Powerful Beyond
Measure: The Legacy of Quaker Leadership in the 21st Century.
George Lakey. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Quakerbooks of Friends General
Conference: Philadelphia, PA 2011. Review by Anthony Manousos
Probably no Friend is better qualified to talk about Quaker leadership
than George Lakey, though the kind of leadership he writes about is not what is most
popular among Friends today, such as clerking. A peace activist who risked his
life delivering medicines to North Vietnam during the 1960s; a workshop leader,
lecturer and organizer who has given talks and facilitated workshops around the
world, George is a “change agent,” a prophetic voice, and a visionary leader.
Because he knows and loves the spirit that inspired the Religious Society of
Friends, he challenges us to live up to our highest potential, and keeps a
sense of humor even when dealing the grimmest of subjects, like torture or
oppression. This William Penn lecture was given under the auspices Young
Friends, who perhaps understand better than many elders the need to recapture
the prophetic and edgy spirit of early Friends.
![]() |
George with his granddaughter at Occupy Philadelphia |
George begins his talk by sharing his personal story as an
Evangelical Christian and what drew him to Quakerism. He is an engaging storyteller
who speaks from the heart as well as from the head. After describing six
positive traits of Quaker leadership, he addresses the question of why Friends
have failed to be leaders in the peace movement since 9/11. His answer is
simple, but compelling: most Friends are white, middle class and
conflict-averse. This aversion to conflict has certainly been true in my Yearly Meeting where peace
concerns are placed on the bottom of the agenda, and where we devote ourselves
mainly to internal business. Instead of risking active engagement in the social
issues of our time, we prefer to listen passively to reports from organizations
like FCNL and AFSC and leave activism to the professionals.
George explains that modern Quakers tend to be
conflict-averse because of the class divisions within our society. He provides
a thoughtful analysis of class attitudes, noting, for example, that the working
class values “being real” and aren’t afraid of conflict. Members of the middle
class tend to avoid conflict and are preoccupied with “appropriateness” and
“process” since their function is to ensure the smooth running of our
plutocratic society. The “owning class” (the top 2-3 %) do not have to work for
a living and they have a sense of entitlement, of being “confident that [they]
know something even when [they] don’t.” George bases his analysis of class
attitudes on what people from these classes have actually said in workshops he
led. His observations have been confirmed by social scientists. Though most
Americans (unlike the British) pretend to be unaware of class distinctions, the
social class we grew up in has a huge influence on our attitudes and behaviors.
George’s analysis of class attitudes rings true to me. I was
raised by working class, immigrant parents in Princeton, a well-to-do
university town. Being an honors student with a rebellious streak, I absorbed
class attitudes from the middle and upper class, but my heart is working class.
That may be one reason I don’t shy away from conflict, as many in the middle
class do. In fact, I don’t feel a relationship is real until it’s been tested
by conflict. Because of my working class heart, I often find myself at odds
with the middle class outlook of most Friends. George comes from a similar
background, which may be one reason I feel an affinity with his perspective.
George points out that most significant social change
originates with the working class, not the middle class. George Fox, along with
many early Quakers, was a working class leader (as was Jesus). They were
catalysts in a social movement that drew in members of the middle and upper
class, like William Penn. When movements include and empower members of all
social classes (as happened during the Civil Rights era), significant social
change occurs.
By bringing to light our class biases, George demystifies
many of our Quaker customs and practices and helps us to understand ourselves
in a social context. He challenges middle and upper middle class Friends to
reach out and form alliances with workers and the marginalized. He believe that
by doing so, we will become more authentic and more effective in our desire to
transform our society into a place where there is justice and dignity for
all—what early Friends called “the Kingdom of God.”
The title of this pamphlet is derived from Marianne Williamson,
who wrote: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. It is that we are
powerful beyond measure.” George assures us that when we aren’t afraid to let
our light shine, and to risk conflict with those in power, we can make a
difference beyond what we can imagine. That is also what Jesus, one of the
world’s greatest and humblest leaders, meant when he said: “Greater things than
I have done, you shall do.”
No comments:
Post a Comment