Compassionate Care and Community: The Work Continues

Compassionate Care and Community: The Work Continues

By Heather Vickery on October 4, 2024

UUSC Coordinator for Congregational Activism Heather Vickery pens a heartfelt reflection on the work ahead as the moral arc of the universe bends slowly towards justice.

As election day gets closer, my stress levels about what is going to happen keep rising. I have to continually ground myself in the present. I remind myself that whatever happens, Unitarian Universalists and our allies will move towards justice together with love at our center. One of the things that has been helping me stay grounded is knowing that no matter the outcome on November 5, the work will continue for all of us.

You might be thinking, "but Heather, one outcome will be disaster, and another will uphold human rights. How can you say, no matter the outcome?"

Well, friends, as much as that may feel like truth, this binary oversimplifies the situation we are in. Truly, there are outcomes of the upcoming election that could make organizing for human rights and towards liberation much harder, but elections do not and cannot immediately change the lived realities of citizens.

Right now, right here, fascist attacks on our two-spirit, transgender and gender diverse beloveds, immigrants, and people of color across the country are on the rise. This is a continuation of how this country has always oppressed these communities. The damage that years of disenfranchisement, white supremacy and dominant culture, transphobia, conservative judicial activism and more will not be wiped out immediately by a win for progressive values in November-just as they were not in 2020. The work will continue-we will have to continue to put love at the center and push for the liberation of all people.

If the forces of fascism and totalitarianism win in November, undoubtedly, we will have a harder time organizing and more harm will be done in that situation. And, just as a win for progressive values won't immediately undo past harm, a win for fascism won't immediately undo our victories and love for each other and the world. We must be prepared to continue to resist oppression no matter who is in the Office of the U.S. President-and remember that we are all in this together.

As you volunteer for UU The Vote or other election defense work, as you prepare yourself and your congregation and communities to respond to whatever the future brings, remember that it is relationships and communities that will sustain us, not politicians and laws. Remember: When in doubt, love reaches out. This is no time for distant devastation. Breathing in and breathing out, let us continue the work of love-centered justice, come what may.

Image credit: UUSC

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