I'm sure there's many ways you might connect this reading with service but here are some ideas if you want to use:
Schneider writes about the concept of a fluid center that "provides an alternative to [the] debilitating extremes" of "extremist-fundamentalist religions and . . . postmodern free market anarchy" (143). He explores the idea that ambiguity is one of the essential elements of our condition and requires an ethic that "calls upon the deepest energies of democracy, the fullest engagement of dialogue, and the keenest perceptions of context" ( 146). He calls this ethic, "awe-based" and states that the "capacity to be moved" may be the catalyst for opening oursleves to the complexity of our ethical being in the world (147).
Are there ways in which your service has opened you to ambiguity, to the gray areas, and at the same time expanded your capacity to grapple with this complexity in forming your own views? Do you have an example of an exchange or moment when you understood this challenge?
Responsibility--" Linked with mystery is responsibility, the challenge to respond. It is precisely out of uncertainty that we are called to responsibility. . .But what does it mean to face uncertainty [ambiguity] head on? It means that individuals (as opposed to outside authorities) must bear the brunt of decision-making, but it also means that there is a dimension beyond which individuals are able to make decisions. . ." (161-162). I hear echos of many of our other readings, especially Arendt. What have you learned from your service about this challenge to respond in the face of uncertainty, unknown outcomes? Can you describe a situation in which you began to experience the depth of complexity that surround the meeting between our personal values and the collective social issues with which we are faced every day?
No comments:
Post a Comment