“We Are Ready to Take This On!”
I woke up a couple of days ago with an idea that had formed in my mind while I was sleeping. I had gone to sleep with all the turmoil at the Washington, D.C., USA, Capitol building running around in my head.
I have been thinking a lot about the collapse of capitalism—and how surprised we are that it would happen in our lifetimes and the sense that we aren’t ready, that we haven’t discharged enough, that we aren’t confident or powerful enough to take charge in a way that will move the world forward.
Well, I woke up with an awareness that we actually are ready to take this on! Three events brought me to that awareness. One of them was a clear perspective someone had shared on an RC e-mail discussion list. Another was a comment made to me after the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol building that “People are more ready than ever to hear your words.” The third was an experience I’d had after doing a successful introductory lecture for members of an international corporation.
I had done the presentation twice that day and known I had done a good job. But I suddenly felt absolutely horrible. I could not remember ever feeling that bad before. It took me several hours and a few Co-Counseling sessions to tie the feelings to the presentation I had made. I hated myself and felt completely humiliated. I was sure they would never again ask me to do anything. I felt suicidal. And I suddenly understood, for the first time, what Tim Jackins has been saying about facing the unbearable. I had never known what the unbearable was until that moment. I did not want to be present in the world. I felt like I had stepped off the planet, like I was no longer standing on solid ground.
I finally realized the full viciousness of racism and sexism and what is sitting on all of us that keeps us feeling small and powerless. I had interrupted the distress by stepping further outside the oppression than I ever thought I could. It had woken me up—and I hadn’t known I was asleep. When the events took place at the Capitol, it all came together for me: Yes, I do believe we are ready to take this on. It won’t be easy and will feel horrible, but we can do it.
There is still a lot I am confused about, but there are some crucial things about which I feel clear. I am clear about not blaming the former U.S. president. I don’t think it makes sense to give someone a job they are not competent to do and then blame them for their incompetence. It has never made sense to focus our energy on outrage at his misadventures. Our attention has to be turned to the people who completely stopped thinking and installed him because of their anger and outrage. Their racism has to be addressed in a way that will move them and the world forward.
The murder of George Floyd woke the world up a bit, and the recent events at the Capitol woke us all up a bit more. The world is ready for answers. Many can see that everything they’ve known and believed in has failed to bring the results we all want for the world. We in RC know some things that the world may be ready to hear.
I remember someone saying that Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed because he was a man ahead of his time. There hadn’t been enough people with the awareness necessary to move forward with him. I believe there may be enough people now who are ready. And this latest event has opened a door we can step through. It is a door that will not remain open, the desperate forces of capitalism will move quickly to close it, but we can walk through it now.
Of course we don’t feel ready, and that doesn’t matter. We know to decide, act, and then discharge. So, what do we need to do?
White people: support all the RCers of the Global Majority you know to move boldly. Back them, support them, give them resource, let them borrow your courage, and listen to them.
People of the Global Majority: speak. You don’t have to believe that you are brilliant. Stand on RC theory and put yourself out there as a person of knowledge and influence—because you are. Don’t wait to be asked. We are in a position now to approach the powers that be with answers. Put on your best attire, mask up, stand tall with your shoulders back, and head out into the world.
You will probably feel terrible—and your beloved Co-Counselors will be standing by to let you fall apart, over and over again, as you keep going. I plan to do this. I don’t feel any more capable and competent and confident than I did yesterday. But I think this is the time, and the world is ready for our bold, brilliant, loving, and powerful message.
Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of women
(Present Time 203, April 2021)