revised 06/30/06)