Marginalization, Part 2
…the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. Luke 7:22
Marginalization is ultimately about power and exclusion. Those in power are able to marginalize those without it, and they often do. And by marginalizing those with little power, the powerful gain even more power at the expense of the marginalized from whom it is taken. Of course at some point, as has happened throughout human history, the powerless reach a critical mass sufficient to overthrow the powerful and force a redistribution of influence, at least until the new power group is overthrown. But the wheels of karma turn insufferably slowly, at least for the marginalized. This destructive pattern of exchanging power, influence, and oppression – having it one day, losing it the next – is an identifying characteristic of what I call the new/old social pandemic. Those who have want more; those who have little have even that taken from them – like a black hole, sucking everything within reach into themselves, without satisfaction.
Unfortunately, the desires for power and influence, like the desires for money and possessions, are insatiable because there is no amount that feels secure or sufficient. In organizations, the higher one rises, the greater the number of people seeking to unseat and replace you. There is a persistent anxiety among top executives that keeps them looking over their shoulders for those wanting what they have. And the paranoia is not limited to businesses but is also rampant in politics, churches, and even families. The reign of the alpha tends to be short. Under the new/old social pandemic, those looking over their shoulders are those of us who live lifestyles of excess, who hoard what others desperately need, and who destroy the natural resources future generations must have in order to survive.
The marginalization of others is a favored tool for collecting, justifying, and increasing one’s hold on power and influence. For decades, even centuries after slaves were freed in the aftermath of the Civil War, the rights granted to black persons lagged behind those of their white counterparts. Women were not allowed full citizenship rights, like the ability to vote, until the 1920s, or to have a credit card in their name until the 1970s. Gay persons were regularly denied housing, employment, and other basic necessities. Even today, with many legal protections in place to help prevent overt discrimination, examples persist of folks being marginalized in ways that ought not occur.
As I mentioned last week, marginalization often reveals itself in our efforts to make others look evil, bad, or threatening. We may marginalize in an attempt to hide what we subconsciously fear may be true of ourselves. If we refuse to accept a personal trait in our inner life, we are unlikely to allow it in lives external to ours either. The Bible is a common instrument of marginalization since one can always find passages that imply just about anything on the spectrum of human appearance and behavior is contrary to God’s will. To do so, of course, one must pick and choose selected passages from the Bible and remove them from their context. The Bible as a whole, tells the story (from many viewpoints) of a God relentlessly striving to bring all people into God’s kingdom. Taken in its entirety, the Bible is not a tale of marginalization or exclusion but of welcome and accommodation.
The oppressive cycle of this social pandemic, as old as time itself, can be broken, but it requires those in power to agree to and lead a voluntary redistribution of their power and wealth, allowing the marginalized to rise to positions of equality. Picture the scales of justice being equalized into balance. In other words, the powerful must willingly give up that which others seek from them, thus lowering their material standard of living in order to allow the standard for others to rise. It is nearly impossible to accomplish, however, because power and possessions are seductive. Many fear this will drive them into poverty or homelessness, but that is more likely to occur when they resist until a rebellion occurs and they are forced to relinquish their excess. When justly distributed, there are plenty of resources for everyone to live comfortably.
The gospels describe several times when Jesus restores the sight of a blind person. We assume it was physical sight being restored, and perhaps it was. But there is a more wide-spread form of blindness that Jesus attempted to heal too, which is blindness to the plight of the marginalized. It is akin to the deafness of those who can hear, but won’t. It is related to those who are dead inside to the pained cries of their neighbors. These allegorical afflictions are rampant today and manifestations of the new/old social pandemic. The Bible says we were created in the image and likeness of God, so before we marginalize another we should ask, “Which of these images of God should I marginalize today?”
This is the 21st in a series titled The New-Old Social Pandemic. The opinions expressed here are mine. To engage with me or to explore contemplative spiritual direction, contact me at ghildenbrand@sunflower.com.
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