Denny Davidoff's Keynote Speech

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

METRO NEW YORK ANNUAL MEETING

STAMFORD MARRIOTT
APRIL 12, 2003

“I have always considered myself a bona fide member of the American public. It’s quite a group, incredibly influential and powerful – the only large organization I’ve ever belonged to. Depending on what we think about an issue, markets fluctuate, bills are passed or vetoed and companies alter the flavors of major soft drinks.”

“It’s a huge responsibility, this membership, and though I don’t remember ever asking for it, I’ve always been perfectly willing when the phone rings during dinner and it’s the Gallup folks. . .”

“But please don’t call and ask me about this war. Don’t ask me if I strongly approve or partly approve or strongly disapprove; I’ll cut you off. And don’t ask my demographic stand-ins either. I don’t trust their answers in this matter, and I refuse to vouch for their ability to communicate anything but their own confusion, particularly if they feel anything like I do: gung-ho at breakfast time. heartsick by lunch hour, angry at supper, all played out by bedtime and disembodied in the middle of the night when I wake up to check the cable news scrolls. If  I’m the American public, and it is I, then no opinion poll, however probing, can drill down to the tar pit of emotions churning and steaming at my core and dredge up a representative sampling of anything.”

More from Sunday’s Times, this by Deborah Caldwell in the News of the Week in Review. “As American troops began invading Iraq last month, Christian relief workers from all over the United States geared up to follow. Loaded with food, medicine, diapers and toothbrushes, volunteers began planning their aid to Iraqis, 97% of whom are Muslim.

“The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest American Protestant denomination, announced that its International Mission Board would send volunteers to distribute food and shelter, and to help Iraqis ‘have true freedom in Jesus Christ.’

At the same time, the Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the Rev. Billy Graham, said that his relief operation, Samaritans Purse, was ready to move into Iraq as soon as the war was over. He said, 'We’re in an Arab country and we just can’t go out and preach.' But, he added, 'God will always give us opportunities to tell others about his son. We are there to reach out, to love them and to save them.' Two years ago, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas created a master’s degree program for missionaries ministering to Muslims.

"Another Christian group, World Concern, said that it will care for anyone, regardless of religion, but that 'we do seek appropriate ways to communicate the love of Christ in both word and deed.' ”

How do we measure
this journey – in miles
or in moments, mistakes
or monuments? Push off,
light out, set sail –
What a festival!
what fanfare and cheer,
what a chorus of smiles!

And there, on the lip
of the sky, on the tip
of the world – what is it
that flutter so wildly,
A flag or a bird?
Can you see it? Look,
Look how it flies, how it calls…

What is our call?  What is your call?
Can you see it? Look, look how it flies, how it calls.

Last week at this time, I was in Boston meeting with the Board of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Larger Fellowship. CLF is the largest member congregation in the Association, with almost 2800 members. Technology has caused our ranks to swell quickly. So far, this year, we have 171 new members, most having joined via the UUA website link to our website. (People looking for community.) CLF has members in every state, in every Canadian province, and in 54 countries, mostly expats and, these days, people overseas with the military.

I have so many questions. You told me that any question is a good question. It is better to ask questions, you said, even at the risk of being embarrassed or uncomfortable than making a mistake which might have been avoided by asking a question. . .  We are now at a crossroads. Whichever road anyone turns down will affect everyone. EVERYONE will be touched in some way by the choices we all make.”

“My first question is when is it OK to get involved? This question has perplexed me all my life. We are told top become better people, to help the homeless, join the Peace Corps, just say ‘No!’, make a stand against drugs, don’t let a friend drink and drive, be responsible, don’t turn a blind eye to problems, make the world a better place, and help stop terrorism. At the same time these ideas are placed on you, you are told to be careful, that it’s not your business, don’t get involved in that situation, and it’s not your problem. Even my parents, who encouraged me at an early age to get involved in the community with things like helping the homeless, marching for Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday (note: that must have been in Arizona), and helping with Habitat for Humanity, tell me I need to keep my head down and don’t do anything heroic. I do understand this is their overall concern for my personal well being.”

        I must love the questions
            themselves
            as Rilke said
            like locked rooms
            full of treasure
            to which my blind
            and groping key
            does not yet fit.
            And await the answers
            as unsealed
            letters
            mailed with dubious intent
            and written in a very foreign
            tongue.

            And in my hourly making
            of myself
            no thought of Time
            to force, to squeeze
            the space
            I grow into.

In the mid to late 1980’s, when tuition payments ceased, when the nest emptied, when I realized I truly hated running my successful adverting agency, when I began to serve the Unitarian Universalist Association on a continental committee, I began to think about larger and harder universal questions. I began to think about what it would mean to learn to truly practice being a liberal religionist. I began to trust my instincts more and to function intuitively. Now, I have almost integrated loving the hard questions and living them as my life’s journey.

In the grand scheme of things, is it worth it? Are we worth it? Where is this going? And why are we so powerless?

“Dear Secretary Paige:

"I write to you today as the president of The Interfaith Alliance, a nonpartisan, national grassroots clergy-led organization dedicated to promoting the positive and healing role of religion in public life, to express my strong disappointment with your remarks regarding our nation’s public schools.. .

"Particularly troubling. . . was your remark stating that, ‘The reason that Christian schools and Christian universities are growing is a result of a strong values system. In a religious environment, the value system is set. That’s not the case in a public school.’ Also of concern was your statement that began, ‘All things equal, I would prefer to have a child in a school that has a strong appreciation for the values of the Christian community, where a child is taught to have a strong faith.’

"Mr. Secretary, it is my hope that your statements in this interview will not be repeated or find themselves codified in any way, shape, or form throughout the Department of Education. I would strongly encourage you, as the leader of our nation’s public school system, to recant your comments and work to ensure that all children of all faiths – or those of no faith at all – feel welcomed and affirmed in our public schools. Our children and the future of our nation deserve no less.”

“As for hope on the heart’s horizon, it too is what it always has been. Every day we live, the choices we make either redeem or diminish the world. Living at a time when one feels a part of history, which we certainly do now, can present a daunting challenge. On this field, there are no sidelines. To be saved is first to save. Yet, in meeting this challenge, we cannot help but become more engaged, committed, mindful, empathetic, and alive.

“Fear is a visitor from the future. By filling the present with love and service, we offer fear no room in our hearts. We can’t do the impossible. And wishful thinking doesn’t help. But thoughtful wishing does. To want what we have, do what we can, and be who we are, we invest our lives and the life of the world with meaning. This is our choice and no one else’s. No outside power, however mighty, can relock our hearts. Nothing, not even death, can take back the love we dare to give away.“