Michael Lerner lecture
The site of this talk was a synagogue housed in a lovely colonial-style building in south Minneapolis, in a leafy neighborhood bordering Minnehaha Parkway. Shir Tikvah is a reform Jewish synagogue. They were formerly housed in the same building in which I saw Thomas Frank last Thursday evening! The Universalist congregation and the reform Jewish congregation actually swapped buildings!
Michael Lerner is the editor and founder of Tikkun magazine, and co-founder of the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP). In person he's a lovable-looking schlub (don't know Yiddish? It means kind of a slovenly person). One thing I noticed about him as he spoke was that although he was talking about serious things, he was almost always smiling. He was soft-spoken, and had an endearing way of occasionally stopping to ask, "Do you know about this?" "Do you know what I mean?" Almost as if he were in a one-on-one conversation.
The main thing I actually took away from his talk was the same idea as cognitive therapy...that as you think so you create. He said we have two competing impulses within us personally and within society. One is fear or insecurity, which leads to a belief that we must dominate others before they dominate us. The other is hope, which leads to love and caring. There is a continuum between these two poles within us at all times, and we constantly move around on that continuum in our day-to-day lives. He further says that there is a "social energy" that resonates with one pole or the other of the above-mentioned impulses. His obvious example is the "social energy" following 9/11. There was a climate of fear that resonated with our own tendencies towards fear and insecurity. Or something like that! Anyway, he said that the goal of the NSP is to keep reinforcing a positive social energy.
He talked about the feeling that so many have that there is something wrong with the moral fabric of our society, even though we have great scientific advances and wonderful products and money flowing, etc. The NSP calls for a New Bottom Line: not just money and power, but also caring and love. He asserted that such a thing could and must be taught in our schools.
I will let you read about the Global Marshall Plan yourselves. It is a plan to end world poverty and hunger. It seems similar to the UN Millenium Development Goals. I haven't studied the differences yet. Let's do it together! The goal is so worthy, and part of Lerner's point is that this is the way to true security.
Of course, he runs up against doubters and cynics all the time. His retort is to tell about hearing stories from the very early pioneers of contemporary feminism and civil rights. They say that very few of those around them believed that it could happen. And yet, here we are, not totally finished with the job by any means, but much much further along than anyone ever thought possible. I think he was saying that it's not helpful to be a naysayer, but rather, telling each other we believe it can happen is helpful. Whew! There's a message aimed right at me!
I should add that the word "spiritual" in "Network of Spiritual Progressives" is interpreted very broadly by its members. This is an extremely ecuminical group. Although Tikkun started out as a Jewish magazine, and still calls itself Jewish, you will see the full spectrum of religious thought in its pages. I have even seen pagan themes there.
Along with the worthy goals of the Global Marshall Plan, I also think that Lerner's is a voice to listen to on issues involving Israel and Palestine. He's written a book, Healing Israel/Palestine: A Path to Peace and Reconciliation, the thrust of which, as I understand it (ummmm...haven't read it yet...so many books, so little time!) is that Israeli Jews and Palestinians must truly listen to each other's stories about the situation as a first step towards genuine reconciliation. I think he has in mind something similar to the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions formed after the fall of apartheit in South Africa. In any case, as a Jewish voice from the left on Israel/Palestine, I think he carries a certain authority that some other critical voices do not. At least for me.
Michael Lerner is the editor and founder of Tikkun magazine, and co-founder of the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP). In person he's a lovable-looking schlub (don't know Yiddish? It means kind of a slovenly person). One thing I noticed about him as he spoke was that although he was talking about serious things, he was almost always smiling. He was soft-spoken, and had an endearing way of occasionally stopping to ask, "Do you know about this?" "Do you know what I mean?" Almost as if he were in a one-on-one conversation.
The main thing I actually took away from his talk was the same idea as cognitive therapy...that as you think so you create. He said we have two competing impulses within us personally and within society. One is fear or insecurity, which leads to a belief that we must dominate others before they dominate us. The other is hope, which leads to love and caring. There is a continuum between these two poles within us at all times, and we constantly move around on that continuum in our day-to-day lives. He further says that there is a "social energy" that resonates with one pole or the other of the above-mentioned impulses. His obvious example is the "social energy" following 9/11. There was a climate of fear that resonated with our own tendencies towards fear and insecurity. Or something like that! Anyway, he said that the goal of the NSP is to keep reinforcing a positive social energy.
He talked about the feeling that so many have that there is something wrong with the moral fabric of our society, even though we have great scientific advances and wonderful products and money flowing, etc. The NSP calls for a New Bottom Line: not just money and power, but also caring and love. He asserted that such a thing could and must be taught in our schools.
I will let you read about the Global Marshall Plan yourselves. It is a plan to end world poverty and hunger. It seems similar to the UN Millenium Development Goals. I haven't studied the differences yet. Let's do it together! The goal is so worthy, and part of Lerner's point is that this is the way to true security.
Of course, he runs up against doubters and cynics all the time. His retort is to tell about hearing stories from the very early pioneers of contemporary feminism and civil rights. They say that very few of those around them believed that it could happen. And yet, here we are, not totally finished with the job by any means, but much much further along than anyone ever thought possible. I think he was saying that it's not helpful to be a naysayer, but rather, telling each other we believe it can happen is helpful. Whew! There's a message aimed right at me!
I should add that the word "spiritual" in "Network of Spiritual Progressives" is interpreted very broadly by its members. This is an extremely ecuminical group. Although Tikkun started out as a Jewish magazine, and still calls itself Jewish, you will see the full spectrum of religious thought in its pages. I have even seen pagan themes there.
Along with the worthy goals of the Global Marshall Plan, I also think that Lerner's is a voice to listen to on issues involving Israel and Palestine. He's written a book, Healing Israel/Palestine: A Path to Peace and Reconciliation, the thrust of which, as I understand it (ummmm...haven't read it yet...so many books, so little time!) is that Israeli Jews and Palestinians must truly listen to each other's stories about the situation as a first step towards genuine reconciliation. I think he has in mind something similar to the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions formed after the fall of apartheit in South Africa. In any case, as a Jewish voice from the left on Israel/Palestine, I think he carries a certain authority that some other critical voices do not. At least for me.
posted by Your_pops at 7:18 PM
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