A few days ago, my aunt came to dinner at my mom's. She brought her 6 year old granddaughter with her. When we sat down to dinner, the little girl asked, "Can we say grace?" My aunt said to the little girl, "Well, you need to ask Jim, he's the head of the household."
Hearing this made me cringe. I have always resisted hierarchies, particularly when people are ranked based on race, class or gender. Sometimes I suspect that my resistance is part of the problem. Still I am unsure how to respond.
I long for a world where all life is valued as sacred, where our unity is acknowledged and power is shared. That is not the world we live in. Perhaps peace lies in accepting what is without resistance while simultaneously visioning and experiencing new ways of being.
Sigh...yes...or perhaps peace is gently suggesting to others that there is more than one way--nudging them to new ways of thinking. If saying grace is part of a hierarchy, we are in real trouble!!!
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