“WOKE” — What Is It Really?
A courageous bishop, Right Rev. Mariann Budde, spoke of love, compassion, acceptance and togetherness to those in power, and she was viciously attacked as a “Woke,” radical liberal.
In her sermon, Rev. Budde said they gathered “to pray for unity as a people and a nation…” She added, “Unity is not partisan.”
Her sermon was a call to Love in action and I believe she knew the fierce backlash she would face. One Congressman called for her to be deported!
But isn’t what she did exactly what so many of us are called to do right now, regardless of party affiliation, in a world where advocating peace and brotherhood has come to mean something evil, a threat to our very well being and survival– when nothing could be further from the truth?
I personally want to be as ”Woke” as humanly possible. But that is not a declaration of party affiliation. It simply means I want to do everything in my power to help heal our human relations, help heal the gaping divides tearing us apart.
The Bigger Challenge
I want to wake up from this nightmare of who-to-hate next… But the bigger challenge I believe – is to find a way, in my waking, to include those who advocate hatred, no matter what side of the political divide they are on.
The challenge is to stretch the limits of my own compassion and stay grounded in the awareness that their attacks stem from deep and pervasive wounded-ness, from terrible conditioning, and often from being obscenely rewarded for cruel and murderous behavior.
The burden and the blessing of “Woke” is that we know violence begets violence and hatred begets hatred. The challenge is to do my very best to speak Love and healing to everyone, even in the face of the worst of what we do to one another. That’s why I wrote America in Therapy.
The tremendous challenge we face as individuals, Americans, and global citizens is to heal ourselves of our personal wounds and our collective historical pain. In the world of psychology we know that healing our wounds is the very best way to prevent repeating them.
…It may be the only way.
And that involves, among other things, loving ourselves and other people back to connection and caring, back to sanity.
But where’s the accountability piece? you might ask. Don’t we have to hold people responsible for the terrible things they do? Yes, of course. But we know now, from countless hours working with countless people, that the model of condemnation and retribution does not work; it only produces more of itself.
What Love makes clear is we must find a way to hold ourselves and others responsible WHILE we do everything in our power to heal the originating causes of our worst behaviors. This is not a Red vs. Blue or Blue vs. Red issue. It is a human issue, a survival issue.
And It takes “Woke-ness” to hold the delicate balance between accountability and loving understanding.
The Missing Piece
The missing piece is that we don’t all know that inside the perpetrator is an untreated victim who needs help. This recognition is one of the greatest gifts of modern psychology and it is critical to creating a peaceful, safe and sustainable future.
The Unexpected Reward of Healing Our Wounds
In 30 plus years as a psychotherapist, I have witnessed again and again, that when we can address our pain– our victimization AND our victimizing– in a place of safety and love, we NATURALLY begin to take responsibility for our actions. No one has to tell us or force us. The rager makes amends and stop raging. The passive parent take an active stand to protect their children. The critical boss begins acknowledging employees. An abuse survivor overcomes fear and calls for help.
So when we dare to speak Love to Power, let’s remember the awesome job we have undertaken… This is what Right Rev. Budde did so masterfully and I thank her for her service to us Americans and to all humanity.
“WOKE!”– What Is It Really?
(Quote above is from The Associated Press. By Tiffany Stanley, Darlene Superville and Gary Fields. Updated 7:58 AM MST, January 22, 2025)
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“On the path to peace, we will close the gap between Love and Politics”
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