On Not Losing Your Soul
“But we must never forget that there is something within human nature that can respond to goodness, that man is not totally depraved; to put it in theological terms, the image of God is never totally gone.” This is Dr. King offering us a way of thinking through the divine image in everyone. I try to hold to it. It’s a way of regarding people as your fellow human beings even when they’re attacking you. We demonize when we don’t know what to do with our despair, and insisting that abusive people are nevertheless infinitely valuable bearers of God’s image is one way of sidestepping a spiral of accusation which, on some days, seems to drive our media economy.
So, everyone in the above photo is an infinitely valuable bearer of the divine image. One of them is my United States Senator. I believe I met her at least once when I taught at the high school which is part of the church organization within which she claims membership. She had this to say recently.
I…don’t think I know anyone, other than my United States Senator, who could post something like this on social media and expect to keep their job. It disturbs me that someone I pay to represent my state believes this is an appropriate public communication. This is an alarming violation of a moral norm. I’m grateful that a representative of the family that appears in the above photo made time to communicate deep disapproval of our Senator’s statement.
Tennessee shares custody of our Senator and bears responsibility for her behavior. Because I believe our Senator is an infinitely valuable bearer of the divine image, I believe there is that within her which is deeply ashamed of herself for having made that statement, and I hope to appeal to it. I’ve put in a phone call. Just because someone acts like a cartoon doesn’t mean we have to treat them like one. In fact, to the extent that I myself behave like an unhinged cartoon, it is my prayer that people will address me with love and firmness. That space of address—being addressed or being moved to address those who are harming others or themselves—is, from what I can tell, a space in which the soul resides.
I’m guessing most of the folks reading this aren’t in Tennessee and therefore aren’t in direct relationship with the Senator in the above image, but most of you likely have elected officials who, if Dr. King’s right, have something within them that can respond to goodness. If any of those elected officials are, in any way, partnering with a white supremacist terror coup OR inciting violence against those who refuse to, I’d like to encourage you to speak up within your contexts. We become what we abide.
This is a great encouragement to me. Beautifully written, David.
You may have seen my post today on Facebook mourning the loss of my ex friend Ken Paxton, Attorney Gen of TX, whose call to invalidate votes in four states befuddles me. I looked up to him and he was a great encouragement to me. I still hope for him.