And Now to the End of Our Polarization

And Now to the End of our Polarization!

Yes!

With vision I see it!

Not in the distant future, my friend,

Even now, coming into focus.

 Eyes are open—

Ears are unstopped.

With clarity, it is understood how single issue advocacy has

 Distracted,

Distorted,

Divided.

And now to the End of our Polarization of social issues and Toward a More Perfect Union!

Too long held captive—too long preoccupied by unreasonable frenzy

Erupting in cancerous tumor

 Suffocating the breath from our Republic.

Internal impasse

Causing havoc in our political process

 Weakening our whole society

Wrong focus abandoning problems and suffering of elephantine proportions

No undivided attention or prayerful consideration for “the poor, the widow, the fatherless

in their affliction.”

But Weeds of Neglect in Fields of Desertion.

Passing over tribulations and untold sufferings

Scant time “to bind up the broken hearted. . . proclaim liberty to the captive. . .give bread to the hungry. . .water to the thirsty. . .to comfort all that mourn.”

And Now to the End of our Polarization!

For the Sword of Truth has revealed this taunting Goliath.

The Giant, the Consuming Question

The Voter Litmus Test and The Who to Demonize Guide:

Abortion

And its sister/cousin:

Gay Marriage

On the left and on the right

So strong and unrelenting has been this choking grip that it has become the norm

 by which we address all other issues.

 A macrocosm, an ingrained, computer like pattern and response as to how we have notoriously dealt with our differences.

We won’t move.

We won’t budge.

And Now to the  End of Our Polarization!

Differences—what makes us unique, coming from so many backgrounds:

“Red, and yellow; black and white

We are precious in His sight.”

The richness of diversity

From the pageantry of regal worship,

Flowing robes, silver chalices and stained glass windows,

“Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God my father

Morning by morning, new mercies I see. . .”

To the camp ground of

Hallelujah!

“Clap, your hands, all ye people,

Shout unto God with the Voice of Triumph”

Psalm 47:1

“Go Down, Moses”

“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”

The silence of Quaker meeting—

a pregnant silence, to bring forth Children of Action.

“I go cheerfully over the earth, responding to the divine in every person,”

 said George Fox, the found of The Society of Friends.

Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, though strong in his Baptist faith, realized,

“Faith, by its very nature, must be a free act.”

Every snowflake is different and if we be co-creators with The Creator,

We too must celebrate our diversity.

And Now to the End of our Polarization:

Dealing with our differences as assets to enlarge perceptions

 As we listen with discernment to one another—

forgiving,

tender hearted--

No longer differences to magnify and twist out of context

 for seeming advantage,

 Snatching one sentence here and another one there.

With careless haste, not rightly putting them together,

Giving them a meaning not meant.

“And they send unto Jesus certain of the Pharisees. . .to catch him in his words. . .”

Mark 12:13

“But the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.”

Psalm 63:11

“To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love for ever is to live forever.

Hence, eternal life is inextricably bound up with love. . .

From The Greatest Thing in the World by Henry Drummond

And Now to the End of Our Polarization:

“If any lack wisdom. . .”James 1

“If any lack wisdom. . .”

Who doesn’t?

Is there anyone here who thinks they don’t need to ask for wisdom?

What is the promise?

“. . .it shall be given to her.”

We can know anything we need to know.

We listen inwardly for the discernment the Spirit gives

beyond “the seeing of the eye and the hearing of the ear”

 “Judge not according to appearance but judge righteous judgment.”

John 7:24

Listen!

This is a time to hear angels sing.

“. . .a thrill of hope,

the weary world rejoices,

for yonder breaks a

new and glorious morn!”

“Stand on your feet. . .”

Yes!

“They that sit in darkness have seen A Great Light!”

“I am The Light of the World,” He said,

“You are the Light of the World!”

“Let your light so shine before others

 that they may see your good works

 and glorify

 your Father in heaven.”

When Moses came down from the mountain, his face glowed.

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,

 and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men,

 they marveled;

and they took knowledge of them,

 that they had been with Jesus.”

Acts 4:13

“Thy people shall be willing

in the day of thy power,

In the beauties of holiness

 from the womb of  the morning:

thou hast the dew of thy youth.

Psalm 110:3

And Now to the End of Our Polarization:

I propose tossing the history laden labels of Pro-Life and Pro-Choice and starting afresh.

La Verde de la Vida

Let this be a New Day with a New Title.

Pro-Life? Pro-Choice? Oh, no,

I’m

La Verde de la Vida

We see The Big Picture and realize that when we come to Solutions—

they are best for everyone concerned. 

As you listen with your heart, I believe, you, too, will find you are

La Verde de la Vida—the Green of Life.

“The Lord bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you.”

And Now to the End of Our Polarization!

I wrote a book for the healing of America. 

I wrote it Among the Trees of Van Cordlandt Park--which is the first chapter.

Gratefully, this park is but a stone’s throw from me,

A place frequented by the whisper of angels—

Angels ascending, descending,

Showing all the facets of concerns—which, to the human eye, are too convoluted, too complicated to understand.

And now to the End of our Polarization of social issues and Toward a More Perfect Union!

 Dr. Rev. John  Santosuosso, a retired professor of political science at the University of South Florida and also an Episcopal priest, said of my book:

            “I found your wonderful book in the lobby of the WMCA. I just wanted to tell you that it is a very beautiful book filled with healing and common sense.  I just can’t say enough wonderful things about it.  I wish the message could be given to every America and everyone in the world. It goes far beyond the abortion issue.  It’s for healing the hearts and souls of all of us.  The world is crying out for  this message. . .You have done something to heal me today!”

And now to the End of the Polarization of social issues and Toward a More Perfect Union!

 I can see the end, as an example, in the views of our two presidential candidates. If the truth be known, both think alike about the polarizing social issues.  They would be relieved to forsake what the single issue advocates, with their distortions, have sought to bully through and come to the conclusions I have put forth in a letter to President Obama.

                                                                                                                                            

President Barak Obama

The Whitehouse,

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

            My prayers are with you tonight. 

Quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, “Do what you feel in your heart to be right--for you’ll be criticized anyway.”

 Also this quote (unknown):  What you compromise to keep, you lose. 

Stick to Civil Unions.  If people want to have marriage ceremonies, they can still do so.  Don’t let this be a voting litmus test.  (Civil Unions might be considered for everyone.)

Abortion: Your Notre Dame speech was excellent.  Just because you believe”

The Reversal of Roe

is not the way to go

does not mean you are “pro-abortion.”  Douglas W. Kmiec, a constitutional scholar who headed the Office of Legal Counsel under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush said, “Overturning Roe would have limited affect, Senator Obama is articulating policies to explore ways to give greater protection to human life. . .  There are clearly partisan forces that want nothing more than to manufacture or stir up faith based opposition to their political opponents. 

Laura Bush, in her book, Spoken from the Heart: “Abortion should remain legal for medical reasons and other reasons.”

She, and other people like her, who have thought this through, certainly should not be considered or labeled “pro-abortion.”

                                                            Blessings,

                                                            Sheilah Hill

Note:

My book, La Verde de la Vida, does not address the Gay/Lesbian issue except to give the example of intersex—when a child is born with both male and female, ovarian and testicular, tissue.  This should help us admit there are many things we do not know. Why does God permit intersex babies?  What should be done? If we had such a baby, would we, with surgery, decide for a boy or girl or leave the baby alone?  

At a mental health drop-in center I met a young man named David who had been such a baby.  His parents had elected that he be a boy.  He was one of the most unhappy people I have ever met--which he expressed in writing tragic poetry.  He said, “I wish they had let me alone. Or at least let me be a girl—not a boy.”  How can we make a judgment in this case?  Isn’t it all right to say, “I don’t know”?

As far as the Gay/Lesbian debate presently tearing at the fabric of our nation, I believe it is wisdom to promote Civil Unions with all the advantages of what we call “marriage.” Consider-- two men or two women, who are not sexual, may wish to be a household—they need Civil Unions.

 Always detrimental, single issue advocacy, insisting on the term of “marriage”, does not realize the whole picture.  And this insistence actually  is counter-productive to their cause as it gets out the opposing vote, electing those who are not sympathetic to this cause at all—such as, in Ohio when this question was on the ballet.  This insistence probably put George Bush back in office.

 It’s important to realize we are one nation-- seeing the whole and not demonizing those whose views we do not share. I think of the graciousness of Joel O’steen as he answers this question and gives his belief of marriage being between one man and one woman.  We come from different backgrounds.  Standing for our rights or beliefs does not have to be done in hateful ways.  Hence, the letter I wrote to President Obama—it is not liberal, conservative, Democrat or Republican but takes in consideration  all views to what can be acceptable to most.  Forget labels—think things through.

It is not the economy that is destroying our nation—no money?  You could have fooled me with all the money being thrown about in super paks.  The economy, could right itself with our proper attitudes of listening to one another.  If hearts aren’t right, it doesn’t matter what they do in Washington.  Conversely, with right spirits, seemingly foolish things could work—historically, this is true.

 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.. . .For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”

-- Proverbs 18:21; Galatians 5:14, 15

Now to the End of our Polarization!