As we sit for a moment to reflect on this past week in preparation for this upcoming week, I want you to relax your limbs, calm your spirit and open your hearts and minds in this moment of peace and harmony. I ask that you invoke on a calling that’s acceptable in your heart and that you seek to receive food for thought so that your walk in this life is a blessing to others as well as to yourself. In the nature of this communal fellowship, let’s have a moment of quiet reflection.
If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go: perchance it will wear smooth—certainly the machine will wear out… but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.
– Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience and Other Essays
Civil Disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. This refusal to comply with certain laws is demonstrated directly or passively. Direct examples are expressed via strikes, sit-ins, protests, demonstrations, or even lock-downs. A passive approach to civil disobedience may be expressed via distribution of flyers, displaying signs, or petitioning. One may also simply use his or her voice in a verbal effort to express opposition. A refusal or non-payment of fees is a financial aspect of civil disobedience.
Initially, the inherent thought of any typical person living here in the United States is to think of the Boston Tea Party or simply the American Revolution and better yet, in the Civil Rights Era, just plain old breaking the law as did Rosa Parks which inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycotts or even the protests over the Vietnam War, marches regarding poverty in inner cities or the striking about the plight of migrant workers. However, our modern day civil disobedience is verified in a multitude of ways using social media, art, music, literary work, and physical expression.
Henry David Thoreau, a re-known 19th century author on Civil Disobedience expressed that
The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think is right. It is truly enough said that a corporation has no conscience; but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with conscience.
In other words, we are accountable for knowing the difference between right and wrong and we can only expect entities to be operated in a responsible manner only in as much as it is being operated by responsible persons.
This extends to every governing authority, structure and industry.
Civil disobedience is opposing things when you know the cards are stacked up against you and you believe you have no other way to resist pressure or obtain successful recourse so you fight. Civil disobedience is as old as quite frankly, civilization as we know it. There has been and always will be someone to buck the system, not go along with the status quo or simply question decisions in order to validate alternative possibilities.
But why do I bring this to you today? Because as UUs we must always understand how our own actions or inactions contribute to an overarching ability to be on the right side of history. You see disobeying certain laws generally has a purpose either to influence legislation or government policy.
Civil disobedience is a practice in which the moral fabric of people are so disturbed that they display acts of courage to promote and stand up for what they believe in with the hope that their actions will ultimately change or alter those powers that moved or transformed their consciousness. In our American society, we are constantly witnessing the movement of civil disobedience in every facet of life: religion, sex, race, gender, health, marriage, consumer rights, abortion, education, workers’ rights and corporate interests.
However, we must be careful to not confuse protestors with looters who are taking advantage of a vulnerable moment in time. People who participate in some manner of civil disobedience clearly express that a disconnect or dysfunction exists between those who govern and those who are being governed. Without civil disobedience those in authority such as the government, policing agencies, school administrators, politicians, corporate interests and mainstream proponents would not know or identify the best interest of the people or stakeholders they serve.
As Henry David Thoreau best put it, civil disobedience is a valid method to behave because
The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it.
Hence, our government is only as ethically good as the people who administer the government.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated that one has a moral obligation to disobey unjust laws. But let me take it a step further. In light of the varying degrees of justice, the manner in which justice is deliberated or who determines justice is arguably a point in which one has a moral obligation to disobey as well because the process and or procedure of implementing the laws may, in itself, be unjust.
Let's look at some opportunities for freedom that have been thwarted despite the progressive efforts of insightful legislators. Over time, the State of Maryland has managed to re-build the voting rights of citizens returning to the mainstream population. Maryland used to one of many states that refused the right to vote to former felons. Then, it granted them a right to register and thus vote if their parole had been completed.
Lastly, during this past 2015 90-day legislative session the neophyte legislature voted to eradicate voter suppression by granting returning citizens the right to register to vote immediately upon serving their sentence regardless if they are on parole. However, the bill was vetoed using the argument that, serving parole is an extension of serving one's sentence. By definition, parole is a period of conditional supervised release following a prison term which means that the length of a parole can be as long as the duration of the sentence prior to being paroled.
This veto prohibits returning citizens to vote given that parole is stipulated as an extension of their punishment. But, if you really think about it, the American Revolution was exactly about this – opposition to taxation without representation. You see, felony disenfranchisement (as it still technically remains while on parole) is the core reason why we fought against the British. Ex-felons still have to pay taxes and preventing them the right to determine who governs them while they are physically free citizens is an affront to all our freedoms. If we, as citizens, are going to accept partial representation by equating the same rights (which are no rights in this instance) to the imprisoned as well as formerly imprisoned persons, we must question if our released
American brothers and sisters have actually gained their freedom since fighting in and winning the American Revolution.
I liken this to Henry David Thoreau’s essay writing that states, I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave's government also.
No doubt that as long as our minds are entrapped to believing we can justly deprive our free Americans from what we enjoy as a fundamental right, none of us can never be free – not even by having material possessions. This inability to be free, in this sense, not having the right to vote and still be treated as if we are incarcerated when in fact there is a PHYSICAL freedom, warrants civil disobedience via protest and continued introduction and review of legislation that honors our freedoms for which we have fought as Americans.
Reflecting such a fight, let me take you back to Wednesday, May 13 of this year when an 18 year old high school senior at York Comprehensive High School was told by a school administrator that he could no longer fly either the American Flag or the POW–MIA flag in the bed of his truck given because of the potentially offensive feelings it may cause. He became upset and posted it on Facebook. The very next day, on Thursday morning, his fellow students joined him in his expression of civil disobedience when 70 vehicles drove onto the school parking lot in a vow to fly their flags. Veterans saluted them as they drove onto school grounds and the school eventually eliminated the American flag from the policy of being banned.
No doubt, civil disobedience has its rightful place in our society.
By all accounts, civil disobedience is a necessary act to oppose governance we believe to be faulty in some aspect. It combats what is often considered mainstream, traditional or the status quo. However, what better way to express to government that their decisions are unjustly affecting those they are supposed to protect if we don’t value civil disobedience, whether passive or direct?
A lack of civil disobedience reflects despair, complacency, hopelessness, entrapment, weakness and overall provides the impression that partiality or inequity is acceptable.
Civil disobedience is more than just a physical expression of opposition against an existing problem but it is also an art, advertisement (marketing), usage of radio airwaves, written exposé, verbal exchange and plainly an exercise of our constitutional or civil rights--- with the goal to enlighten others and encourage them to play a role in battling what is wrong. Such actions are civil because of the method under which the action is being done. It is disobedient because it goes against established norms imposed by status quo indoctrination.
Let's look at some more concrete and broader examples of civil disobedience.
And yes, whether we agree or not, civil disobedience is when business owners, church leadership or even government administrators refuse to serve those who are gay or lesbian because to do so goes against their religious belief.
What the general public may not understand is that freedom will always come at a cost and a sacrifice. And that freedom begins in our minds with our thoughts because we all have a consciousness that drives our behavior; molds our character and inspires us to act. And as Thoreau again so eloquently puts it, Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.
Now we come to the point of addressing what is the Unitarian Universalists role in Civil Disobedience?
Out the seven UU principles I believe five uniquely address our walk in civil disobedience and broaden our perspective on how we can strive to be more like what we admire.
The first principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person
Example: Last April Kiran Ghandi ran the London Marathon for which she had trained very diligently. In the world of sports, people become athlete for the love of the sport and in marathons, participants typically have a particular purpose as to why they participate. Well, in this case, Ms. Ghandi began her monthly unexpectedly and instead of comporting to the usual societal norm by using protection, she decided to make a point and ran without feminine security. At the end of the race, it was bloody obvious what had occurred. However, her point was to bring light to period-shaming and to take a stand for women who don’t have access to their monthly needs.
So let us remind ourselves of the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We all get those calls of donations to the Salvation Army, the Purple Heart or participate in providing care packages to soldiers overseas. However, as a UU I encourage us to reach far into the depths of our minds to think about providing such an imperative necessity to the life of a woman for her health and unquestionably her dignity. Such actions naturally acknowledge her inherent worth because it is undeniably an aspect that clearly distinguishes itself between a man and a woman. Has anyone you ever heard of a bereaved family requesting sanity napkin in lieu of flowers or a donation to an esteemed non-profit? How about ever getting an invite to a fundraiser where part of the cost is providing such supplies?
To some it may be a bit distasteful but to others, imaginably to a significant amount of people in this room, such a need is absolutely critical to mobility, social interaction and overall contact with the public. This was an act of civil disobedience that directly speaks to addressing male-privilege and to eliminate the stigma of menstruation because nowhere in any Western culture is it commonplace to not use protection especially when it is generally considered a positive reoccurrence necessary for the production of life.
Second principle: Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations
Example: The recent pardons of President Obama when he made 46 executive clemencies to halt the sentences of non-violent criminals who were serving significant or life sentences for crimes not compensatory with the sentence. Justice. Equity, Compassion. One must ask is it just to adhere to outdated laws and policies that currently penalize people. Is that an application of equity to all those affected and committed similar crimes? Are we compassionate enough to alter the course of one’s life for the better? Do we believe in second chances? Do we hold grudges? Are we individuals who have the power to positively alter someone’s life? Yes, we are - by how we treat our fellow persons, how we speak to them, how we think of them, whether we listen and sympathize with them.
Oftentimes we believe that we are being equitable when we behave toward others and while we are not perfect and are perfectly imperfect, we ought to embody an existence that recognizes fairness and acknowledge that history, race, class and gender has been a strong determinant in human relations. If we have failed to give credence to these factors when making decisions involving others then rest assured that we are part of the problem and not the solution. While the President is within his executive right, to many who prefer to continuously use original sentencing currently considered as unjustifiable, the President’s act was one of Civil Disobedience – an action that allows criminals to go free at whatever cost when in fact, the ultimate cost of keeping people imprisoned for acts not compensatory with their crime, only makes us pay for unnecessary separation of families and as we know, a family is at the core of everything in our lives.
Fourth principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning
Example: Allowing children even as young as two or three, to self identify their sex and respect their innate connection to an existence that they are destined to be as opposed to our societal definition. As UUs, we know the value of building up our children and helping them control their destinies. So if that means preventing a doctor from determining the sex of a child at birth when they are born (because on those few occasions when the genitals of an infant aren’t completely formed) then parents should fight because as humans we lack a certain amount of knowledge to fully determine the truth and we are limited by what we don’t know.
Hence, it is justifiable to fight for your newborn’s body to determine its own make and model and not proscribe to the medically forced as well consent less medical procedure of gender assigning. We must always strive for a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Are we doing this? Are we allowing others to develop or practice a free and responsible search for truth and meaning? Many of us didn’t grow up with such a practice and that is why we are here as UUs quite frankly. But of course, the few of us who were born and bred UU while being reared theoretically, got it all together. But, there is always room for improvement.
Did anyone socially castigate Rachel Dolezeal, the NAACP president from Spokane, Washington for adopting an Afro centric perspective on life even though she was born Caucasian or did you empathize with her ability to self-prescribe a lifestyle that identified the closest relationship to her natural being? Think about where you fit in this scope of our fourth principle. Should one live in a box to fit in with societal definitions or should one freely be him or herself and live a meaningful life. When parents fight for their children not to be labeled, defined or categorized into the limitations of societal norms, it is an act of civil disobedience against tradition.
Sixth principle: The goal of world community, with peace, liberty, and justice for all
Example: With the recent birth of a baby to a girl in Asuncion, Paraguay who was raped at 10 years old by her step father, the Human Rights Group, Amnesty International rallied with her mother to have an abortion. Yet, even with the alarming count of 684 girls between the ages of 10-14 gave birth last year, Paraguay still will only allow for abortions only when the life of the mother is in jeopardy. However, no matter how you feel about it, we can all agree that getting pregnant at 10 and having a child at 11 is not justifiable for any girl anywhere in the world.
So as a UU we need to continue to bring to light such heinous acts and lobby for more sensitive policies that protect common sense and not validate wrongdoing. More close to home is denying funding to Planned Parenthood which limits access to health to women in some of the most rural parts of the country. Are we really for justice for all or is the justice we experience only valid for someone with our similar means, likeness or background. As UUs we must strive for justice knowing that our battleground is the world. This is embodied by Dr. MLK when he stated that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
And lastly, the Seventh principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence, of which we are a part
Example: At the core of the Black Lives Matter Organization, the emphasis of the Black Lives seems to stir up emotions. We all know that all lives matter. This is inherently the automatic assumption that goes without saying but yet, it does nothing to acknowledge the lives which historically and currently tend to be disproportionately and negatively affected when interacting with policing authorities. And we know that to acknowledge anything is to give it the due respect it deserves in its own right.
You see, the Civil Disobedience that we are constantly witnessing in cities such as Ferguson, Missouri; New York, NY; Sanford, Florida; Arlington, TX; Cincinnati, OH; and closer to home in Baltimore, MD is a direct reflection of people’s inability to respect the interdependent web of all existence, of which we are all apart. If policing authorities cannot see themselves either via race or gender in the people in which they are confronting or apprehending, especially if they are unarmed, then a red flag is raised, and there exists an inherent reaction to be defensive against a person who is, well, quote unquote – different. How common was it for us to read blogs or even hear government officials refer to people as thugs. You see, it is difficult for many people, even UUs to relate to those with whom we may not be socially compatible.
We may not do the same actions or behave the same way but then again, how many of us live in conditions compatible to the people whom we so scathingly judge. Not to be mistaken with looters or those who take advantage of a situation. They meld into the fold with others with no serious intent on bringing attention to a needed change. Like anyone, they are a product of their socio-economic class and in various ways they protest against a system untouchable by the common person.
How hard is it for journalists to simply refer to people as such – just people and not thugs. Well, maybe I should define thug -. According to most common dictionaries a thug is simply a violent person or a criminal. However, our tongue is a weapon and generally out of the heart speaks the mouth and if we willingly and haphazardly call people thugs, then our heart fails to respect our communal existence. And believe me; what happens in Baltimore can happen here if we fail to respect the UU 7th principle. We have to exist understanding that we are not completely rising to the occasion of solving the problem of our own biases and continuing to separate ourselves from those of others.
But in reality, we can only truly know our own culture once we learn that of another and when we do, we will then realize that we are interdependent because there are very few things that separate us. Yet, much more that unifies us. The civil disobedience expressed in the multitude of protests throughout the country is one emphasizing a new era of 21st century strategy to address civil rights and it is bolder, more universal and more broadly exposed through the use of social media.
I leave you lastly with another profound statement by Henry David Thoreau:
Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.
Thank you.
This benediction is taken from the New International Version of the Bible and concluded with a quote from Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher and founder of the Taoist religion during the 6th century.
In solidarity I read from Proverbs 24: 1-6
Do not envy the wicked,
do not desire their company;
for their hearts plot violence,
and their lips talk about making trouble.
By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.
The wise prevail through great power,
and those who have knowledge muster their strength.
Surely you need guidance to wage war,
and victory is won through many advisers.
As we depart from each other today we thank you for coming and we ask you to take with you this Eastern wisdom…
If you correct your mind, the rest of your life falls into place.
Copyright © 2015 Marla Posey-Moss. All Rights Reserved.