SELF RIGHTEOUS

I’ve been struggling with “movement space.” It feels like the people who are devoting our lives to social transformation are also burdened by an unconscious shadow. This shadow takes the form of judgement and self-righteousness.

The rush to indict and exile is not exclusively applied to “the other.” It’s not just the bad guys who are wrong. The whip of self-righteousness is increasingly applied to those who are in movement with us. The slightest mistake, the smallest breach of dogma, the mis-stating of something, too often leads to condemnation. It is difficult to be creative in this space. We can’t think beyond our constraints when we're constantly afraid of screwing up.

Ironically, the dynamic smells a lot like what I’ve experienced in a fundamentalist church. We are right and everyone else is wrong.