Sister Suffragettes

On this day in 1920, the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.  As I look at the history of voting rights, I am in awe of what people have done to secure this right for themselves and their descendants.  I am astonished at the powers of empire and the lengths to which they will go to keep people from voting.  I am baffled by people living today who think that voting doesn't matter.

As I look back over my own theology/philosophy, my own view of the arc of history, I see how often I circle back to the idea that we're almost always at a point where two or more paths diverge, (and yes, often in a wood--I'm an English major, after all), and we can move towards a better world for more of us, or we can move towards a vision that's not as inclusive and likely won't end well for most of us.

I wish I could stay in that hopeful place all the time--perhaps my inability to stay in that hopeful place is part of my theology/philosophy/knowledge of history too.  While I am inspired by all the ways that ordinary citizens have transformed their societies, I am also haunted by all the lives wiped out during non-hopeful times, the lives constrained by those with power, the ones who didn't live long enough to see the change so desperately needed.

We are in a political time where various people are going to compete for our ability to dream, compete for our visions for our world.  I hope we're listening deeply, discerning what will be best and who is most likely to deliver.

As I write, I am listening to snippets of Michelle Obama's convention speech where she tells us we need to wear our sensible shoes, pack a dinner or maybe breakfast, and be willing to stand in line all night if we need to so that we can vote like our lives depend on it--because they do.

Some people talked about the apocalyptic tenor of her speech, and I confess, I didn't stay up late enough to watch it for myself.  But an apocalyptic tone seems right, for these days when some of us joke that one of the benefits of getting old is that when the bottom falls completely out of this economy, at least we won't be kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery.

And I'm only sort of joking.