It seems that Kansas struck down the extremists–political, judicial and ecclesial–in their resounding veto of allowing politicians (of all people), judges and clergy to tell women what they can and cannot do with their bodies.
The tremendous turnout for a mid-term primary election Tuesday in the state of Kansas, famous for being deeply red and deeply republican, is a sign that moral outrage is still alive in some Americans. That is a very good sign, for as Thomas Aquinas teaches,
A trustworthy person is angry at the right people, for the right reasons, expresses it in an appropriate manner and for an appropriate length of time.
Voting seems like an appropriate manner to not allow Dobbs to kill women, oppress the poor, divide Americans by religion, send bounty hunters chasing after women, forbid people to travel across state lines, arrest and imprison doctors (it’s not my experience after our covid experience that America is overstocked with doctors, is it yours, O almighty law makers?), forbid abortion for ten-year-old rape victims, and declare one very narrow religious notion about abortion to be the rule of the land (68% of American Catholics are in favor of keeping Roe v Wade—but of course six christofascists on the unsupreme court are not among them.)
The voters of Kansas said No to those who think they have been anointed to tell all Americans–women and men, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Protestant, Catholic, humanists, atheists, indigenous peoples, that they and they alone know what to do with women’s bodies and ten-year old girls’ bodies–to step back a bit.
The unleashing of crazy politicians, urged on by a less-than-supreme court, to pass ever more draconian laws to interfere with women making difficult life and death decisions about their health and that of their families, might be nearing an end after all. And the power of politicians eager to interfere when pregnant women have miscarriages by preventing the care that the woman and her doctor consider necessary to save the woman’s life.
This election occurred in the (mythical) land of the Wizard of Oz. The mystery man behind the curtain is no mystery today—it is six christofascist judges in today’s very unmythical supreme court.
Maybe these election results in a very red state have slightly “embarrassed” judges and politicians alike. Maybe citizens from other states will rise up in November to imitate Kansas citizens and recognize extremism for what it is: The death of democracy.
The real agenda behind Dobbs is to control women’s bodies. Misogyny. Matricide. Like we are doing to Mother Earth. A patriarchal, not a patriotic, agenda.
See Matthew Fox, “Your Mother is Dying,” in Fox, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, pp. 11-34.
And Matthew Fox, Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic—and Beyond, pp. 45-58.
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video teaching, click HERE.
Banner Image: Map of the 2022 Kansas Value Them Both Amendment referendum, by county. Blue-gray counties voted No. Wikimedia Commons. Map by Talleyrand6 on Wikimedia Commons.
Queries for Contemplation
What are your thoughts about the election results in Kansas apropos of who should make decisions about women’s bodies and about medical choices between a woman and her physician?
Recommended Reading
The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance
In what may be considered the most comprehensive outline of the Christian paradigm shift of our Age, Matthew Fox eloquently foreshadows the manner in which the spirit of Christ resurrects in terms of the return to an earth-based mysticism, the expression of creativity, mystical sexuality, the respect due the young, the rebirth of effective forms of worship—all of these mirroring the ongoing blessings of Mother Earth and the recovery of Eros, the feminine aspect of the Divine.
“The eighth wonder of the world…convincing proof that our Western religious tradition does indeed have the depth of imagination to reinvent its faith.” — Brian Swimme, author of The Universe Story and Journey of the Universe.
“This book is a classic.” Thomas Berry, author of The Great Work and The Dream of the Earth.
Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic–and Beyond
Julian of Norwich lived through the dreadful bubonic plague that killed close to 50% of Europeans. Being an anchoress, she ‘sheltered in place’ and developed a deep wisdom that she shared in her book, Showings, which was the first book in English by a woman. A theologian way ahead of her time, Julian develops a feminist understanding of God as mother at the heart of nature’s goodness. Fox shares her teachings in this powerful and timely and inspiring book.
“What an utterly magnificent book. The work of Julian of Norwich, lovingly supported by the genius of Matthew Fox, is a roadmap into the heart of the eco-spiritual truth that all life breathes together.” –Caroline Myss
Now also available as an audiobook HERE.
12 thoughts on “Kansas Voters vs. Judicial, Political and Religious Extremists”
Matthew, I loved your first quotation in the meditation today: “A trustworthy person is angry at the right people, for the right reasons, expresses it in an appropriate manner and for an appropriate length of time.” And of course, that was written by St. Thomas Aquinas, the “Angelic Doctor.” I also found a cause for rejoicing in that the voters of Kansas said “No” to those who think they have been anointed to tell all Americans–women, they and they alone know what to do with women’s bodies. So your Query for Contemplation is: “What are your thoughts about the election results in Kansas apropos of who should make decisions about women’s bodies and about medical choices between a woman and her physician?” I definitely believe that it is up to each woman to decide what they feel they should do. And I wish they would just leave things the way they were so women can continue to have the right to choose. When I was in an adult catechism program (RCIA) however, there was one class which covered what Catholics teach about sexuality from a moral point of view. The class was lead by a woman who was a physician (and she had a sister who was a nun, and a brother who was a deacon). She told of how she worked for Kaiser when they used to “farm out” abortions, but she told the hospital that she could not ever support a woman in choosing abortion. And when Kaiser started performing their own abortions, she resigned. That’s just how strong the Catholics Church is on this, in fact the punishment for having an abortion is excommunication. So this is a subject with strong feelings and beliefs on both sides, because at the same time you say, “68% of American Catholics are in favor of keeping Roe v Wade—but of course six christofascists on the unsupreme court are not among them.” The real concern for me however, is the fact that it seems we have no way to influence the unsupreme court. In everything else we can vote, but not with the unsupreme court, they just do whatever they want to do, like when they decided that corporations were persons–I wonder who was greasing their palms on that one! Or are they just power hungry and control freaks?
While I do believe that every fetus/child is ‘The Eternal Message of the Moment’ I am aware of how precarious some pregnancies are for the mother. I know a Catholic who worked in Planned Parenthood. My understanding was that they did advise pregnant females about the value of the fetus and the various consequences of the choice to abort but then supported the female in making her own decision. The concern that easy abortion can be taken lightly by some females, and even used as a serial method of birth control. Thus far there have been legal regulations on abortion by time of gestation etc.
What is startling to me is that the current supreme court proclaims every abortion illegal and in the same breath makes rapid fire guns freely available to unevolved teenage males who then use their weapon to murder children, a startling ‘slaughter of the innocents’ – child sacrifice on the pyre of the NRA.
My question is: how do we avoid unregulated access to abortion which seems to devalue the fetus and at the same time honor the girl or woman who makes a considered and appropriate choice to have an abortion? It is clear that giving every fetus more rights than the every mother cannot be the final solution to this complex existential dilemma.
I should have said the ‘Schizoid Supreme court’…..
Gwen, I sooo agree with you when you say: “What is startling to me is that the current supreme court proclaims every abortion illegal and in the same breath makes rapid fire guns freely available to unevolved teenage males who then use their weapon to murder children, a startling ‘slaughter of the innocents’ – child sacrifice on the pyre of the NRA.” I also agree that your last statement is an “existential dilemma”–that is , for the individual woman and not for the court!
My poem:
What is a Child?
A child is a
point in time where
matter and spirit converge to
light ineffable eye nodes
always charged
the eternal message
of the moment..
+++
As the human offspring of a sacred cosmos an embryo is sacred at the moment of conception, as was its mother when she was conceived….. but in the nitty gritty details of life in the here and now there is often an existential dilemma when the mother must bear the burden of making a choice between herself and her fetus… She needs to feel safe and she needs her choice to be honored…
Encouraging news there in Kansas, evidence that democracy can work when its citizenry rises to the occasion, making laws and leadership consonant with the will of the body politic. There is everywhere a great disconnect between and among things that should be joined in human thought and perception. It’s a universal schism, an inherent flaw that causes folk to perceive as disconnected things otherwise whole, or meant to be joined in living relationship –mind from body, head from heart, Spirit from soul and matter, sacred from secular, science from religion, leadership from the body politic, etc. As the list is endless, and the time short, it falls to each to discover his unique and creative way to address these perilous breaches, to become the bridge-building intermediary or synapse to connect what only appear to be disconnected silos of separate neurons (souls) separated from a universal cosmic brain. Great knowledge sees all in one, gathers, builds bridges and mends breaches. Small knowledge divides, scatters, and breaks down into the disconnected many. “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad” (Matt. 12:30).
As I mentioned yesterday in the comment section, we all need to be open to the Divine Feminine Spirit of Love~Wisdom~Creativity~Compassion… in our inner and outer lives with one another and the sacredness of Mother Earth and all Her living creatures and diminishing abundant blessings… I hope everyone has read or plans to read Matthew’s “The Coming of the Cosmic Christ.” I always pray for God’s Spirit of Loving Diverse Oneness to increase in the hearts and lives of our sisters and brothers around the world — our Beloved Cosmic Christ Consciousness….
🔥❤️🙏
What spoke to me through today’s DM, was the importance of doing the deep inner heart, mind and soul work within ourselves… which in my experience takes courage. It’s the courage of being deeply honest and vulnerable… the choice of not hiding in pretense, but rather being willing to expose oneself, to self, others and God. What is it, that we are to use to polish our hearts minds and souls… in order to remove all that prevents us from reflecting and seeing more clearly the true nature of our Soul essence and sense of self, and the inherent goodness and beauty within? For myself, it is that which encloses us… through and through, both outwardly and inwardly… that being the unconditional love, compassion and mercy of God… which we experience and encounter through a personal living relationship with.
What also comes to mind, is the old saying, “never judge a book by its cover.” This speaks to me of the story that lies within oneself… which we are co-creatively writing together, through our personal relationship with God. Each souls journey… each souls story is unique… and is really only known between oneself and God. As Mother Teresa of Calcutta once stated, “everything that you experience and encounter in your souls journey of life and death… is between you and God.” This is a powerful truth… that reveals the importance of engaging with this living relationship with God, and the spiritual reality of this kenotic process of BEING LOVED… TO LOVE.
What also comes to mind are the words of MLK, stating that “it is our light that frightens us more than our darkness”. Jesus too, spoke to this… encouraging us to not hide the light within ourselves under a bushell, but rather to set it upon a stand, so that it could radiate outward, from within ourselves. He also stated the importance, meaning and value of engaging in this deep inner soul work… of becoming transparent… rather than covering the outer image of self with veils of pretense, illusions, deceptions and delusions. Indeed this is the courageous work of our souls, given us to do.
Could it be?! The heart of Divine LOVE (God) still found in the “heartland” of America?! One can hope…
}:- a.m. with Friar Richard in hope…
I have thought for a while that things have gone too far in this country in various ways, including the affirmation by the court of the right to slaughter with weapon of mass destruction and the overturning of Roe, not to mention the earlier decisions cited by Matthew. It is tragic that it takes the living dire consequences of these evil decisions to illustrate what they mean in real time and to real people. I praise the people of Kansas and others across the country who are revolted by these consequences of hunting down innocent women and girls and those who help them. Here in Florida, the constitution protects abortion, but of course there are great efforts to do away with this amendment. The question is, will enough people carry their outrage into action at the polls and elsewhere? The people’s voice may be diminished by the voter repression laws, but it can still be heard and can matter. I spoke to someone at the office of Senator Scott yesterday, and the flood of calls condemning his vote against veterans worked so that it was reversed once more and the bill passed the night before. We need to continue to shame these politicians who are clearly supporting the right wing agenda solely to stay in power.
Hope is a verb with the sleeves rolled up. I continue to appreciate this truth. Standing by helplessly is not an option. Regarding abortion, I respect the beliefs of others and only wish that they respected mine. I don’t believe the life begins at conception and am really tired of having that belief forced on me. My faith is strong but does not include that particular dogma, which, by the way, has varied over the centuries even in Roman Catholicism. A friend had a similar experience with Planned Parenthood in being very compassionately counseled about her decision. What convinced her to continue with the pregnancy was the question, If you abort, how will you feel in 10 years? The propaganda against this wonderful organization is outrageous, a pack of lies.
As far as girls and women using abortion as a form of birth control: who is capable of judging which abortions happen for “good” reasons, like being raped or being in poor health or being unable to care for another child? In my opinion, it is none of my business but a personal decision between the pregnant person and her health care people and maybe her God. Her reasons are private and not to be judged by anyone.
I have a friend, a very religious Christian. Several years ago, she lived in Texas (of all places) and worked as a volunteer at an Abortion Clinic. She said in all the time she worked there, she never saw one woman come in who had not agonized over her decision to have an abortion. It was heartbreaking. I have said for a long time that abortion is not a good decision, but sometimes it is the ONLY decision one can make.
I am reminded of Psalm 131
“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.”
Psalm 131:1-3 ESV
The intersection of our technological abilities and our inner knowledge of the sacredness of living things creates such rumblings that I have to run to my source of comfort and hope. I know many do not know Christ’s presence, protection, and providence in their lives. And as self reliant individuals we strive to control what we can. Call me naive but personally I am upset that the laws of our land are so inadequate to express what is right and good. How can laws of such a diverse country ever reflect what our community values when everyone demands the freedom to do what is right in their own eyes. What kind of barbarians are we turning into when the loudest, the violent, and the powerful get to choose what is right. Forgive my ramblings, but the current chaos is evidence of issues that need to be addressed.
A court’s decision on a law obviously doesn’t make this matter right or wrong. Far be it from me to call for legislation based on my values but I am against abortion being held up as a choice that honors one life above another, for that is a very slippery slope. Is it possible to have laws that protect the unborn and women? We did not get into this dilemma overnight of who get’s to decide life or death of whom. Lord have mercy on us.