On a recent Saturday morning in my car, I heard a somber interview with Scott Simon and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Nicholas Burns, about the Trump administration’s plans to downsize the State Department. Nicholas Burns has served all over the globe as a career foreign service officer, including as U.S. Ambassador to NATO under President George W. Bush, and to China under President Biden.
Burns expressed sadness for many colleagues and friends who would be losing not only their employment but also their vocation of serving our nation in fostering good relationships among the other countries of the world.
He emphasized the oath that these men and women take to be nonpartisan, and the incredible brain trust we have in these persons, many of whom have devoted their lives to this important work and who are content experts in important areas that are critical to our national wellbeing.
In listening to the interview, I realized there is much that I either never knew or have forgotten about the infrastructure of our government as it has been built through the years. Founded as the Department of Foreign Affairs on July 27, 1789, some 237 years ago, its name was changed to the Department of State just two months after its inception.
It was established by the First Congress under President George Washington, and was the first federal state department established in the new republic of America. Thomas Jefferson was the first Secretary of State, a role that to this day serves as the President’s chief advisor on foreign affairs.
Burns said in his interview that “it is not his fault that Trump finds himself in a situation where he has to deal with a major war in Europe that Putin is inflicting upon Ukraine, three major wars in the Middle East over the last year and, of course, this extraordinary competition that we have with China.” But it highlights the concern and sadness that Burns expressed over fewer, not more, employees at the Department of State as our nation faces so many serious foreign affairs concerns.
Sharks amid the balance of nature
This week is “Shark Week” and while driving to Pilates, thinking about my alarm for the world and our common humanity, I heard a scientist speaking on 1A about fear and shark preservation. She noted the cascading effect that the removal of a single Jenga game piece can have on the tower being built.
She compared it to the detrimental effect our neglect of, or unwillingness to use the best information that we have in the care of the earth, has caused to our planet. Specifically, she suggested that our fear of sharks can get in the way of our concern for and protection of them for the important role they play in the balance of nature.
The analogy seems appropriate to me for the dismantling of the State Department as well as so many other governmental agencies that are currently being restructured or eliminated, seemingly with little research or wisdom about the revisions or abolishment.
While we all can agree that no system is perfect or without need of reform, the hope is that changes are well thought out and beneficial to the greatest good. Not changes that have cascading effects that harm people and the higher good, as seems to be the case.
Worship and reflection
At a recent service of worship at my church, we began with a moment of reflection on a quote by Walter Wink, a Jesus Scholar and peace advocate who wrote in 1978 words that sound extremely relevant today.
Wink said: “The greatest religious challenge of our age is to hold together social action and spiritual disciplines. This is not just a theological necessity, dictated by the need to integrate all of life around the reality of the living God. It is a matter of sheer survival. The evils we confront are so massive, so inhuman, so impervious to appeals and dead to compassion, that those who struggle against them face the real possibility of being overwhelmed by them.”
I am clinging to Wink’s wisdom, that it is critical to hold together social action and spiritual discipline as a matter of sheer survival for myself. Without becoming obsessed by it, I am trying to stay informed about what is going on in the world and particularly in our nation and, as painful as it is, to not turn away from it. I understand I cannot change what is happening, but I can do my part to educate myself about the issues and to help those I can.
I am praying more often and deeply for goodness to prevail. I am caring for my own soul by the discipline of walking and listening for inner wisdom. I am practicing Pilates, which I find remarkably healing. And I am looking for joy in life amidst the sorrow.
Positive energy in the community
I am also inspired by others in our community who are working to make a difference, and especially a group of wonderful friends who have been singing at protests.
First, as a small group of folks singing songs of meaning and hope at early rallies at the Capitol, they are now known as the “Rise Up Singers.” My sweet and talented friend, Susan Smith, who was a significant player in starting the “Threshold Choir” (now Threshold Singers) in our community in 2013, has courageously taken on the role of leading the “Rise Up Singers” at local protests and rallies.
Just as the “Threshold Singers,” who sing in groups of three or four at significant crossover events like death or birth or marriage or retirement, bring meaning and encouragement, so the “Rise Up Singers” offer music that feeds their own souls and those of the crowds in giving voice to justice in and hope for our nation.
Like Nicholas Burns, many of us are deeply saddened by the reduction of personnel to work for the fostering of good relationships between our nation and other countries in the world.
In a time of escalating hatred and violence across the globe, it seems vitally important that we all find a way to increase the volume of positive energy, goodness, and compassion in the universe. Intentionally holding together social action and spiritual discipline in our lives, as Wink suggested nearly 50 years ago, seems like good advice today.
The Rev. Candace McKibben is an ordained minister and pastor of Tallahassee Fellowship.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Make positive difference through social action, spiritual discipline | Candace McKibben
Reporting by Rev. Candace McKibben / Tallahassee Democrat
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