Preaching to the Choir

Yesterday I attended a Town Hall meeting in Sacramento, CA.  As I left the event a colleague stated, “I’m tired of the same people attending events, we’re always 'preaching to the choir'."  As I pondered this analogy, "preaching to the choir," I realized how much this event mirrored the pageantry of a church service on Easter Sunday.  The room was packed with the same familiar faces, there were those who only came out for significant events, and lastly there were new people- individuals who knew no one, and did not know what to expect.  Much like Easter Sunday these new individuals were the “unbelievers” in “the house” that wanted to be sparked, to be touched, to walk away with a new hope and understanding; they wanted to be heard.  However, there was a message to be given, that followed the same tired rhythms and familiar syncopations.  The “choir” knew the songs, they have sung them for years.  They knew exactly where to punctuate a quote with the requisite “amen.”  The “word” went on.  Instead of a renewed hope, instead of direction, the audience members were given platitudes, pedantry, and pandering.  They were patronized for not knowing the rules…the choir sang on.   But, this time, at this event something different occurred.   The choir too was hoping for something new…a new chord in an otherwise old, tired refrain.  There stirred within the choir a sense of unrest.

I am, for lack of a better word, a “choir member.”  I attend town hall meetings, join boards, volunteer for human rights and social justice causes because the plight of my fellow human is vitally important to my life energy.  I attend events such as the town hall meeting because I desperately want these events to be successful. I want something different to be done. I cannot abide by the status quo; I seek systems change.  As Paulo Friere stated, "the educator has the duty of not being neutral." The essence of my being must speak out, to take a stand.  I do not have the luxury of neutrality...even when it goes against the choir.

It is time for our communities to move beyond reacting to events.  Becoming angry and outraged and then moving to relative silence. We can't continue to move from one news cycle to the next.   We must begin to address our culpability and complicity in reinforcing the belief systems that hinder systemic change.  The solutions to what happens in, and to, our communities rests with us.  Our children will not allow us to sing from the same hymnals.  Our children perceive this world differently as they experience the injustices of years past.  We risk irrelevance if we don’t recognize, acknowledge, and address the needs of our current times with a new approach.

The opportunity for systems change is now.  Frantz Fanon said it best, "each generation must discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it, in relative opacity."  Which do you choose?