Victims, Victors, and the Intolerance of Ambiguity

I write this sitting in the House of Deputies while the vote by orders is taking place following an lengthy debate over concurring with the House of Bishops on resolution D025. Without rehashing the content of D025 I am struck by another dynamic which has been a part of our public discourse now for many years, but is brought into stark relief in this context.

When I was a deputy to General Convention for the first time back in 1991 those of us who embraced a more liberal viewpoint were outnumbered at that General Convention. It was clear that the significant majority of delegates favored a more conservative approach to scripture and practice. Back then the exhibit hall included well attended booths for Episcopalians United, National Organization of Episcopalians for Life, the Episcopal Synod of America, and the Society for the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. While there were booths representing a more liberal perspective they were in a clear minority.

The language common to those who represented the liberal position at that time was very much the language of the victim. We often spoke of the oppression of the church against us and those whom we represented. The victors in those debates spoke benevolently of tolerance and care which rang hollow in our ears as they sat comfortably in their victory. Legislative and parliamentary process was used as a tool to exercise the will of the majority to the exclusion of the conscience of the minority. It was a painful experience for myself and for others.

Now, 18 years later, I sit in a very different in General Convention. In this convention those who embrace a more conservative viewpoint are outnumbered. The conservative extremists have moved on and those faithful Episcopalians who are conservative find themselves significantly outnumbered. Now in the convention hall all the organizations which represent a conservative perspective are gone except for a booth for the American Anglican Council. And the votes in the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies now clearly represent a more liberal position.

The language of victim now rings from the lips of conservatives. From the floor of the House of Deputies and in the conversations in the halls one now hears conservatives speak of the marginalization of their traditional perspectives and the perspectives of those they represent. And, the victors in those debates now speak benevolently of tolerance and care which is clearly ringing hollow in the the ears of conservatives as we liberals sit comfortably in our victory. I fear that once again, legislative and parliamentary process has been used as a tool to exercise the will of the majority to the exclusion of the conscience of the minority. As my consciousness rises it is once again a painful experience for myself and for those with whom I regularly disagree.

What is it that seems to perpetually make us choose the role of victim when things don’t go our way? And, more importantly, what is it that makes us choose the role of victor when we are part of a majority and can force our will? These patterns set us up for the perpetual swing of the proverbial pendulum and a lifetime of heartache.

Perhaps at the heart of it all is a form of intolerance for which we are all guilty ... a basic intolerance for ambiguity. Whether victor or victim there is comfort in the certainty of those roles and the comfortable certainty of our rightness. And yet, the vision of Anglicanism is the “Via Media.” Via Media (the “middle way”) calls us away from comfortable certainty and to a place far more difficult than compromise. The Via Media asks us to affirm the truth in all positions and to challenge their limits as well. It asks us to hold those positions in tension and allow the will of God to be discerned in the midst of the tension and ambiguity that such a position creates. It asks us to suspend our assumptions while defending justice for those we see who are marginalized. It is a position that neither allows compromise or appeasement.

Jesus preached the Kingdom of Heaven, God’s Reign of justice and peace. I suspect we won’t come to embrace that reality until we learn to live into the ambiguous and mysterious space that exists between us and those we disagree with.

Peace and Joy,

Mike Mayor