Reclaiming Moral Courage

By S. Brenda Walsh, Racine Dominican
and Member of Racine Clergy Association

In the past year, the word most frequently looked up on the Webster Dictionary Website was "integrity." In recent times, stories of indictments, criminal investigations and guilty pleas have led the public to believe that corruption and lack of moral courage are deeply rooted in our society - in business, government, economics, social interaction, and yes, even in church life. The words of G.K. Chesterton: "Christianity has not failed. It has never really been tried," are worth reconsidering. Perhaps other religious groups feel the same way about their particular beliefs and moral codes.

When we separate the moral creeds from life and daily activities, they have little or no influence on the choices we make. One can easily conclude that what is missing are moral vision  and moral courage to put the vision into action. That vision and courage must be carried over into boardroom and classroom, into halls of government and religious gatherings. Hopefully, this will result in our ability to be caring, concerned and generous as well as just, knowing that every choice we make has social and moral consequences. As we share that vision and grow in moral courage, we can learn how to challenge our reliance on military and nuclear power, our sense of empire, our addiction to a high standard of living and our total commitment to independence in the extreme, apart from the common good.

Seeing Wholeness

We all have the gift of imagination. Our moral courage can be restored if we go back and re-imagine life and living arrangements as God intended. We are invited to re-imagine life away from power, white privilege and lack of moral courage in the corporate, legal, and social settings, and to see life as a sacred journey and not as a purely secular adventure for personal gain. Seeing ourselves and others whole is a good place to start. I recall when I was in India on a U.N. development project considering needs of the poor of the world, the first thing we were taught was to greet each person with the word "NAMASTE." It means: "I honor you for your innate goodness and for the divine spark within you and for the potential you have." No matter what you see on the outside, each person has goodness within. From this foundation, respect, moral codes, truth telling, moral empowerment could be enhanced. Will Rogers reminds us in a humorous way that "if we get on the right track, we will get run over if we just sit there."  Moral courage takes practice in everyday interactions. 

We need circles of care and concern and conversations around sustainable living, examining injustice and exposing it to the light of truth, addressing violence in every form, redefining business success and the common good. Local and regional dialog on these issues can make a difference and help all of us to have moral courage in our daily lives. Through stories and examples, children and youth can learn about it and hopefully see it in action in the adults around them. 

God's Partners

Some time ago, Rabbi Gellman, who grew up in the Milwaukee area, told this story called "Partners." It goes like this: "God made human beings and then said to them: "Now I am going to rest. Please finish off the world for me. Really, it's nearly all done." But the man and woman answered: "We cannot do this all by ourselves. You have big plans, God, and we are so little." Then God said to them. "You are big enough. If you agree to finish the world for me, I will be your partner." The man and woman were puzzled. "What's a partner?" they asked. God answered: "A partner is someone you work with on a very big project that neither one would try to do alone. If you have a partner, you can never give up because someone else is depending on you."  "That's a deal," they said. One day an angel stopped by and asked God if the world was finished yet. "Go ask my partners," said God.

I believe in every reflection on the Word of God and in every gathering, that question posed by God in the story can be considered: "How are my partners doing?" Like the prophets of old, we are asked to be articulators of God's vision for the world and to be partners with God in making the vision a reality. It will take more than politics, Left or Right, more than military might or power and privilege. It will take a true partnership with God and a proclaiming of God's power in every area of our lives, both public and private.

Moral courage can be taught and learned. Its presence or absence shed light on many of the world's most outstanding successes or failures, tragedies or triumphs, down through the ages and in our present day. Now is the time to reclaim our moral courage so that we and our descendents may live life with purpose, hope and peace.