THE POLITICS OF
THE
BROKENHEARTED/
ON HOLDING THE TENSIONS
OF DEMOCRACY
OF DEMOCRACY
Parker J. Palmer
politicians have long understood
advocacy related to the issues
that break people’s hearts such as
advocacy related to the issues
that break people’s hearts such as
-marriage
-abortion
-abortion
-family,
-patriotism,
-religion in
public life,
-terrorism
always elicits votes. I picture a BROKEN HEART
AS CORE OF OUR
SENSE OF SELF.
AS CORE OF OUR
SENSE OF SELF.
the broken heart is an unresolved wound that we too often inflict on others.
a heart “broken open” into large
-ness of life, into greater capacity
to hold one’s own and the world’s pain, joy, compassion, grace can be the fruits of great suffering.
-ness of life, into greater capacity
to hold one’s own and the world’s pain, joy, compassion, grace can be the fruits of great suffering.
Heartbreak becomes a source of healing, en-
larging our empathy and extending our ability to reach out.
HOLD TENSIONS CREATIVELY
Work rooting out the seeds of violence impatience/it's inces-
sant drive to control.
We can transform our culture only as
we are inwardly transformed.
DONE, BORNE, ACCEPTED
by choice/ w/out reluctance a WILLING SACRIFICE
DONE, BORNE, ACCEPTED
by choice/ w/out reluctance a WILLING SACRIFICE
Anyone who chooses to
do the will of God will find
out whether my teaching
comes from God or whe-
ther I speak on my own.
-John 7.17
WHEN THE HEART BREAKS
IN WAYS THAT LEAD US TO
RETREAT OR ATTACK
RETREAT OR ATTACK
Jews, learning to live openheartedly in the face of immense/devastating heartbreak is of historical and spiritual importance.
"... we can't place the holy words in our hearts. So we place them on top of our hearts. And there they stay until, one day, the heart breaks and the
words fall in."
THE CROSS AS A SYMBOLIC FORM /
EMBODIES the notion that “excruciating” tension can pull the heart open into/
thru it to fullness of life.
"habit of the heart"
/Tocqueville
IDEALIZED FANTASY
The child who grows up
in the force field that lies between the paradoxical poles of hopeful vision/hard reality
has a chance to thrive.
in the force field that lies between the paradoxical poles of hopeful vision/hard reality
The parent who holds the paradox thrives along with the child bringing into the
situation a force that belongs to a higher level where opposites are transcended.
THE POWER OF LOVE
THE POWER OF LOVE
Divergent problems force us to strain our-selves to a "real-self" level above our per-
sona selves/provoke the supply of forces
sona selves/provoke the supply of forces
from a higher level bringing
awareness of goodness/
/love/beauty/truth to life.
in our culture,
time is always deemed scarce,
time is always deemed scarce,
🤔
and debate itself can make time feel even scarcer es-pecially when things get
ACRIMONIOUS
We persistently ignore the radical inef-
ficiency of creating an alienated minority
ficiency of creating an alienated minority
of losers who sometimes
to undermine the decision we thought we had made.
Majority rule may not resolve the tension but merely drive it underground.
Anyone who chooses
to do the will of God will
find out whether my
teaching comes from
God or whether
I speak on my own.
John7.17
of disempowered minorities learn to
seize the power
to stop the group
group in its tracks
Majority rule often makes us into
adversarial listeners and speakers,
ratcheting up the tension
I can make common cause w/and
for what I might learn from our dif-
ferences.
for what I might learn from our dif-
ferences.
Unless we
Move together
er I know of no way to move.
forard.
When I speak I'm more likely to seek shared understanding thus bridging
our positions than to try to strike your view-point down/to become collaborative lis-teners/speakers
who hold tension/
a generative way/
required to hold it
until it has a chance
to break us open to a synthesis
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