Community, Contemplation, and Creativity

Part 4: How we can create a new category for political engagement

The invitation to be part of Liberatus—to give peace a voice in Washington—is an invitation to remake politics from the ground up by creating a new category for political engagement.

We live in a time when it seems as if the political categories and choices we have been faced with all of our lives are the only viable options. However, the first steps towards creating a new category for political engagement is accepting that there are alternative ways of creating our shared life together.

Problems in politics are not “out there” as much as they are “in here.” Once I accept that a political culture that perfectly reflects the peace of Christ is not something that is possible or that can be completely achieved, I am free to set out advocating for it. Perhaps this is what Richard Rohr means when he talks about a second naivety in the second half of life.

Because peace and wholeness cannot be owned, controlled, established, or achieved, we are free to celebrate them, which in turn is the path to seeing them come into existence. The peace of Christ means that we do not enter politics primarily for the sake of achieving a policy goal, but rather as an opportunity to love our neighbors as ourselves. When the greatest commandment becomes our purpose, we can see beyond false divides that create two Americas. We can transcend proving ideological purity because we know that wisdom transcends ideology. And we can therefore create new solutions instead of repeating old ideology-based talking points because we are finally free to converse with those who disagree with us in our pursuit of wisdom.

Finally, a call to give peace a voice in Washington is not only a call to write for or receive a copy of the print journal, it is also a call to follow this same path to peace—inclusive communities, a pursuit of wisdom, and work that reflects the beauty of our Creator—in our local communities. As we expand, we will continue recruiting Liberatus Ambassadors across the country to carry this message and organize ways for the grassroots to be involved.

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Liberatus is a community journal about wholeness in politics, because all of us are tired of dysfunction. Citizens who join us are advocates for how the peace of Christ can remake politics from the ground up.

Journal Entry #115

ISSUE 017: VISIONEERING, PART 4