{"id":5575,"date":"2022-07-14T12:52:34","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T12:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=5575"},"modified":"2022-07-14T12:52:34","modified_gmt":"2022-07-14T12:52:34","slug":"letting-go-in-order-to-rise-higher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/14\/letting-go-in-order-to-rise-higher\/","title":{"rendered":"Letting Go in Order to Rise Higher"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Rev. Donald L. Perryman, D.Min.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Rev. Donald L. Perryman, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe Truth Contributor<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0To get to the next level\u2026leaders must shut down yesteryear\u2019s good ideas, strategies, or involvements in order to have the resources and focus to take their organizations to tomorrow.
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 – Henry Cloud<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

A few years ago, while fishing in the waters of Nanoose Bay, British Columbia, a passing fisherman rescued an eagle who had nearly drowned.<\/p>\n

Although a masterful fisher and skillful hunter, the eagle had latched its talons deeply into a colossal salmon and couldn\u2019t entirely lift it out of the water. Instead, the eagle was tragically pulled under the surface because it lacked the capacity to let go of the giant fish.<\/p>\n

Sadly, the Democratic Party, unable to relinquish some of its old failing methods, strategies and practices, faces the same dilemma.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court\u2019s recent stunning decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization allowed states to snatch away women\u2019s bodily autonomy and eliminate their right to choose.<\/p>\n

Justice Clarence Thomas, though, warned that the court wouldn\u2019t merely stop at rescinding abortion rights. The SCOTUS also plans to come after other freedoms such as contraception and LGBTQ rights, including same-sex relationships and marriage equality.<\/p>\n

Control of Congress is at stake in November\u2019s midterm elections, which many see as a referendum on the eradication of these liberties and the loss of access to reproductive healthcare, in particular.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, several critical issues hang in the balance. Among them are long-delayed actions on police reform, gun violence and safety, voting rights, open war on diversity and accurate teaching of history, gerrymandering, and now a flurry of election interference legislation with the power to overturn elections in several states. The list becomes daunting when other important unresolved matters such as climate change and the widest income and wealth disparities since the gilded age are added in.<\/p>\n

Are these issues, collectively, too massive for the Democrats to address without pulling the Party and its agenda dangerously underwater?<\/p>\n

Yes, probably so, unless the Democrats change their traditional way of handling their business.<\/p>\n

It has always been the grand strategy of the elites to divide and conquer by creating strong resentment among movement participants. Yet, the internal squabbles continue between progressive vs. mainline candidates and among the rank and file members operating in silos championing their preferred concern but not supporting other Party issues.<\/p>\n

In the words of activist John Pavlovitz, the consequence is, \u201cThe Left has a purity problem, and if we don\u2019t get over it, it\u2019s going to destroy us.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Midterm elections rapidly approaching, it is critical for the Dems to \u201ccoalesce around its collective values and rise up together\u201d to survive.<\/p>\n

Rising together requires Democrats to prioritize the issues to address so that adequate resources can be marshaled to those most critical right now. Other traditional, less important, or less timely matters may need tabling for another day.<\/p>\n

What concerns should be prioritized?<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court\u2019s denial of access to reproductive health care disproportionately affects Black and Brown women and families. The decision in Dobbs v. Jackson is a direct assault on the freedom, dignity, and equality of women and pregnant people. Therefore, ensuring reproductive health care access is an issue the Dems should prioritize.<\/p>\n

Many, rightfully, have called on President Biden to take steps to ensure access to abortion medication and emergency contraception. However, local government in this solidly Democratic area of Ohio also has the power to convene, strategize and determine ways to resist the overturning of Roe vs. Wade.<\/p>\n

There are many things both City and County governments can do.<\/p>\n

Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates\u2019 pledging not to charge people would and should have been a big first step. I don\u2019t anticipate her prosecuting anyone for getting an abortion, but she\u2019s not yet comfortable with making a public announcement on that approach.<\/p>\n

The City of Toledo and Lucas County can also ensure that their employee health plans cover abortions in the states that still allow it. ARPA funds are also a potential source to provide support, money, and assistance to women who might have to travel out of state for reproductive health services.<\/p>\n

The essential thing to remember is that the November Midterm election is larger than our siloed interests. And the Supreme Court\u2019s recent moves to take away our long-held rights are bigger than progressive, moderate, or ambivalent democrats.<\/p>\n

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, \u201cWe must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Therefore, in this perilous moment in history, we must let some things go, including ambivalence, attitudes, silos, and old ways of doing things that give rise to conflict, and learn to work together so that all can survive and thrive together.<\/p>\n

Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, PhD, at <\/em>drdlperryman@enterofhopebaptist.org<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rev. Donald L. Perryman, Ph.D. The Truth Contributor \u00a0\u00a0To get to the next level\u2026leaders must shut down yesteryear\u2019s good ideas, strategies, or involvements in order to have the resources and focus to take their organizations to tomorrow. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 – Henry Cloud   A few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[130],"class_list":["post-5575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5575"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5576,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5575\/revisions\/5576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5575"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=5575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}