Solidarity
I was talking to some of my IC co-workers the other day about the word 'solidarity.' They were using the term empathy, which I think is a fine word and good principle, but not so strong as solidarity. Just say it: 'Solidarity.'
But they thought the term was overused - thrown around indiscriminately, stripped of its precision by people who forced it into thoughts that didn't fit it. So here I would like to clarify solidarity, and explain why I consider it one of the most powerful words in current usage.
Solidarity is a noun, but properly used it functions more as a joint adverb in conjunction with the preposition 'in.' Example: standing in solidarity with the poor - 'in solidarity' modifying the verb 'standing.'
To do something 'in solidarity' with a group of people is to do more than empathize. It is to take on their purpose as your own, feeling what they feel and fighting their fights. When it comes to pursuing their cause or resisting their enemies, you are as passionate and steadfast as any of them.
I think of it like a wall of bricks - each brick cemented to the others - withstanding a storm. To empathize is to say, Man, I know what it's like to be a brick, I feel you. To stand, sit, be in solidarity is to offer yourself into the mason's hands and be cemented into the middle of the wall. If they fall, you will fall and hurt with them; if they stand, you will stand and rejoice with them.
Solidarity is a principle that reminds me of Christ's greatest commandment about how to treat other people: Love them as we love ourselves. Empathy lets us remember how we loved ourselves when we were in their situation. But solidarity demands that we love them enough to become one of them, taking on their situation as our own, whether we've experienced it before or not. It is a reaching, straining, proactive love in action.
Empathy might offer help, solidarity offers partnership. Empathy might offer a shoulder to cry on, solidarity offers the entire body.
The Global Night Commute, is a practice in solidarity. It says to the children of Uganda, "We have seen your suffering, and though we cannot know how it feels, we will take it upon ourselves, if only for a night. We will walk, lay down, sleep, and endure discomfort in solidarity with you." I encourage anyone reading this to take part in the Global Night Commute and lay down in solidarity with these kids, who need all the solidarity they can get.
But they thought the term was overused - thrown around indiscriminately, stripped of its precision by people who forced it into thoughts that didn't fit it. So here I would like to clarify solidarity, and explain why I consider it one of the most powerful words in current usage.
Solidarity is a noun, but properly used it functions more as a joint adverb in conjunction with the preposition 'in.' Example: standing in solidarity with the poor - 'in solidarity' modifying the verb 'standing.'
To do something 'in solidarity' with a group of people is to do more than empathize. It is to take on their purpose as your own, feeling what they feel and fighting their fights. When it comes to pursuing their cause or resisting their enemies, you are as passionate and steadfast as any of them.
I think of it like a wall of bricks - each brick cemented to the others - withstanding a storm. To empathize is to say, Man, I know what it's like to be a brick, I feel you. To stand, sit, be in solidarity is to offer yourself into the mason's hands and be cemented into the middle of the wall. If they fall, you will fall and hurt with them; if they stand, you will stand and rejoice with them.
Solidarity is a principle that reminds me of Christ's greatest commandment about how to treat other people: Love them as we love ourselves. Empathy lets us remember how we loved ourselves when we were in their situation. But solidarity demands that we love them enough to become one of them, taking on their situation as our own, whether we've experienced it before or not. It is a reaching, straining, proactive love in action.
Empathy might offer help, solidarity offers partnership. Empathy might offer a shoulder to cry on, solidarity offers the entire body.
The Global Night Commute, is a practice in solidarity. It says to the children of Uganda, "We have seen your suffering, and though we cannot know how it feels, we will take it upon ourselves, if only for a night. We will walk, lay down, sleep, and endure discomfort in solidarity with you." I encourage anyone reading this to take part in the Global Night Commute and lay down in solidarity with these kids, who need all the solidarity they can get.
posted by James at 00:15
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