There are times in life when we must act.
And when those moments come, we must act with our truest heart, our clearest
mind, and our noblest intentions. Nov.
2 is such a time. On that day, we will take in hand one of the tools for
social transformation. We will exercise our right to vote and our
responsibility to voice our values and conscience. We will choose a new
president and vice president. We, the signers of this letter, after full
consideration, careful study, and deep reflection, endorse and recommend John
Kerry and John Edwards for these offices. We urge all of you to vote for them.
This is a matter of great importance and urgency.
The Kerry/Edwards ticket is not perfect, and
we have many serious disagreements with them, especially in the area of
militarism and defense spending. But Howard Dean rightfully cautions us to not
let perfection become the enemy of the good. In this election, we have two
clear choices. By any standard or measure — policy, ideology, humanity,
truthfulness — Kerry is better by far than George W. Bush, and Edwards is
better by far than Dick Cheney. We believe their cabinet selections and their
many other appointments, including to the Supreme Court, will be better by far
than those of George W. Bush. We urge you to register and vote for John Kerry
and John Edwards.
There are many reasons to not vote:
cynicism, apathy, distrust of candidates, or the conviction that spirit
transcends politics and we dare not risk our spiritual brightness by
descending into the murky depths of political darkness and intrigue. But these
are not legitimate reasons. It is an inappropriate spiritual response to our
times to be socially aloof and politically uninvolved. The Dalai Lama
encourages us, “Sometimes we look down on politics, criticizing it as dirty.
However, if you look at it properly, politics in itself is not wrong. With
good motivation — sincerity and honesty — politics becomes an instrument in
the service of society.”
The self-evident fact of inter-dependence
will not allow us to stand on the sidelines of life, to ignore what is
happening in our own backyards. We live in society, and society lives in us.
This awareness requires responsibility. This awareness requires participation.
This awareness requires expression.
We all know from our studies, practice, and
experience that the inner and the outer are more than mirror images of each
other: they are each other. There is no separation, no difference, no distance
between them. This is why the philosopher J. Krishnamurti said, “The crisis is
not out there in the world; it is in our own consciousness.” A flower is not
separate from its fragrance.
We have been refining our inner
consciousness. We have been purifying our inner consciousness. We have been
liberating our inner consciousness from the stranglehold of limiting and
hurtful beliefs and images and concepts. For years, we have taken this “hero’s
journey” to inner truth, freedom, and wisdom in order to become whole and
free. But we have not taken this journey for ourselves alone; we have also
taken this journey for others and for our world.
It is not just for ourselves that we love
wisdom and practice compassion, not just for ourselves that we pursue truth
instead of falsehood, not just for ourselves that we ask those fearsome
questions that lead to knowledge of the soul. No, it is not just for ourselves
that we do this. We do it equally for others. Our very quest for wholeness of
being is at its core a service to others. The Kabbalah reminds us, “First we
receive the light, then we impart the light. Thus we repair the world.” And
now it is time to begin healing this world, our world, in the same way we have
sought to heal ourselves from the diseases of hatred, violence, and greed; in
the same way we have sought to heal our own hearts of anger born of fear, and
fear born of separation.
Voting for John Kerry and John Edwards is a
positive step towards this social healing. To be sure, it is just one step in
a long journey, but one we should all take on Nov. 2.
Signed (as private citizens, not as
representatives of any organization):
Robert Rabbin, writer, speaker, creator of
TruthForPresident.org
Stephen Mitchell, writer
Rabbi Michael Lerner, author, editor of
Tikkun Magazine
John Friend, founder of Anusara Yoga
Sharon Steffensen, yoga teacher, editor of
YOGAChicago
Dan Millman, author, teacher
Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice & The
Blade and The Power of Partnership
Tom Hayden, author, activist, former
California legislator
Judith Whitson, publisher, writer, lecturer,
teacher
William W. Whitson, writer, speaker, retired
Army officer
Jonathan Granoff, Esq. (Ahamed Muhaiyaddeen),
author, screenwriter, speaker, activist
Larry Robinson, Vice-mayor, Sebastopol, CA
Katchie Gaard, Anusara yoga teacher, dancer,
and activist
Saniel Bonder, author, founder of Waking
Down in Mutuality work
Tami Coyne, author, spiritual teacher
Pamela Miles, founder of Institute for the
Advancement of Complementary Therapies
Gilles Marin, author, founder of Chi Nei
Tsang Institute
Raphael Cushnir, author, spiritual teacher
Stephen Dinan, author of Radical Spirit,
progressive activist
Sandra Sedgbeer, publisher of
PlanetLightworker & Children of the New Earth
Connie Shaw, publisher of Sentient
Publications
Laurie Schryver, psychic, teacher,
progressive activist
Amy Kahn, yoga teacher
David Lurey, yoga teacher
Robert Skutch, author
Lee Skutch, psychologist
Kanu Kogod, Ph.D, anthropologist, author,
founder of Bridges in Organizations
Debbie Milam, author, Reiki master,
president of Unlimited Inspiration
Rev. Laura R. Davis, co-founder of Wisdom &
Wellness Expo, Reiki master
Rev. C.J. Davis, spiritual teacher, Reiki
master
Elizabeth Ann Bloom, president of Here There
& Beyond, Inc.
Mary Alice O'Connor, interfaith minister
Gina Rabbin, psychic, life and business
coach
Chetan Parkyn, author, spiritual teacher
Carolina Eastwood, author, spiritual
counselor
Sister Mary Jude Jun, OSU is
an Ursuline Sister
Robert Rabbin, the creator of this
Letter, is a writer, speaker, and spiritual activist. He is the author of
numerous books and articles, and the creator of TruthForPresident.org, an
online spiritual activism resource: http://www.truthforpresident.org and
http://www.robrabbin.com.
Copyright © 2004/Robert Rabbin
All rights reserved
