“And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.”  Matthew 2:12

Wise men and women know that there are times when you can’t go back the way you came.  So it was for the three magi from the East, who, having caught the vision of the Christ in Bethlehem, knew they needed to take another road home.

So it is for us, having witnessed in our hearts the resurrection of the Cosmic Christ at Easter, while yearning for a pandemic pass-over.  Wisdom whispers to us that we can’t go back the way we got here.  Things will never be the same.

I feel a manifesto is in the making.  A global free-form, rough and ready, collective envisioning is underway.  We can no longer abide the oppressive political and economic structures that we used to tolerate as inevitable.  Alternatives that a few months ago seemed pie-in-the-sky are now burning necessities.  Critical changes that seemed impossible are now proving to be realistically attainable.

So what track shall we cut to get where we want to be?  For this road-building work, I lean into my shovel and dig up some words to summarize the way ahead:

“We covenant with each other, and with Ultimate Reality, to continue protecting each other when this pandemic passes.  We are one people on one planet.  Today, sheltering in place and keeping physical distance from each other are acts of service and kindness to our fellow human beings near and far.  Wearing masks and washing hands in Boise protects and defends our sisters and brothers in Bangalore.

“The coronavirus has proven to us that health is a public good.  So we covenant together to assure that all people have access to quality health care, regardless of their ability to pay.

“The epidemic has proven to us that facts matter.  So we covenant together to resist demagoguery, to vote liars out of political office, to carefully choose our sources so that we get accurate information, and to support the advancement of science with our taxes.

“The virus has treated us as equals, bringing suffering and death to all classes and kinds of people.  But our response to the virus has exposed glaring and even deadly inequalities.  So as equals we covenant to fight the virus and other threats to our common good – including social and economic structures that pile benefits on the privileged few at the expense of the many.  We will establish a universal basic income, childcare and family leave for all parents, and paid sick leave for all.  We will have real democracy with majority rule: neutering the Electoral College, wiping out gerrymandering, making voting simple, easy, and universally accessible.  We will tax ourselves progressively, with richer people paying incrementally higher rates on income, and with a meaningful tax on wealth, in order to pay for government services that ensure the common good.  Private enterprise will thrive in a population kept healthy and secure by governmental services.

“The pandemic showed us what clean air looks like, as we cut back on transportation while sheltering in place.  We have dramatically reduced carbon emissions in this crisis.  We have proven that we can do it!  We covenant with each other and with the Earth to keep it that way, reversing global warming and protecting soil and water from pollution.  The pandemic has taught us that our fates are inseparable.  We covenant to remember what we have learned in this crisis, and to continue in solidarity as one human race on our one precious planet.”

How would you summarize the way forward?  Let’s keep the conversation going!

JIM BURKLO

Blog: Musings

Senior Associate Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life, University of Southern California