This concludes this election series of posts. In not too long the votes will be counted and possibly be in the process of being recounted and re-recounted. The possibility of violence exists coming from the transfer of power; a feeling originating not out pessimism, but rather out of one candidates’s promises. But whatever comes next, its on us. To continue the blame and shame game at any level will only extend and amplify the problems. A national decision will have been made, and we must witness what we have wrought as a people and avoid initiating violence at all costs. 

Witnessing is more than simply seeing the feedback. Witnessing is a blend feeling, seeing and comprehending the responsibiity for the consequences of our decisions. Witnessing is feeling the pain of the casualties of January 6, the fear of the body of lawmakers being rushed helter skelter to safety, and the shame of the nation’s capital being trashed. Witnessing is understanding the terror of children being detained, separated from parents at the border. Witnessing is wondering what we could do to prevent this most heinous of situations besides spin memes and leverage votes. Witnessing is understanding a parent’s concern for sending children out into a world that fears and fights the color of that child’s skin. Witnessing is seeing how peace officers cannot bring peace when the population, intentionally fueled by misinformation, fear and anger, are lethally armed. Witnessing is seeing how words can injure and kill both developing children and vulnerable adults. Witnessing is seeing how tyrants with armies do more than generate statistics, but rather starve and kill women, children, elders, aunts uncles, friends, priests, medical workers and young soldiers. Witnessing is the first responsibility of us who claim to be living our religions.

Either/or is for the build up to decision, but decisions are often painfully binary and no decision is the last decision if we are true witnesses of consequence. No, we need to make good decisions, witness and correct, make good decisions, witness and correct, make good decisions witness and correct. It is impossible to make perfect decisions because we are all fallible human beings. Life is not an entertainment at center but rather a personal mission of making good decisions, witnessing and correcting. There are many people right now in our nation doing exactly this good work, but they remain anonymous, not by choice, but by a bias for the entertainment of violence and violation in the news and media. In training sessions for decision making I say we have “the right and responsibility to be the authors of our own lives.” The same applies to our communities and nation; “we have the right and responsibility to rewrite and update our stories as the consequences emerge. This is how we compose the the authority that guides our sense of good. Whatever happens November 5, let’s work and decide for this nation’s hard won authority of e pluribus unum.

Days tend to recompose and renew in beauty