What can I say?

Kate Green considers five signposts to ‘speaking out’

I have been exploring how to ‘speak out’ as a Quaker since the Fair Penny petition was endorsed by Wanstead Local Meeting and North East Thames Area Meeting in 2013. This involved signing a petition, online or on paper, to tell the government: ‘I would pay an extra penny per pound in income tax to protect the most vulnerable from austerity cuts.’

Petitions have always been an important part of Quaker activism – for example, in the abolition of the slave trade. Signing turns a thought into an action, and, once you’ve signed, you can encourage others to follow suit. Your signature can help to influence change.

Initially I supposed the campaign might last a few months, but since 2013 ‘austerity’ has continued beyond my imagining, diminishing innumerable lives, so that the Fair Penny campaign’s message is now more necessary than ever.

Now, too, political and economic events are becoming more and more unpredictable. In such times, it is essential that the Fair Penny message is clearly expressed in a Quakerly way.

A starting point

My starting point for speaking out is the Meeting for Worship where, in the stillness, I may be comforted and challenged. The comfort is a profound sense of all-embracing love that drives out fear and brings a steadfast hope. The challenge exposes darkness I would like to ignore but which I must face in order to see my life as it really is.

I am guided by Rex Ambler’s book Light to live by: An exploration of Quaker spirituality. Held within this comforting light, the darkness does not overwhelm and paralyse me. The discipline in daily life of accepting and dealing with pain and suffering within the context of profound trust is an ancient Christian tradition, beautifully articulated by, amongst others, Richard Rohr in his book The Naked Now: Learning to see as the mystics see and by Cynthia Bourgeault in The Wisdom Way of Knowing: Reclaiming an ancient tradition to awaken the heart.

Meeting for Worship requires me to speak only when I am led to do so. This discipline also holds true when I speak out to the world. I should speak only when I am clear that I must. When I do, I have to speak from this place of love and light and trust. I have to find the best words possible to express the spiritual foundation of my concern.

This foundation is my shared humanity with all people, including the most vulnerable amongst us. As Walt Whitman puts it in his poem ‘You, Whoever You Are’: ‘Each of us is inevitable, Each of us is limitless…Each of us here as divinely as any is here.’

So far, I have found five ‘signposts’ to assist me in finding the best words for speaking out, and these may perhaps interest others. They are personal to me, of course – we have each to find our own words, but, if they are truly discerned, we will hear one another.

Five signposts

First, focus only on what must be done at this moment. Thomas Kelly’s ‘holy obedience’ (in A Testament of Devotion) describes this condition of having to follow my path simply because I am being led and not for any other reason – not even because I believe it will lead to a fairer world. I just have to keep on trying to be true.

This speaking out is thus not a ‘results-based’ activity. It does not measure, judge, predict, or plan, but simply receives and gives with an open heart – as Wolf Mendl puts it in Quaker faith & practice 24.60, not taking ‘too much thought for the morrow’.

Second, avoid intellectual debate. I must speak soul to soul, not brain to brain. I therefore need to use my intellect to understand intellectual problems and then let go. This is not merely because intellectual reasoning rarely changes minds (and that is even more the case in a ‘post-truth’, ‘alternative-fact’ world). Rather, it is because speaking out must emerge from my spiritual centre and not my intellect.

In particular, I must avoid words like ‘justice,’ ‘rights’ and ‘equality’ because these words refer to secular concepts in the realms of politics, economics and law (and anyway intellectually I would also say that these words are meaningless without further definition). Cynthia Bourgeault quotes the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland: ‘How you get there is where you’ll arrive.’ Just so: a secular vocabulary imprisons me within a framework that obscures the deeper, spiritual, truth of our shared humanity.

Third, transcend emotion. I must speak without relying on emotions, whether positive or negative (and especially fear or guilt). My feelings, like my thoughts, are always present and can aid discernment, but they must be transcended in order for the words to emerge from that deeper source. This is particularly important in choosing images to accompany words.

Fourth, avoid Christian language. I do not use traditional Christian language because it does not express my spiritual experience. Also, many of the people I’d like to hear my voice easily ignore messages expressed in Christian language. As Jan Arriens said, at Britain Yearly Meeting in 2014, we have to find a new way to speak.

Fifth, question. I must think about asking questions rather than telling people what to think or feel. When I first came to Quakers I was irritated by the endless questions in the Quaker approach to learning. Now I see that questions are much more useful than assertions in inspiring new life; because questions invite people to pay attention, they can open up where assertions may close down.

The question of the anti-slavery campaigners – ‘Am I not a Man and a Brother?’ – is a model for me. They did not rely on concepts like the rights of man or Liberty, or on future revolution, or even on Christian love, but cut directly through to the spiritual foundation of abolition, our shared divine humanity. I could not, however, use their exact question. Might asking ‘Am I not a Woman and a Sister?’ help to improve the lot of forced migrants?

The destination

My destination is unknown, but I’m trying to follow each step given me, in trust. I often feel that I am at the beginning of a long mountain climb, shrouded in mist and silence. It is very much a ‘work in progress’ as I try to articulate my role in the wonderful achievement of loving cooperation in the world of money, government and taxation.

Intellectually, it is impossible to find the words; if I walk in the light, the words will come. At this time, I can simply ask: ‘Would you pay a bit more tax to protect each unique and precious person in these difficult times?’ Or I could ask a question with a delightful ambiguity: ‘Am I not also a human being, ready to contribute what I can to the common good?’

What would you ask?

Further information: thefairpenny.org.uk

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Comments

This is so helpful.
Kate Green says clearly so many things that I just glimpse.
I am inspired by her reminder, her second signpost, that we are called to see the world from the ‘spiritual centre’ that is in each of us, not in terms of currently treasured academic categories.

By JohnN on 2nd June 2017 - 8:51

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