Letters - 11 November 2011
From St Paul's to spirituality
The steps of St Paul’s
It is not often that I have felt that I am in the majority but as I sat on the steps of St Paul’s over the weekend (29-30 October), I remembered that I am – and most likely so are you. I heard about twenty speakers from various faith and non-faith groups, expressing what brought them there in one way or another. There were at least six Anglican clerics, distressed with the bishop of London and dean of St Paul’s, who spoke emotionally about what Jesus called us to do.
I realised I wasn’t there just to stick up for someone else. I was there for myself. That was a big shift for me, to acknowledge I wasn’t just looking out for some other group of people, but very much looking out for my own well-being and future. Paul Oestreicher called it ‘global greed’ and other columnists have framed it as ‘distress with income inequality’. I’m not against capitalism per se, but feel angry at its excesses, which have been allowed by democratically elected governments all over the world in the last thirty years. Somehow since the Reagan-Thatcher years, it has been all right to poke huge holes in the safety net while enacting tax breaks and privileges for the most wealthy. The middle class, which I identify with, is now paying for its dreams of wealth that tolerated those moves. Visions of the French Revolution and Marie Antoinette’s famous ‘Let them eat cake’ have been coming to mind. Revolutions occur when the middle class feels disenfranchised. It’s happening. I just want it to be peaceful and fair. I was heartened by the hundred or so Friends who worshipped on Sunday on the steps of St Paul’s.
Nancy Irving
I am so glad to see that Quakers are involved with this peaceful camp. I believe that the way this camp is run has connections with the starting of the Turning the Tide programme for training in nonviolent direct action (NVDA) in the mid-nineties.
I would like all Friends who can to visit any of these nonviolent camps and other peaceful protest events (such as UK Uncut) to see and hear for themselves from the, often young, protesters how they want the world to be. Their use of consensus in decision making and everyone being treated with fairness will impress you. They are working for a world that is much closer to ‘heaven on this earth’ than that corrupt gambling den that is the global financial markets, many based in the City of London. If you live near enough you could take down food to the camp just as many people did at the Greenham Common camp. Maybe Quakers should be making more of this opportunity?
Sarah Lasenby
The long view
Should we be taking a longer view, have a more global vision and express a more spiritual sense in what we say and do? Whereas ‘western’ cultures emphasise the importance of the individual’s needs this is less so in most other cultures. The world has to adapt to massive technological changes, possible economic collapse, the exploitation and destruction of the world’s resources and, above all, the explosion in population. The greying of the nations is contributing to this. There is no doubt that older people have always contributed very significantly to the wellbeing of the community, but it is also true that many face diminishing prowess and need help, which is sometimes costly. Should we not suggest more responsibility? Should people ‘opt into’ the choice for resuscitation, rather than having to ‘opt out’?
As a retired geriatrician, I believe that most people wish to be comfortable, valued and able to express themselves. Adding numbers to their years is less important. I do not wish to consume more of the world’s resources than is really necessary. I conclude with a reference to Advices & Queries: ‘We do not own the world.’
Elizabeth D Hocking
New light on passing over?
I am grateful to Leslie Fuhrmann for tackling this important subject – ‘After you’ve gone’ (21 October). This letter gives a sustainable and economical solution. I carry a donor card and offer my body for research. But as an organic gardener, I would like the rest of my body to be minced and composted, thus benefitting humankind and our Earth. My spirit/soul, meanwhile, would be continuing my ‘meaning and purpose’ in the afterlife. Our simple Quaker Memorial Meeting would serve to comfort the bereaved and to celebrate our lives without the expense of a funeral or cremation. Could we, indeed, be open to new light (putting squeamishness aside) making this a Quaker concern so we change the law? Preferably before Leslie (83) and I (76) pass over!
Elizabeth M Angas
The significance of ‘spiritual’
David Bartlett asked what the word ‘spiritual’ adds to Quaker communications. To me, the word is very useful as an indicator of that which is not known to the intellect, that part of our nature which can be experienced but not known to our rational mind, even though it may be expressed through our physical nature in the form of words and actions. All religious activity is based on the idea that we have two natures, one physical and one spiritual. If that were not the case, there would be no religion. Those who subscribe to a religious belief believe that when the physical body dies the spirit will continue, perhaps in some other form, in some other dimension.
I am not normally a great fan of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, but Paul (arguably the first Quaker in the sense that he attributed all his spiritual knowledge to a direct transmission that did not require any human intermediaries) in his letters makes it very clear that he believed body and spirit to be not just different but diametrically opposed to each other. The fruits of the body are opposite to those of the Spirit. For a full list of their respective attributes, see Galatians 5:16-17:
‘So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.’
So, if we abandon the word spiritual, we abandon the Spirit, and if we abandon the Spirit we abandon religion, and if we abandon religion, we abandon the Quakers, which is unthinkable!
Ron Hillier
Quakers and the cuts
I share Stuart White’s desire for Quakers to question the need for cuts (28 October). We are effective with peace and conflict-resolution because of strong and specific views. The economy is so dysfunctional that it should also be possible to identify and support effective measures that are not based on ‘indefinite growth of anything physical on a physically finite planet’ (to quote the Quaker economist Kenneth Boulding). Here are a couple we might consider.
Land Value Tax has been successfully used in several American states, where it replaces regressive taxes, costs a fraction of property tax (rates) to administer, and encourages business and the use of derelict sites. Land, unlike ‘wealth’, can’t be transferred to one’s wife in Monaco. The value of land is created by society (providing tube stations, open space, use-permits etc). Some urban land has astronomical value due to location, and enhanced by oligarchs, dictators and our own ‘masters of the universe’. Estate Agents already know land values so the tax would be easy to implement. It is progressive. It could replace income tax bands below the median, and other regressive taxes.
I would also like to see Friends give full support to the Positive Money/NEF campaign for monetary reform. The state, not commercial banks, should issue the state’s money and spend it into circulation on schools, the NHS and social support.
With these two measures it is questionable whether the present level of cuts are needed. Would anyone like to discuss these and other measures in an email group?
James Bruges
Taxing financial institutions
I attended Britain Yearly Meeting Gathering at Canterbury this year, and have been mulling over my feelings about the experience since then. Without a doubt, it was a time of wonderful personal encounters, and the Swarthmore Lecture was inspiring and deeply challenging.
However, I felt then, and still feel, a nagging frustration with the outcomes of our approach to ‘economic justice’. I know that this is an enormous and confusing subject. The individual testimonies of Friends about their personal work and witness were moving and thought-provoking. However, what was lacking for me was a level of analysis that could give rise to a corporate response from the Society on the wider political level (with the notable exception of a contribution by Jonathan Dale).
The global banking system is fundamentally flawed, with financial institutions seemingly acting with little regulation, and no apparent responsibility or accountability to national and personal interests. Many complex financial instruments are completely unregulated.
One way of holding financial institutions to account would be through a tax on all financial transactions – the so-called ‘Robin Hood Tax’. Could we as a Society not express our support for such a tax, which might inject some responsibility into the system and redistribute wealth?
Janette Kirton-Darling
