"Democracy Still Matters"

Nearly every Sunday morning I stand here and welcome you, whether you are a longtime member or a first-time visitor, with a few words about our history. We Unitarian Universalists are proud of our roots. Our tradition reaches back to movements for tolerance and religious freedom abroad and to the beginnings of democracy here in the United States. The spirit of our faith, with its rigorous affirmation of the inherent worth and dignity of all people, has always been closely intertwined with the struggle for social reform. Our vision of religious community has evolved along with the civic values of our society. We understand that our faith asks us to be engaged citizens. In time of crisis, we turn to the values that sustain us and give us strength for the challenge we face.

But it is not always easy to be an engaged citizen. We gather here today weary from the week and wary about what comes next. We're tired of hearing how divided our country is but we're not ready to come back together. It may be a good time to revisit our history and our values, but we do so with our nerves exposed, unwilling to make any pretensions about unity or healing.

Cornel West, in his new book "Democracy Matters," describes our condition this way: "The dissonance of being both a person who ardently believes in democratic ideals - how can we not fall in love with them if and when we are exposed to them? - and a wide-eyed realist about the dispiriting truths of everyday life in America can be alternately enraging, numbing, and crushing." We feel this dissonance acutely right now, but it is always with us. "The profound dismay with our democracy," West notes, "goes beyond the bounds of the current moment." The energy we place in the democratic process make us more vulnerable to the disturbing realities that corrupt it. We long for something better, that is why we are engaged citizens. But politics all too often lets us down. We yearn for authentic political discourse, and for a democracy that truly reflects what the people hold as a common good.

This yearning is also part of who we are. It is the dynamic underlying what Cornel West calls the "deep democratic tradition" of our country. This tradition, he writes, "is not just a system of governance, as we tend to think of it, but a cultural way of being." It is the longing for a "politics that is not about winning a political game but about producing better lives." This deep democratic tradition gives voice to the people's hopes and responds to their power.

Cornel West, a professor of religion at Princeton University, draws deeply from his African American heritage for examples of the deep democratic tradition - and of the dissonance in our collective history. He points out that slavery and the domination of indigenous people were two components of our American democracy, components that persist today in the form of racism and imperialism. Unless we address this corruption in our democracy, we will never realize the full potential we have as a nation.

At the same time, we see the deep democratic tradition in action when oppressed people rise up and work together to be free. I chose to read the story "White Socks Only" this morning because it is such a moving illustration of how people have the power to overcome oppression. In the story, a little girl is punished for drinking at a water fountain reserved for "whites only." The other black people who witness the incident come forward and one by one, all drink at the same fountain. Their solidarity and courage expose the injustice of segregation, and bring about change in their community.

This is the deep democratic tradition at work. It offers an important lesson for today. Think about the movements for social change that are part of our history. The civil rights movement made the strides it did because ordinary people got together and stood up for what was right. Their leaders may have been powerful, but leaders could not have done it all alone.

However we view the outcome of the presidential election, we should not invest it with the power that rightly belongs to us. We have power we can use, each and every day, to make politics not simply about winning or losing, but about producing better lives. This is the power that brings about social transformation and corrects injustice. This is the power that changes the world.

Unitarian Universalism is a deep democratic tradition because we too acknowledge the value of each individual and the power of what each of us can do. According to Cornel West, it was Unitarian Ralph Waldo Emerson who first articulated this idea in the American context. West writes, Emerson "believed that within the limited framework of freedom in our lives, individuals can and must create their own democratic individuality. He understood that democracy is not only about the workings of the political system but more profoundly about individuals being empowered and enlightened (and suspicious of authorities) in order to help create and sustain a genuine democratic community, a type of society that was unprecedented in human history." West notes that Emerson "reveled in the burning social issues of his day . . . highlighting the need for democratic individuals to be nonconformist, courageous, and true to themselves."

Emerson's approach to spirituality was equally nonconformist and courageous. He questioned the authority of scripture and the relevance of ritual; his iconoclastic adventures led him to discover religions outside the Christian context in which he had been schooled. It was Emerson who introduced Unitarians to the dazzling array of scripture, ritual and religious wisdom to be discovered in the world, a discovery that would change us forever. Because of it, we understand that religious pluralism is a precious expression of cultural diversity and a value of the deep democratic tradition. We cherish it because we understand that a place that is safe for religious pluralism - in the heart or on the street - is a place that is safe for all people. It can only be preserved in an environment protecting freedom and practicing tolerance.

Cornel West notes that there is another "surge of civically engaged religiosity" on the rise. This surge, however, recognizes only one faith. "So zealous has this movement become," West writes, "that it has turned into a hugely divisive and antidemocratic force in the country."

We have all heard the post-election reports about how the yearning for "moral values" motivated people to vote as they did. In the public mind, these "moral values" have become associated with social attitudes that belong to a specific religious point of view. We Unitarian Universalists should be deeply concerned about this development. The moral values of the deep democratic tradition do not belong to any one religion - they belong to a society that is safe for everyone, regardless of their religion. Moral values express how people actually live - and love - in a society that respects individuals and practices freedom.

We Unitarian Universalists have made historic choices affirming moral values. From Ralph Waldo Emerson's public lectures on the abolition of slavery to our own congregation's unanimous vote affirming civil marriage as a civil right, we are proud of the positions we have taken. I believe that history will show that the deep democratic tradition was sustained in such courageous declarations.

Those of us who are discouraged that politics does not reflect our views can take heart from what Cornel West has to say. Writing eloquently about the history of blacks in our country, West gently but truthfully reminds us that they are among the "wise voices in a deep democratic tradition in America," even though they were often not heard. "They all knew," he writes, "that even if the tears of the world are a constant quantity and that the air is full of our cries, we can and should embark on a democratic quest for wisdom, justice and freedom." Victory for the deep democratic tradition comes every time a few more people step up and claim their human right. It comes when each of us, people of faith true to our own tradition, take hope from our history, believe in our future, and work for that brighter day. Though there may still be a long way to travel, our vision and our strength are still with us. Look how far we have come already.

The reference for this sermon is Cornel West's "Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperalism" (New York: The Penguin Press, 2004).