Chris Hedges, a prolific author who has written extensively on religion and politics, recently argued that liberals are useless because they are pinning their hopes in vain on the Democratic Party.
He argues that President Obama merely offers a more pleasant version of the same policies pursued by George W. Bush. Hedges says that we are heading toward fascism, and the only chance we have to avoid disaster is to build a new socialist party as an alternative to the current political system that is controlled by giant corporations.
Hedges isn’t the only social critic making the case that America is facing collapse. The right and left might disagree about the causes and solution to the problem of social and political disintegration in our country, but they agree that collapse is probably inevitable. Both the right and left are more interested in finding a way to rebuild the country from the ground up after the collapse than they are in finding a way to avoid the collapse. The attempts at reform by President Obama are scorned by the right and left because they offer false hope for change.
It’s clear that we are in a period of profound change, and probably, heading for chaos and social upheaval. Conflict, demagoguery and violence will intensify next year. Old ways of thinking and acting won’t work in such a toxic atmosphere; and the temptation to seize upon new systems of belief and action that divide us against one another will be hard to resist.
Contemplative activism’s role during the crisis we are facing is to serve as a unifying force in assisting a broad-based movement for social change to emerge and achieve its goals. The unifying force of contemplative activism is rooted in compassion. If we fall into the trap of demonizing our opponents in a process of social change, we will succeed only in sowing the seeds of violence. On the other hand, if we have the capacity to recognize the sacred image of God even in those we oppose, we will create the conditions for peaceful transformation. This isn’t only a dream. We have seen it happen in our own country through the Civil Rights Movement, and in other countries, such as South Africa and India.
We can live in denial that great change is occurring. We can passively go along with whatever happens, good or evil. Or we can play an active role in bringing about peaceful transformation that will create a more just society. It’s our decision.
Contemplative activism puts forth the idea that God is playing a role in history and that we are co-workers with God in transforming our world. But it isn’t based on a particular ideology or utopian vision. Instead, it’s based on the practice of compassion that springs from the daily practice of contemplative prayer.
We are trying to build a community of contemplative activists in Petaluma. It’s a slow process, and we are learning as we go. If you feel called to join us, we welcome you to be part of this experiment in the practice of compassion within movements for social change.
Video of Chris Hedges discussing his new book, Empire of Illusion:
http://fora.tv/2009/12/08/Chris_Hedges_Empire_of_Illusion
Truthdig columns by Chris Hedges
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/one_day_well_all_be_terrorists_20091228/
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/liberals_are_useless_20091206/
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IN EVERY SOCIETY CERTAIN PEOPLE are viewed as sacred. Whatever they are called – priests, saints or shamans – they are distinguished from ordinary people for having a special connection to the spiritual world. But when Jesus called his disciples, he chose ordinary people like Peter and Andrew, who were fishermen.
THROUGH THE PRACTICE of contemplative prayer, which brings forth an awareness of God’s presence in our everyday lives, the movement from prayer to activism becomes as natural as breathing. Contemplative activism is prayer in action.
Contemplative prayer leads to deeper trust in God. As we are rooted in God’s love, we learn to trust ourselves in a deeper way as well. Creative expression in art, activism and everyday life will grow in unexpected ways from trusting ourselves and God. 
Contemplative prayer is the practice of learning to be open to the sacred in everyday life. In my religious upbringing, I was taught to think of the sacred as something external to myself. The central way that religious institutions exercise power is by controlling access to the sacred. They organize themselves like corporations with something to produce and sell. The professional clergy are turned into salespeople and we are turned into consumers of the sacred. What do we have to offer to gain access to the sacred? Mainly, obedience to the institution and its official representatives, doctrines and rituals.
