Answering the Call

After months of thinking and talking about it, I am starting this blog. Blogging is contrary to my private, introverted nature. But this is something that I truly feel called to do. And like most prophetic calls, I have fought it all along the way.

This blog will chronicle my engagement of the intersection of spirituality and justice. Its name comes from my reclamation of the term patriot. Patriotism is not blind obsequiousness or unquestioned deference to authority. Patriotism is simply love of country. The important word is love. It does not mean one country is better than other (that’s nationalism). It does not mean that I don’t love any other country (I have plenty of love to go around). And it doesn’t mean that I believe this country is perfect (If I only loved what was perfect, I would not do much loving at all). Patriotism means that this country where I was born and raised, that has shaped and molded me for good and for ill, this country has a place in my heart. And I care enough about it to want it to be the best place it can be for me and for all who live here.

Patriotism resonates with my Universalist spirit. I was reminded on Sunday of Hosea Ballou who said, "Your child has fallen into the mire, and its body and its garments are defiled. You cleanse it, and array it in clean robes. The query is, Do you love your child because you have washed it? Or, Did you wash it because you loved it?" Yes, I think this country has fallen in the mire, and I am adamant to wash it, to clean it, and robe it. And I do so because I love this country. If I did not, I would not care, and continue on my merry way. I have tried to ignore the injustice. I have tried to ignore the issues plaguing our country. I can’t. I care too much. And so I realize that my patriotism and my faith are intertwined. I am a Unitarian Universalist Patriot.