“Kingdoms.”

H,

There is a way power isolates us from what is real. The human soul longs to be aloof enough from consequence and trouble, that it creates its own narrow way of processing the pain of others. It is the clear separation between the powerful and the powerless. Evil is not this special trait within a certain kind of person. It is the destination of a road more travelled, branching out from putting that primordial and first instinct of self-care above the collective view of the larger life we all share. It is something that can happen to all of us, in doses and then all at once.

We know this well. A little more money, a little more access to wealth, a left to right shift in dynamic and friends become part of an entourage, sidekicks, and ancillary to the more powerful will. Power sublimates people into walking expressions of purpose. This one is for this and that one is for that. I have seen no human being wield it perfectly well. To be unquestioned is to be immediately oppressive. We do not have hearts deep enough, on this plain, to be kind and powerful at the same time. The curbing of absolute power is not just a democratic principle, it is a universal one: it is how we make sure all kingdoms do not collide into one single or singular mess.

There will never be a perfect candidate or perfect political figure. The solitary man or woman is never at his or her best. We will not be as brave or as fearless or as selfless as we look in our stories about ourselves. The centre of the universe is not the human heart or the human experience. We have to be humble enough to know this and to approach power in this way. We make heroes into villains by expecting from them the superhuman feats we will not find in ourselves.

Community, accountable and stable fellowship with each other, is the root of the eternal Kingdom we aspire to. The idea that none of us is right in and by himself or herself but made right in the light of higher principles. The political process, everywhere, is toxic. The social space is full of souls who only want to be right by viewpoint. The idea that we are not better or worse than each other is not the path commonly taken. The Kingdom of God tells us we must all bow to the same thing. We are not better than each other. We are not better without each other. All our kingdoms bow into the light. There, power is not made to rule one another. This power exists so we can learn to love each other.