Friends,
Standing in solidarity with the Occupy Together movement on the steps of St Pauls cathedral, we know what it is to protest, to be vilified and persecuted, imprisoned and tortured. This Protestent cathedral is only here because people protested against the injustices and imbalances of their day. So its fitting that modern protesters camp on its steps, to remind them of their roots, and to remind us of our duty.
We are armed with nothing except this valuable sense of history, over 300 years of it. Again and again we come to this point and we know its a never ending cycle of division and unity, tearing apart and pulling together, striving for balance, and all you can do is support it.
Ive been looking back through the Red Book at the comments Quakers have been making for over 300 years. Such a small frail voice, but it keeps speaking.
Here it is in 1659 in Quaker origins during the English Civil War: “We are not for names, nor men, nor titles of Government, nor are we for this party, nor against another.....but we are here for Justice, Mercy, Peace and Freedom...and for Goodness ,for Unity with God and for one another, that all these may abound”.
And again in 1933 during the first banking crisis and Great Depression when the Quaker banks of Barclays/Lloyds/Gurney had a name for security and integrity and human values: “Do not grow rich at the expense of others. The guiding principle in making money should be the Good of others and the community at large, not simply making money for oneself and one’s family”.
And again in 1987 when the development of this Financial Sector first started to exploit the social divisions we see today: “We are angered by actions which have led to the polarization of our country, into the affluent who epitomise success according to the values of a materialistic society, and the “have-leasts” who, by the expectations of that same society, are oppressed, judged, found wanting and punished. We value that of god in everyone, and affirm the right of everyone to contribute to society and share in lifes good things, beyond the basic necessities. There must be no “them” and “us”. Wealth and power must be shared more evenly within our nation.”
And here we are again in 2011 in another civil war between the 99% and the 1%,a global civil war, joining the voice of dissent and outrage while knowing we will stand here again in future times. These protesters are “speaking Truth to Power”, not as misfits but as inheritors of a respected tradition. When the institutions of power are corrupt and self-serving then you have to make as one voice and form a new unity. Thats why Ive come from Ireland today.
(text slightly modified to make sense!)
