Know, all of you, that there is a real and present danger. There are also solutions, primarily peaceful solutions, if enough of us can act with courage and compassion.

While entertaining, the show in Washington the past few weeks has a very terrifying element to it. I grew up in a community with a strong presence of the “we are America” and “win at all costs” minority who believe they are the majority. I remember those years when, nationally, they even called themselves the “Silent Majority.” Even in the community of my youth, they were only a piece of the whole, but they were the ones who held, still hold, the power. The ones who could say what they wanted, wherever they wanted and it would usually go without question because others in the community knew it was rarely worth the price of disagreement.

I give that background to let the reader know that I’ve had a lifetime to observe the patterns creating current threats and to create my own means of dealing effectively with those patterns. In the end, I found ways to give and receive respect when I visit my hometown, even in the midst of irresolvable disagreement. As an out and visible lesbian that is no easy accomplishment, especially in a conservative, largely Christian fundamentalist community.

Let me summarize the threats I currently see. The apparent acts of political suicide in the U.S. House of Representatives were instigated by a small group of radicals that either believe they have a God given right to hold the power in this nation or have long told the lies necessary to convince their constituency that they have that right. If it’s lies, know that their supporters believe in that God given right. They honestly believe that our nation is going to Perdition because we dare do such things as finally allow gays and lesbians to come out of the shadow of darkness and persecution (since we are, in their view, “abominations”), and elect a Black man as president. My mother was a good woman, but she was a product of her fundamentalist upbringing. She tried to teach me and believed firmly herself that dark skin was the Mark of Cain and that their descent from Adam and Eve’s son who killed his brother meant they were lesser beings.

Now, nation-wide this minority of radicals has their back against the wall, and this is a minority taught for generations to “win at all cost.” In addition, profiteers make use of this group, hiding motivations of greed for both money and power behind those loyal to “God and country.” The power of money enhances the threat.

While it is essential that we, as a nation, continue this long over-due struggle to free ourselves of a domineering minority, it will not be an easy path. Here are a few things we can expect:

• Increased polarization of the “them and us” mentality.
• Never before has there been a greater threat of domestic terrorism.
• Our highly visible leadership for freedom from radicalism (e.g. President Obama) is in danger.
• Efforts to use the media to create the illusion of a reality that supports radical conservatives with increase.
• Verbal attacks will become more violent and pervasive and in every area where they can reach.



On that last point, keep in mind that I live in the boondocks of the Rocky Mountains. Day before yesterday, I had a car-load of radical Christians, strangers, come to my door wanting to talk with me about “what was happening in the world.”

The next set of bullet points are the core reason why I’m writing this blog. There are ways to effectively deal with radicalism. FYI, it’s not just this group of radicals on which these techniques can be effective, but that’s a point for another day. As I once told a man who was ranting about the threat of radical Muslims, I have never personally had my life threatened by a radical Muslim, but I have had it threatened by a radical Christian. In my view, the problem is not Christian or Muslim. It’s radical.

Anyway, here are some suggestions. I believe if enough reasonable people enact these suggestions we can greatly mitigate the threat and achieve the long-term healing much earlier.

• There is NOTHING we can do about the lunatic fringe. If they attempt to engage you in debate, don’t worry about what they think. Instead be aware of the still thinking and caring people who may be listening. How do you make your case to those individuals?
• For any radical group to continue to oppress their own people, they must have an outside threat on which they focus the attention of those whom they wish to oppress. When a radical attempts to engage you as a glbt, Muslim, liberal … any of the target groups, strive to refrain from argument. When you push back in anger, it gives them what they need. Instead, keep restating the facts not to the radicals but to others who may be watching.
• As the old tactics fail (e.g. intimidation and getting others to believe in their delusions), the “win at all cost” mentality with likely “up the ante.” Expect violence.
• Question the lies and make them known. I make a habit of checking out anything that looks the least bit “iffy” (not always from radical conservatives) from friend’s posts on FaceBook. Snopes.com is a great source. I’ve seen some doozies lately, like the very credible looking article from a conservative publication that showed a picture of a micro-chip and said Obamacare would require everyone who received healthcare assistance to be implanted and tracked. Total fiction. The picture of the micro-chip was actually new technology so that diabetics can constantly track blood-sugar levels.
• Be watchful. If you see behavior from someone in your community that makes you think they are preparing for violence against “the enemy,” report it. In the end, we are the first defense in our own protection. In my opinion Homeland Security was begun as part of an effort to increase the control of radical groups, but, in the end, it may be what protects us from them.
• Last but not least, listen and care.

The last bullet may be the most difficult to understand and to put into practice. It is about the concept of “living with paradox,” a philosophy taught me by a Catholic priest. In essence, it is possible for two people to have diametrically opposing views and both are right. Something happens when you give up the need to know what’s “right” for anyone but yourself.

A story is the only way I can truly explain the concept. Years ago, I was asked by the president of the glbt organization in the Texas Panhandle to be one of three individuals to deal with a group of radical Christians planning to protest our annual Gay Pride Picnic. There was a man dressed as the devil, being pulled by two men using with chains. A young man drug a full-sized cross. A preacher with a bullhorn “preached” (emphasizing that gays had no right to live). We had already warned our group, telling them that, radical or not, the group had a right to free speech. Our gang did a pretty good job of ignoring them.

I was “escorting” the preacher with the bullhorn. They did not leave when they said they would, and that preacher was saying more and more inflammatory things, apparently trying to pick a fight. At one point, I leaned over to ask how long he planned to preach. He ignored me, and when I touched him lightly on the arm, two huge men appeared out of nowhere, stood threateningly over me yelling, “Don’t you touch him!” I knew I was within 10 seconds away from getting my ass kicked and 20 seconds from a riot once the glbt crowd saw what was happening.

Oddly, I wasn’t afraid. I closed my eyes and prayed for guidance to anyone who would listen. When I looked again at the “preacher,” I saw clearly myself through his eyes. My very existence, a lesbian at peace with herself and her God, was a threat to his entire universe. If I could be, then everything he believed unraveled.

I leaned toward him and said, “I understand if you need to hate me.”

Something happened. It was as though all the pent-up fear that inflated their balloon escaped, robbing energy from their planned confrontation. The two men who were helping me (both nurses), treated the young man pulling the cross for signs of early heat exhaustion; the police arrived; and the radical group went quietly away. To my knowledge, they never bothered the Amarillo glbt group again. Basically, when I did not need to prove them wrong to know my right, they did not have the opposing force they needed to continue the conflict.

I do diversity trainings for the nonprofit sector, and one of the things I say is that effective diversity isn’t about agreement, it’s about respect. There is a brokenness that comes with the dysfunction of privilege, such as that found in a long-standing dominant group. There is benefit to seeing that brokenness and aid healing rather than seeking punishment and vindication. Yes, oppression must be stopped, but to return the fear and hate is to perpetuate the cycle. It is possible to win without needing to defeat.

I believe humanity dances on the edge of an evolutionary step that may do for us socially, psychologically, and spiritually what the industrial revolution did for us technically. I can’t explain that vision in one blog. If anyone’s interested, my novel, Kiva and the Mosque, strives to elucidate that vision by using and entertaining story of magical realism.

Should you have the urge, share this blog. If I’m right (time will tell), the application of these techniques by a wide audience may make a real difference. Do what you think is best. After all, only you can know what is right for you.

The Kiva and the Mosque