Roshi Joan Halifax on integrity and action in times of crisis
This essay by Roshi Joan Halifax offers a thoughtful examination of how to uphold honesty, moral values, and bravery in the face of political, social, and environmental challenges.
Joan emphasizes the importance of character in responding to the current global unrest and threats to democracy.
She proposes five foundational actions to sustain an open democracy:
- Mental Clarity: Regularly clear the mind of psychosocial debris through practice, love, art, and nature. Align with integrity and care, guided by wisdom and courage rather than manipulation.
- Education on Delusion Tactics: Understand and identify strategies of disinformation, such as infoshum, gish gallop, and moral outrage, to counteract their impact.
- Community Connection: Strengthen communities rooted in care, compassion, and Bodhisattva vows, enabling collective response to suffering with clear hearts and minds.
- Active Engagement: Foster relationships across divides, organize, and take proactive actions like voting and advocating for change. Emphasize the urgency of action.
- Finding Beauty: Seek beauty in the world’s brokenness to sustain resilience and inspire engagement despite challenges.
Joan references A. J. Muste’s symbolic candlelight vigil during the Vietnam War to illustrate the importance of personal integrity in effecting change.
She concludes by urging immediate action, quoting Bruno Latour’s concept of “Critical Zones” to highlight the urgency of preserving democracy.
This thoughtful essay is a call to align personal and communal actions with core values to navigate and transform the crises of our time.
