During our Quaker Meeting for Worship this morning, a Friend asked that we hold in the Light the people of the United States as they choose their next president.
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During our Quaker Meeting for Worship this morning, a Friend asked that we hold in the Light the people of the United States as they choose their next president.
For those outside the bubble of partisanship, the party conference season is likely to induce varying degrees of irritation and despondency.
'Honour' is both an abstract noun and a verb. These characteristics have become somewhat confused as sacked government ministers are rewarded and Olympic and Paralympic athletes feted for the achievements which have delighted and inspired so many over the last few weeks.
“A millionaire with a private cinematograph, all the necessary props and a troupe of intelligent actors could, if he wished, make practically all of his inner life known. He could explain the real reasons of his actions instead of telling rationalised lies, point out the things an ordinary man has to keep locked up because there are no words to express them. In general, he could make other people understand him.” So wrote George Orwell in his 1940 essay 'New Words'.
Something unlooked for has happened over the last two weeks. Many of us have been turned from Olympic scepticism towards – if not an entirely uncritical enthusiasm – a frame of mind which acknowledges it has caught a glimpse of the kind of society which we could be, and has taken inspiration from it.
It gets harder by the day to hear the still small voice. There is a stridency in our culture which makes dialogue, the resolution of conflict or even simple understanding increasingly difficult.
Many believers want politicians to talk more about God and faith. Many secularists wish they would stop doing so. But are both missing the point?