Of all the commandments, edicts, conventions, rules of the road, life stipulations guidelines and laws, none causes me to ponder almost daily my relationship to the first principle of our Unitarian Universalist Association. Now to be fair, I have outright rejected some well-established religious and moral imperatives. Though behold, I have accepted many of the ideas within the sacred texts . . . I have, for instance, no problem with numbers six through ten of the Decalogue. And, I do not reject any part of the Golden Rule. Personally, I have come to a sort-of understanding with the world religions, Much as Jay and Silent Bob did in the movie Dogma. (If you've seen it, you will recognize that one needs not "believe" as in matters of having faith in religion, but that one can "have a pretty good idea".)
In terms of history, luck places me at this point in time and place. I am privileged, white and male. The fact is - I have many advantages over others. Oppression is not really in my vocabulary of experience. As a resident of this great nation, it is my birthright to have a voice through our democratic process of governance.
Nearly Two hundred thirty-one years ago, the unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America stated that:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
This is a sound statement that we hold near and dear to our identity, no doubt. Eighty-seven years later, Lincoln added his words to our national lexicon in his Gettysburg Address:
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
And yet, one hundred years later, or one hundred eighty-seven years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, during a non-violent demonstration, Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream called people into action using these same words. Now, I do not mean for this to be a lesson on history. Nor do I mean to present a personal version of NPR's "This I believe". But the facts remain. One, I made the decision years ago to align myself with the principles of the UUA and two, I have been invited to share my thoughts during our time together today. By default, to declare myself in association with other Unitarian Universalists, and of this congregation means that, I, as a member, covenant to affirm and promote seven principles. "Only seven?" I was once asked when discussing UU-ism with non- UU's. My "elevator speech" calls upon these principles first, with elaboration of course, if time allows. Nearly everyone I share these principles with agrees that these are good things to make statements about. Who would outwardly deny that our principles are any manifestation of evil? They all sound pretty good.
Back to the part where I get to the daily pondering of principle number one, where I covenant to affirm and promote: The inherent worth and dignity of every person:
Try hard to see as I might, inherent worth and dignity are not always apparent in the driver that cuts me off on the interstate. These qualities dim in the actions of those who would do harm to me, or a member of my family. Or maybe it's just that someone has not lived up to my expectations. Sometimes, it is even hard to muster respect for the one idiot that has the upper hand in some situation in my life for which I have other ideas. These idiots are in fact, everywhere . . . In government, at the call center, and especially in the workplace. Have you seen the work poster that spoofs the movie the sixth sense? You know, the movie where the boy patient, played by Hayley Jo Osment tells the Psychiatrist, played by Bruce Willis, that he sees dead people, who don't know they are dead? The workplace poster says: "I see dumb people . . . They do not know they are dumb . . . Some of them work here!"
Sometimes I'm taken back by my own thoughts about others (though usually this is much later, after the fact). At least I can take solace in the fact that I have not committed a sin . . . I have not broken any holy law that has been handed down from on high . . . I have but experienced a momentary lapse of my covenant. Like the snippets from our nations historical texts cited previously, all of these phrases sound good. Say these words to almost anyone, and you are likely to receive a head-nod in agreement.
There are few guidelines on how one should actually carry out our covenant. That is left up to us, as responsible human beings to decide. But, is everyone responsible? Do undignified acts that reduce the worth of others represent the inherent worth and dignity of the perpetrator of such acts? You are probably beginning to sense my confusion, or frustration in determining if every person possesses inherent worth and dignity.
I've come to an understanding with my covenant. I consider myself a fairly good judge of character, though more often than not I tend to deny any "flags" that might signal to my subconscious that someone would do me harm or fall short of my expectations in some way. You might call this denial "giving one the benefit of the doubt". I think it fair to say that in my view, everyone starts out with a full deck of cards, a score of 100, an "A" until they prove unable to maintain that standard.
But then this gets complicated. What if, through no fault of his or her own, someone has slighted me or let me down? What if there was something in this persons past or in their present situation that caused them to act or be a certain way? Maybe there were reasons, way beyond my understanding at work here. Perhaps the person could not help the drop in "grade". And just maybe, should I adjust my grading scale . . . Grade on a curve?
We have seen how interpretations of our historical texts, like the Declaration of Independence have been twisted or grotesquely interpreted to exclude others. That, "all men" are created equal would mean that "all white, male, land owners" are created equal.
The problem with seeing every person as equal is the fact that we are not. We are all unique and un-repeatable. The human community displays a great range of talents and abilities, genetic differences, and social situations, which complicates the ideal global vision of equality. The problem with our first principle, as I see it, is that the diverse nature of the individual within our global community is not acknowledged in every person.
Our Principles and Purposes are up for review, and perhaps, a rewrite. For the last 15 years, they have served us well. Perhaps the Unitarian Universalist "Golden Rule" should read: "see into others, as you would have others see into you." And so it also may be with affirming and promoting the inherent worth and dignity of every person, that we should also, acknowledge the uniqueness of the individual.
I've been a UU since the 1950's, joining as a college student. Soon thereafter, the first principal made its appearance. When the Unitarian and the Universalists merged in 1961, they agreed to "Affirm, defend, and promote the supreme worth and dignity of every human personality" Now: We, the member congregations of UUA, "covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person."
Clearly, this principle has provided a moral basis for the improvement of the human condition. History shows us the rights and privileges - or lack thereof - of peoples of the European countries throughout the centuries and the affect it has had on the American society. And we can see that where UUs and many others believed in the worth and dignity of every person, that certain groups in our society have benefited - former slaves, those with a different sexual orientation, the poor, etc.
This concept of inherent worth and dignity has been attributed to various sources.
For a Humanist, the construct of inherency is not an issue. "Ethical values are derived from human need and interest as tested by experience. Humanists ground values in human welfare shaped by human circumstances, interests, and concerns and extended to the global ecosystem and beyond. We are committed to treating each person as having inherent worth and dignity, and to making informed choices in a context of freedom consonant with responsibility."
However, In the Winter 2007 UUA World, Rev. Bill Schultz, former president of UUA and then President of Amnesty International for a dozen years, does raise questions about inherency.
He says there are only three options for assigning worth and dignity:
Obviously, we can see that the governments and religions of the world do not agree on the first two, and that may leave UU's with the third alternative.
Rev. Schultz suggests:
Therefore, our role as a religious people is to build our strong community at CUUC and to confront those who would reserve worth to only a few and save dignity for their immediate neighbors (people like themselves) to bring about this truly revolutionary concept. Just think, if UUs and others succeeded in affirming and promoting the inherent worth and dignity of every person, wouldn't it change the world?
Hello my name is Patty Gullick. I serve as co-coordinator of the Programs committee, chair of the RE committee, and serve on the Social Justice committee and on the Worship Committee. I have considered myself a UU since I was in 8th grade. In my early 20s I felt like I had many questions about life, death, and god. In the past few years, and entering my 40s this year, my children have given me opportunities to discuss and revisit these questions at the dinner table, on the way to a soccer game, or while avoiding some chore they have been tasked to do. My answers have surprised me-not because of any major change of thought, but more because every once in a while now, it occurs to me that I might be actually onto something. A few weeks ago, Steve Botts, a member on the Worship committee asked me to talk about my thoughts about the first principle of Unitarian Universalism. It states that we will covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. I agreed. Feeling in my heart -- I just might be on to something in regards to this one. I thought, this would be an easy task. But when I got to thinkin' about it, dang it, while I know I have a strong conviction in this idea, the devil was in the details. We are a religious community which doesn't have a religious creed. We avoid anything that looks like doctrine. We can't say universally, that we affirm the worth and dignity of every person because of some external source such as God or Buddha or whatever. We must each come to this belief mostly through our experiences and/or lack of experiences within our individual life. To begin this talk, I began by checking what others have written to see what had already been said about this idea of inherent worth and dignity. There have certainly been several articles written about this idea but of course, nothing was a perfect fit for me. No big surprise:)
I am a UU who believes in god. I was raised Catholic but like many UUs, I questioned what I was being taught. Fortunately, my parents were willing to let me explore other faiths at a relatively young age and I found a home at the UU church in Bel Air, Maryland. As a UU, I have learned that one key idea of the predominant religions- is this idea of inherent worth. Well, while I feel fairly certain there is a god now, that hasn't always been the case and so. Still, through my experiences and questioning, I am sure that some of those religions that have been around quite longer than UU - we know a good idea when we see it. When people affirm and promote the idea of each individual having inherent worth we have a solid point from which to build a strong community that respects individuals differences and similiarities. While a student at the U of MD, I took a class during my senior year where we were required to do an internship helping others in a community where we felt uncomfortable - where we didn't fit. It was hard for me to decide where to choose my internship because at the time, I honestly didn't think there were too many places where I couldn't fit and be comfortable - I had no prejudices! I grew up as an Army brat, had recently finished basic training and AIT in the US Army - throughout my life, I felt blessed to have had been exposed to so many different people. I finally decided to do my internship at the VA hospital in Washington, DC. In my early 20s, one of my biggest fears was getting old. Through that internship and many of the class assignments, it became so apparent to me that when we fear what we don't understand, at the minimum we avoid it and at our worst we condemn it. We all too often forget or possibly aren't able to see that all of us have inherent worth. And, while the internship didn't make me not fear getting old, it did make me recognize I wasn't as perfect as I had thought and recognize that I too have prejudices - a baby step to getting rid of the fear :)
Because of my life experiences, I realize that in this we are not all blessed equally. However, in this country we do have freedom and opportunity to make choices. My degree is in Special Education. I worked for many years with the Association of Retarded Citizens. I continue to volunteer for Special Olympics and currently substitute for a men's senior tennis team. Those old guys have taught me not to fear death, but to instead embrace life and look for opportunities to see the inherent worth and dignity in the individuals that I meet.
Given my commitment to this first principle, are there exceptions? Does the unborn fetus have inherent worth? In my mind, the answer is YES. Does the person in a coma have inherent worth? Again, I say yes. The mass murderer? The child molester? Here I have a qualified yes. There has to be, in my mind, a practical point when an individual, or group of people make choices which threaten the civil stability of a society, when it is society's responsibility to remove that person or persons from it's group so that the group remains stable. Just because a person has inherent worth, does not mean there are no consequences for acts which society deems unacceptable.
As I talk to you, I am keenly aware that you may have different experiences and thoughts about this topic than me...but hopefully as we hear what several of us speak, we will think more critically about our own beliefs and perhaps be more understanding of the various ideas that exist at CUUC. Perhaps we will continue our efforts with a bit more vigor to create a climate where the worth and dignity of each of us is respected and honored.