在我人生中的每一次危机中，学习都帮助我找到了出路。这意味着要集中注意力，允许自己感受和思考，从不同的角度看待事物，收集可用的最佳信息，尝试将各种线索联系起来，并在找不到答案时“活出疑问”。
这就是我喜欢T·H·怀特的小说《永恒之王》中这段节选的原因，这部小说是根据亚瑟王的传说改编的。受托教导年轻的亚瑟的巫师梅林，正在一个我们称之为“教育良机”的时刻与这位未来的国王交谈。
作为美国公民和世界公民，我们正处于一个名为“疫情”的宝贵学习时刻，而我正在努力学习。以下是我此刻正在学习的一些事情——在这个时刻，我衷心希望并祈祷所有人平安健康。也请您分享您的学习心得：
我正在更深入地了解一些个人层面的动态。我正在重新面对内心深处的旧日冲突，在恐惧与信念、自立与寻求帮助之间摇摆不定。随着这场危机带来的种种后果逐渐显现，我不再问“为什么是我？”，而是重新学习问“为什么不是我？”
我越来越感受到那些以体现我们共同人性的方式伸出援手的人们的善良之心。那些问“你好吗？有什么我可以帮忙的吗？”并且真心实意关心你的人让我深受感动。
我正在更多地了解全球数百万每天都处于“高风险”状态的人们——他们并非因为年龄或健康状况，而是因为种族、宗教、国籍、性别、性取向或贫困。他们生活在种族主义、性别歧视、民族主义、恐同症、结构性经济不平等和武装冲突的持续肆虐之中。现在，我得以短暂地窥见他们的经历。愿我能尽可能多地学习，愿我的学习永存。
我越来越了解这些人，就在几周前，他们还在抨击“大政府”和他们所谓的“社会主义”。现在，他们却要求联邦政府在各个层面进行干预——从医疗保健到企业纾困，再到改革“自由”市场以保住他们的401K退休金账户。他们难道看不到，当他们自己而非弱势群体面临风险时，他们的“信念”会发生怎样的变化吗？当他们个人的风暴过去之后，他们会记得自己是如何转变立场的吗？还是会故态复萌？
我正在逐渐理解，用梅林的话来说，就是“眼睁睁看着周围的世界被邪恶的疯子摧毁”究竟意味着什么。这种摧毁并非总是像9/11那样以杀戮般的迅猛速度发生。它可能始于一些不为人知的小事，比如第45任总统在2018年决定解散国家安全委员会的疫情应对小组，而这个小组如果放在几个月前或许就能派上用场了。
一位领导人为何要如此解雇专家？从过去三年来的言行来看，答案似乎很明确：“有些东西阻碍了‘让美国再次伟大’，包括庞大的政府、深层政府、科学、事实、尖锐的问题、说真话的人以及持不同意见者。” 因此，当被问及为何这样做时，第45任总统的回答“真是个棘手的问题。”“我对此一无所知。”“我对此不承担任何责任。”也就不足为奇了。
如果责任不再止于此，我想就止于此了——止于我们人民，我们有机会从这场危机中吸取足够的教训，纠正国家这艘巨轮，使其重回正轨。愿我们渡过难关，愿我们从中汲取教训。
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想获得更多启发？欢迎参加本周四（4月9日）与帕克·帕尔默的对话，主题为“勇气与脆弱：新冠疫情与长者的智慧”。更多详情及报名信息请点击此处。
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Hello Parker,
Thank you for your reply. I’ve read your words a number of times and given this much thought. Can I share a story with you, a memory that keeps returning to me?
When I was a girl our family took a trip to visit my grandparents. Waking in their home that first morning, we gathered around the breakfast table and paused while my grandfather prayed. He prayed from his heart, blessings for his family, expressions of gratitude, for our country and for our President. Grandpa prayed blessings for the President’s health, for the decisions he would be faced with for our country that day, and for the wisdom to know how to lead our country in the best way possible.
I remember asking Grandpa later about that. I asked something to the effect of, “Shouldn’t you only pray for him if he’s a good president, someone you voted for, someone you think is doing a good job? (Apparently I didn’t think our president at the time met certain criteria)
Grandpa’s firm answer was something like, “Oh, no! He is The President of our country! We don’t complain about him. He has a very important job to do and it’s hard work. We don’t know all that he has to consider when making a decision. God has allowed him to be our president for a reason and we pray for him everyday. And we speak of him with respect.”
What would our country look like if we looked at President Donald Trump through Grandpa’s eyes? What if we expanded the view to include our least favorite political party? And the people who support that party? Is it possible that that kind of respect and acceptance could trickle its way back into our communities and find its way into our very own home?
“Grandpa, tell me ‘bout the good ol’ days...”
Thank you for listening.
[Hide Full Comment]Kindly,
Penny
Please, Parker Palmer, rise above the dissent , division, fear and hatred. Sure, you aren’t against the above mentioned list of groups....you’re just against the people on a different list, one’s that you’ve decided are the new unacceptable. The new list of people that are ok to hate. It’s still hate. It’s still causing division. It’s not about love. It’s about fear and the need to control. You must overcome this. People are looking up to you. Show the better way.