I'm in Estes Park at a retreat center for the Board of Trustees for Iliff. It is great to interact with the leaders (movers and shakers) of the institution. But, more so, it is important that the student's voice is represented. While I may be the elected Representative, am I really the one who needs to be speaking? How do I balance my own personal viewpoints with the opinions of the student body, especially when the two are in tension? Thomas Jefferson said that is the single dilemma for any elected official - how to speak for an entire constituency when you cannot possibly represent every ideal. Taking this concept a step further into the world of the marginalized, I, the white under 30 heterosexual male, represent a community varied in age, race, sexual orientation, social status, life goals, purposes for being at Iliff, and value systems. Why am I the Representative? Because I ran for office? Because I feel I have something to say? Because I want to try to represent the concerns of students to the institution's leaders? Because I might be able represent the concerns of the marginalized in a realm of power and domination? Maybe this is how Moses felt, inadequate, unfit, overwhelmed, and humbled (very humbled).
And yet, God used Moses for a greater purpose, and may it be so with us.
A quick prayer of thanks to HaShem (For my Hebrew Bible friends) for leading me to Iliff and a new inclusive worldview.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment