Kenny

“If the Hebrew Bible contains a political theology, then two of its central principles are: (1) a rejection of all political idolatry, and therefore a distrust of monarchs, who often make gods of themselves; and (2) a demand for social justice, and therefore a distrust of the well-to-do, who often hoard riches for themselves. These principles are invoked again and again by the Jewish prophets, from Amos through Isaiah and on to the man known as Jesus (Brueggemann, 1978).”
― Philip S. Gorski, American Babylon: Christianity and Democracy Before and After Trump

“We listen and take our truths—all of us—from people we trust, who know us and have our interests at heart. This is a built-in bias of the human psyche, and the crux of the fix we’re in as we stand as nations divided against themselves. As long as we live in entirely separate worlds, without comprehension of the others language or daily grind, the door between us is sealed. Not a word will pass from one side to the other. Barbara Kingsolver—Introduction to A Sand County Almanac”
― Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There

“A political order must have the ability to shape the core ideas of political life. It must be able to do so not just for one political party’s most ardent supporters but for people located across the political spectrum. The New Deal order sold a large majority of Americans on the proposition that a strong central state could manage a dynamic but dangerous capitalist economy in the public interest. The neoliberal order persuaded a large majority of Americans that free markets would unleash capitalism from unnecessary state controls and spread prosperity and personal freedom throughout the ranks of Americans and then throughout the world. Neither of these propositions today commands the support or authority that they once possessed. Political disorder and dysfunction reign. What comes next is the most important question in the United States, and the world, now face.”
― Gary Gerstle, The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era

“The denial of emotion is a terrible thing; what takes time is learning that the positive path is the education of emotion, not it’s uncritical indulgence, which actually locks us far more firmly in our mutual isolation. Likewise, the denial of rights is a terrible thing; and what takes time to learn is that the opposite of oppression is not a wilderness of litigation and reparation but the nurture of concrete, shared respect.”
― Rowan Williams, The Way of St Benedict