Can We Heal Our Divisions? by Gerti Reagan Garner

Like most Americans, I had never heard of Tim Walz until he was mentioned as a possible VP candidate. So I listened to Ezra Klein’s podcast about Walz [1] out of curiosity. What struck me about the podcast was that throughout, I kept hearing things about connection that resonated in me as things that apply to everyone, not just politicians running for office but all of us who have to make a decision in November. Public rhetoric has changed significantly in the last decade or so. I believe that change has contributed to the deep divisions we have in our country.

Many of us are struggling with how we stay connected with family members, friends, and neighbors who don’t agree with us. While the podcast struck a chord in me that there is a way to continue to be loving with those we disagree, all of Walz’s examples were political. I wanted to find options for everyone, because we all need to seek peace to attain it.

There are a number of resources about civil discourse on the internet and some parishes are going to or have offered some programs on this topic. This blog is written in hope that some of you reading this will be moved to commit to action that brings healing.

Different perspectives on any topic are usually helpful. Finding the small book by Pema Chödrön, Practicing Peace in Times of War, made that “click of knowing” for me. Healing and peace begin within ourselves. “War begins when we harden our hearts, and we harden them easily – in minor ways and then in quite serious, major ways, such as hatred and prejudice – whenever we feel uncomfortable.”[2] Have you ever been challenged to pray for your enemy? Did you try it? Sincerely putting oneself in another’s shoes can’t help but soften the heart, right? Chödrön posits that if we maintain the hard heart we become, if only in a small way, the same as what discomforted us. “First the heart closes, then the mind becomes hardened into a view, then you can justify your hatred of another human being because of what they represent and what they say and do.”[3] Chödrön continues to make the case that allowing the hardened thoughts to live in your heart perpetuates the divisions and that moving forward from a stance of love is the only way we can heal the division.

Other offerings about this subject are:

  • This one from our ECR Social Justice Committee is imminent, however, you can view the recording of the 9/3 event, if you wish, and participate on 9/17: offers an exciting on-line webinar with the Rev. Pamela Cooper-White. Pamela is author of the award-winning book The Psychology of Christian Nationalism. An Episcopal priest and psychotherapist, she is the Johnson Professor Emerita of Psychology and Religion at Union Theological Seminary, New York. We are delighted to welcome her virtually to California! This event will be held on Zoom in two parts, one on Tuesday, September 3 and the other on September 17, both at 5:30 PM PDT. In the first session, Pamela will give an overview of Christian Nationalism – a socio-political movement that aims to restore the U.S. to a fictional origin as a “Christian nation,” and promotes white supremacy and patriarchy through a distorted right-wing version of Christianity (as seen in Project 2025). She will explain how good people get drawn in to such extremism. In the second session she will talk about how we can have respectful conversations across the widening political and theological divide in America. There will be ample time for discussion and Q&A in both sessions. There is no charge to participate but please register in advance, here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrdOmspzssGtK-uFbnl0hIsdocn9a6af51

[1] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/is-tim-walz-the-midwestern-dad-democrats-need/id1548604447?i=1000664114455

[2] Pema Chödrön. Practicing Peace in Times of War. Shambhala, [Boston & London 2006]. 16

[3] Ibid. 21

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

Leave a comment