Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit: Parker J. Palmer, Stefan Rudnicki: 9781501221569: Amazon.com: Books

Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit: Parker J. Palmer, Stefan Rudnicki: 9781501221569: Amazon.com: Books

Editorial Reviews

Review

"He bravely takes on the current political climate, and this book provides therapy for the American body politic. His insights are heart-deep: America gains by living with tension and differences; we can help reclaim public life by actions as simple as walking down the street instead of driving. Hope's hardly cheap, but history is made up of what Palmer calls 'a million invisible acts of courage and the incremental gains that came with them.' This beautifully written book deserves a wide audience that will benefit from discussing it." (A "Starred Review" from Publishers Weekly, 8 August 2011)“Healing the Heart of Democracy is a hopeful book that lifts up and hallows the heart as a source of inner sight. Inspired by the efforts to understand and undergird democracy by Abraham Lincoln, Alexis de Tocqueville, Rosa Parks, and others; the author sends us on our way rejoicing with the small portion of hope that he has planted in our minds and souls.”
—Spirituality & Practice (http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=21525)

“There is a deep and disturbing cloud hanging over the United States. It is a malaise that is leading to cynicism and self-centeredness. The antidote is to be found in the healing of the heart of our democracy, so that we might emerge from this private focus to a public one, which recognizes our interdependence.  I know of no better guide to discerning the problem and the solutions, than this book by Parker Palmer. It is a prophetic book, one that needs to be taken with all due seriousness, if we are to emerge from our malaise stronger and healthier than before.” (Englewood Review of Books , 2011)



--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Author

* A Starred Review from Publishers Weekly * Palmer's...newest was six years in the making. He bravely takes on the current political climate, with its atrophy of citizen participation, the ascendance of an oligarchy that shapes politics, and the substitution of vituperation for thoughtful public discussion. It's a tall order that became even taller because Palmer had to climb out of a pit of depression -- his constitutional proclivity -- to do so. But wrestling with essential questions of public life became therapeutic, and this book provides therapy for the American body politic. Palmer's use of acute 19th-century observers of American life and character -- Tocqueville, Lincoln -- as well as his use of anecdotes and lessons from his own long career provide context and tonic. His insights are heart-deep: America gains by living with tension and differences; we can help reclaim public life by actions as simple as walking down the street instead of driving. Hope's hardly cheap, but history is made up of what Palmer calls "a million invisible acts of courage and the incremental gains that came with them." This beautifully written book deserves a wide audience that will benefit from discussing it. -- August 8, 2011

~ ENDORSEMENTS ~

* We have been trying to bridge the great divides in this great country for a long time. In this book, Parker J. Palmer urges us to "keep on walking, keep on talking"--just as we did in the civil rights movement--until we cross those bridges together. -- U.S. Congressman John Lewis, recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom
 
* The book we need for recovering the heart, the very core, of our selves and our democracy. -- Krista Tippett, host of public radio's On Being and recipient of a 2013 National Humanities Medal

* A master work by a master, a clear and uplifting resource that keeps shining light in all the dark places. Palmer is that rare, deep seer who is at home in the streets, a teacher by example who has the courage to stand openly and honestly in the public square. -- Mark Nepo, author of The Book of Awakening and As Far As the Heart Can See

* Can we keep our sights on the vision of what we aspire to be while working constructively to transform realities that do not yet fulfill that vision? How do we remain "open hearted" so that we can engage creatively with citizens who hold different views of the challenges we face?Healing the Heart of Democracy asks these necessary questions and inspires us to answer. -- Joan Blades, co-founder of MoveOn.org and Living Room Conversations

* A book born for this moment. Wise, evocative, and pragmatic at its core, this dream for a new politics is grounded in dignity and liberty for all. -- Terry Tempest Williams, author of The Open Space of Democracy
 
* In this inspiring book, I find encouragement that all of us, citizens and elected officials alike, can learn to bridge the divides that keep us from genuinely respecting one another. By sharing his own life's struggles, Palmer reveals the common struggles we all endure. He provides us with a way forward, a way forward with hope. -- U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin

* A gracefully written anthem to democracy [that] breaks new ground in marrying the capacity of the human heart with the tensions inherent in politics [and] breathes new life into what it means to be a citizen--accountable, compassionate, fiercely realistic. -- Peter Block and John McKnight, coauthors of The Abundant Community
 
* A "must read" for everyone who is concerned about the state of our democracy and has ever despaired about what can be done. Palmer's stories, plainspoken analysis, and penetrating insights will inspire you to claim your full human capacities and to take part in healing democracy "from the inside out." -- Martha L. McCoy, Executive Director, Everyday Democracy

* The most important manifesto in generations for breaking through the divisiveness that has paralyzed our democracy. -- Bill Shore, founder of Share Our Strength, author of The Imaginations of Unreasonable Men

* All who harbor concerns about American politics will find in this book a wise and kindred spirit who reminds us of choices we can make to help "reweave the tattered fabric of our civic life." You will close this book appreciating how much you can do, and how much depends on you. -- Diana Chapman Walsh, President Emerita of Wellesley College

* A courageous work that is honest and true, human and humble, glitteringly intelligent and unabashedly hopeful. Palmer gives us constructive language, historical context and a practical vision for how we as individuals and communities can get to the real heart of the matter. -- Carrie Newcomer, activist and singer-songwriter, The Geography of Light and Before and After

* Could not be more timely and needed. As one who has been guided through a time of personal reflection with Parker Palmer, I invite you to join in a journey through these chapters. -- U.S. Congresswoman Lois Capps, grandmother, mother, nurse, and seeker after democracy

* A brave and visionary book. Palmer re-imagines our political lives as a deeply personal process within which all Americans--especially those of us inheriting this broken polity--have a chance to be heard, heal, and get on with the eternal work of perfecting this nation. -- Courtney E. Martin, author of Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists
 
* Palmer has been our mentor as we've weathered the rough and tumble of political life. In this compelling new book, he challenges us to recognize that a more vital democracy begins within each of us, as we learn to hold the tensions inherent in community life and no longer fear to tread that most difficult terrain--the broken places in our own hearts. -- Kathy Gille served for twenty years as a senior congressional aide. -- Doug Tanner, her husband, is a founder and former president of The Faith and Politics Institute.

* A book that should be read and talked about in every family, book club, classroom, boardroom, congregation and hall of government in our country. Palmer writes with clarity, good sense, balance, honesty, humor and humility, focusing on the essence of what is needed from each of us for the survival of our democracy. -- Thomas F. Beech, President Emeritus, the Fetzer Institute

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit: Parker J. Palmer, Stefan Rudnicki: 9781501221569: Amazon.com: Books

Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit: Parker J. Palmer, Stefan Rudnicki: 9781501221569: Amazon.com: Books

Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation: Parker J. Palmer: 9780787947354: Amazon.com: Books

Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation: Parker J. Palmer: 9780787947354: Amazon.com: Books



Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation Hardcover – September 10, 1999

by Parker J. Palmer  (Author)

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With wisdom, compassion, and gentle humor, Parker J. Palmer invites us to listen to the inner teacher and follow its leadings toward a sense of meaning and purpose. Telling stories from his own life and the lives of others who have made a difference, he shares insights gained from darkness and depression as well as fulfillment and joy, illuminating a pathway toward vocation for all who seek the true calling of their lives.

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Amazon.com Review

The old Quaker adage, "Let your life speak," spoke to author Parker J. Palmer when he was in his early 30s. It summoned him to a higher purpose, so he decided that henceforth he would live a nobler life. "I lined up the most elevated ideals I could find and set out to achieve them," he writes. "The results were rarely admirable, often laughable, and sometimes grotesque.... I had simply found a 'noble' way of living a life that was not my own, a life spent imitating heroes instead of listening to my heart."Thirty years later, Palmer now understands that learning to let his life speak means "living the life that wants to live in me." It involves creating the kind of quiet, trusting conditions that allow a soul to speak its truth. It also means tuning out the noisy preconceived ideas about what a vocation should and shouldn't be so that we can better hear the call of our wild souls. There are no how-to formulas in this extremely unpretentious and well-written book, just fireside wisdom from an elder who is willing to share his mistakes and stories as he learned to live a life worth speaking about. --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly

A gifted academic who formerly combined a college teaching career with community organizing, Palmer took a year's sabbatical to live at the "intentional" Quaker community of Pendle Hill in Pennsylvania. Instead of leaving at year's end, he became the community's dean of studies and remained there for 10 years. Palmer (The Courage to Teach) shares the lessons of his vocational and spiritual journey, discussing his own burnout and intense depression with exceptional candor and clarity. In essays that previously appeared in spiritual or educational journals and have been reworked to fit into this slim volume, he suggests that individuals are most authentic when they follow their natural talents and limitations, as his own story demonstrates. Since hearing one's "calling" requires introspection and self-knowledge (as suggested by the eponymous Quaker expression), Palmer encourages inner work such as journal-writing, meditation and prayer. Recognizing that his philosophy is at odds with popular, essentially American attitudes about self-actualization and following one's dreams, Palmer calls vocation "a gift, not a goal." He deftly illustrates his point with examples from the lives of people he admires, such as Rosa Parks, Annie Dillard and Vaclav Havel. A quiet but memorable addition to the inspirational field, this book has the quality of a finely worked homily. The writing displays a gentle wisdom and economy of style that leaves the reader curious for more insight into the author's Quaker philosophy. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsStopping and listening...

ByFrKurt MessickHALL OF FAMEVINE VOICEon July 14, 2003

Format: Hardcover

One thing that our world does not encourage very well is stopping and listening -- stopping and listening to each other, stopping and listening to life around us, or stopping and listening even to ourselves. This is a skill that, given our cultural conditioning, must be cultivated. That is one of the things that this book by Parker Palmer, `Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation', strives to do -- to help the reader, the seeker, to be more attentive to life.

Palmer is a well-known author in the area of vocational care and consideration. I first encountered Palmer's writing in another book, The Courage to Teach, as various of us explored the meanings of our vocations as educators in the fields of theology and ministry.

Palmer states at the outset in his Gratitudes (a wonderful substitution from the typical words Preface or Introduction) that these chapters have in various guises appeared before. However, they have been re-written to fit together as a complete and unified whole for the purpose of exploring vocation.

Chapter 1: Listening to Life, starts as an exploration through poetry and Palmer's own experience in vocation. What is one called to do? What is the source of vocation? Palmer states: `Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening. I must listen to my life and try to understand what it is truly about -- quite apart from what I would like it to be about -- or my life will never represent anything real in the world, no matter how earnest my intentions.'

The very word vocation implies both voice and calling. Crucial to this understanding is that one must be present and attentive to hear that voice, that call.

Chapter 2: Now I Become Myself, continues, through the words of May Sarton, Palmer's self-exploration and self-discovery of the vocation not as an achievement but rather as a gift. One must be ready to receive the gift.

Many people, and Palmer is no exception, go through a period of darkness, despair, and depression before reaching a clear understanding of the vocation to which they are called. It requires courage. It requires diligence. It requires (and again Palmer uses the words of Sarton) the understanding that this will take 'time, many years and places'. It requires patience.

Chapter 3: When Way Closes explores one of the frequent problems along the vocational trail -- what happens when something stops or closes? Is it as simple as thinking a window opens when a door closes?

Sometimes it is not so simply identifiable. Our vocation sometimes propels into action or inaction because what we are doing rather than what we should be doing. Palmer says we must learn our limits, and sometimes we subconsciously force ourselves into action by closing off the past.

Palmer used the example of having lost a job. Palmer was able to discern, through reflection, that he was not fired from that job because he was bad at the job, but rather because it had little to do with his true vocation, and his heart would never be in it. His vocation required that he lose that job.

In stopping ourselves from dwelling on the past, beating on the closed door, but rather looking at where we are and where we can go from there, that our vocation opens for us.

Chapter 4: All the Way Down, deals with that depression we often face on the way. While it may sound cliche to talk about hitting bottom before being able to progress, there is a truth behind the cliche.

Depression ultimately is an intimately personal experience. Palmer explores the mystery of depression. He frankly admits that, while he can understand why some people ultimately commit suicide in their depression, he cannot full explain why others, including himself, do not, and recover (at least to a degree).

Chapter 5: Leading from Within talks of Palmer's return from depression into a world of action. Quoting from Vaclav Havel, the playwright-president of the Czech Republic, he says, `The power for authentic leadership, Havel tells us, is found not in external arrangements but in the human heart. Authentic leaders in every setting -- from families to nation-states -- aim at liberating the heart, their own and others', so that its powers can liberate the world. `

By unlocking those places in our hearts -- places that include faith, trust, and hope -- we can overcome fear and cynicism, and move to a firm grounding where we can be leader of our own destiny by following our true vocation.

Chapter 6: There is a Season winds through a treatment of the seasons of nature in relation to the seasons of our lives. We in the modern world have forgotten the basic cyclical nature of our ground of being. Decline and death are natural, yet we always flee from these and treat them as tragedies beyond understanding. We see growth as a natural good, but do not trust nature (even our own self-nature) to provide the growth we need for all.

The various chapters are remarkable in their sense of spirit and flow. For a book of only barely more than 100 pages (and small pages, at that), this book opens up a wonder of insight and feeling that helps to discern not one's own vocation, but rather how to think about discerning a vocation. This is, in many ways, a book of method, by showing a personal journey combined with other examples, principles and honest feelings.

This book can, quite simply, make a difference in the life of reader. There is no higher praise or recommendation I am able to give than that.

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5.0 out of 5 starsFor all those who live with a nagging doubt...

ByMark E. Alvison January 19, 2000

Format: Hardcover

For me, this book is less about vocation than it is about loving yourself. In my life (and to the world, a wonderful one) was empty and void. Having come from a verbally abusive childhood, I struggled all my life to "become". But it was never me. Recently, I hit bottom, as Parker did. And I discovered what he writes so eloquently about...you must love yourself first before you can see and cherish and give your gifts to others. For me, it was the end of a 19 year marriage. A change in what I would tolerate at work. And the people around me, most blessedly my children, notice a huge difference. I am me now, not driven by fears or other's boxes. I was pretty charismatic before, but you should see my light shine now. This book helps explain the journey I thought was just me. Parker Palmer has captured probably the most important concept in life...and one that you really should read. This is one of those books that you'll share with others, but you'll want them to get their own copy!

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5.0 out of 5 starsUplifting, thought-provoking--and not a "how-to" book!

ByA customeron November 17, 1999

Format: Hardcover

Having read this book during my morning and evening train commutes, I found it to be incredibly inspiring and challenging at the same time. At first I was hesitant to read this book because I have become tired of all the "how-to" books on finding one's vocation and calling in life. I have found that someone else's 5-step plan to finding the right job hasn't always worked for me.

However, I like this book because it's very personal, yet without being preachy. Through reading Parker Palmer's own journey toward self-fulfillment, I have become inspired to examine my own path toward vocation. I think that finding one's calling in life is a very personal process, and following someone else's step-by-step plan can actually cause more harm than good.

In fact, I found myself reading as if I were conversing with a personal mentor. As a result I've become challenged to examine my own life in a way that a "how-to" book could never have provoked me to do. I plan to give this book as a holiday gift to a close friend who is facing a "midlife crisis." I think it will help him.

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5.0 out of 5 starssome things you just can't avoid

ByA customeron May 12, 2000

Format: Hardcover

Life is full of twists and turns that lead you all over the map. However, along that journey there are those things inside of you that are screaming to be released, and when they finally are they bring complete fulfillment to your mind, body and soul. Those things are gifts that God gave you when he planned out your life. Palmer invites readers to find those God given gifts and act on them. He invites readers through Let Your Life Speak to find who you are, and not who the world, teachers, culture, parents, media, and friends have forced you to become. I highly recommend this book for those who know they aren't doing what their soul tells them to do. Get ready for a ride though because after reading this short, but moving book, you will have to make some changes in your life. Some big, some small, but things will not remain the same.

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5.0 out of 5 starsQuietly Paradoxical

ByGAGIRLon July 20, 2001

Format: Hardcover

Parker Palmer creates a peacful arena for understanding our own lives by sharing what he has experienced and learned from his own. I found this book to be a "quick read" on the one hand and yet I keep going back and rereading parts of it ... and then rereading the whole section.

I came away from reading this book - the first time - with a peace about my life and how I have lived it. I better understand the lessons I have been taught and more faith about the path I am following. A whole lot for a little book to accomplish.

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Parker Palmer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Parker Palmer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Parker Palmer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Parker J. Palmer

Parker J. Palmer (born 1939 in Chicago, Illinois) is an author, educator, and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change. He is the founder and Senior Partner of the Center for Courage & Renewal.^[1]

Contents

 [hide] 

• 1Education
• 2Career
• 3Speeches
• 4Personal life
• 5Honors and awards
• 6Published works
• 7Secondary sources
• 8References
• 9External links

Education

Palmer attended Carleton College as an undergraduate and received a Ph.D. insociology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1970.

Career

Palmer is the founder and Senior Partner of the Center for Courage & Renewal,^[2]which oversees the “Courage to Teach” program for K-12 educators across the country and parallel programs for people in other professions, including medicine, law, ministry and philanthropy.

He has published a dozen poems, more than one hundred essays and eight books. Palmer’s work has been recognized with thirteen honorary doctorates, two Distinguished Achievement Awards from the National Educational Press Association, an Award of Excellence from the Associated Church Press, and grants from the Danforth Foundation, the Lilly Endowment and the Fetzer Institute.

An overview and critical review of Palmer's written work on education can be found at infed.org, an open, independent, not-for-profit site established in 1995 to explore educational theory and practice^[3]

Speeches

In March 1992 he gave a talk at a United Methodist Church on “Faith or Frenzy.” He opened with a comparison between a historical perspective on the contemplative life vs. an active life. In earlier centuries contemplation was the preferred life, one followed by academic or religious scholars. An active life was one of tedious toil where one did not have the time to reflect on a higher plane. Over time that changed. An active life became more prominent as technology progressed and the power associated with it. Man was playing God. A pendulum effect between the two has swung back again as limits to technology have not provided a solution and the lure of a contemplative life and its seclusion has taken hold.

Sir Parker Palmer

Palmer suggests that a hybrid between the two is the mix where spirituality finds a balance, because “before you can have a spiritual life, you must first have a life,” - a life immersed in the active world. It is a world where one is alone and also part of a community. A spiritual life is not one which flees the world of action. He contends that when one becomes disillusioned by an experience or false value system, that person experiences reality. He believes disillusionment is the journey life takes us on, away from fiction and fantasy toward reality and truth. These experiences can be very painful. Five examples of illusion he covered during the talk are: the world as a battleground, scarcity, I am what I do, only cultivating rewarded talent, and finally that everything must be measurable.

Palmer launched into a discussion of faith as a misunderstood word. Faith is not a set of beliefs we are supposed to sign up for he says. It is instead the courage to face our illusions and allow ourselves to be disillusioned by them. It is the courage to walk through our illusions and dispel them. He states the opposite of faith is not doubt, it is fear - fear of abandoning illusions because of our comfort level with them. For example, not everything is measurable and yet so much of what we do has that yardstick applied to it. Another illusion is “I am what I do .... my worth comes from my functioning. If there is to be any love for us, we must succeed at something.” He says in this example that it is more important to be a “human being” rather than a “human doing.” We are not what we do. We are who we are. The rigors of trying to be faithful involves being faithful to one's gifts, faithful to other's reality, faithful to the larger need in which we are all embedded, faithful to the possibilities inherent in our common life.

Personal life

Palmer is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). He lives with his wife Sharon Palmer in Madison, Wisconsin.

Honors and awards

• In 1993, Palmer won the national award of the Council of Independent Collegesfor Outstanding Contributions to Higher Education.^[4]
• In 1998, The Leadership Project, a national survey of 10,000 administrators and faculty, named Palmer as one of the thirty “most influential senior leaders” in higher education and one of the ten key “agenda-setters” of the past decade: “He has inspired a generation of teachers and reformers with evocative visions of community, knowing, and spiritual wholeness.”^[5]
• In 2001, the Carleton College Alumni Association gave Palmer a Distinguished Achievement Award.^[6]
• In 2002, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education created the “Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award”, given annually to the directors of ten medical residency programs that exemplify patient-centered professionalism in medical education.^[7]
• In 2003, the American College Personnel Association named Palmer a “Diamond Honoree” for outstanding contributions to the field of student affairs.^[8]
• In 2010, the Religious Education Association (An Association of Professors, Practitioners, and Researchers in Religious Education) presented Palmer with the William Rainey Harper Award, “given to outstanding leaders whose work in other fields has had profound impact upon religious education.” Named after the first president of the University of Chicago, founder of the REA, the award has been given only ten times since its establishment in 1970. Previous recipients include Marshall McLuhan, Elie Wiesel, Margaret Mead and Paulo Freire.^[9]
• In 2011, Palmer was named an Utne Reader Visionary, one of "25 people who are changing your world."^[10]

Published works

• Palmer, Parker J. (2011-09-06). Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.ISBN 978-0-470-59080-5.
• ———; Zajonc, Arthur; Scribner, Megan (2010-07-20). The Heart of Higher Education: A Call to Renewal. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-470-48790-7.
• ——— (2004-09-22). A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-7879-7100-7.
• ——— (2000-09-10). Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-7879-4735-4.
• ——— (1999-07-21) [1990]. The Active Life: A Spirituality of Work, Creativity and Caring. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-7879-4934-1.
• ——— (1983-08-25). The Company of Strangers: Christians and the Renewal of America's Public Life. New York: Crossroad. ISBN 978-0-8245-0601-8.
• ——— (2007-08-17) [1997-11-21]. The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-7879-9686-4.
• ——— (2008-04-18) [1980]. The Promise of Paradox: A Celebration of Contradictions in the Christian Life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-7879-9696-3.
• ——— (1993-05-28) [1980]. To Know As We Are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey. San Francisco: HarperOne. ISBN 978-0-06-066451-0.

Secondary sources

• Intrator, Sam M, ed. (2005-04-06). Living the Questions: Essays Inspired by the Work and Life of Parker J. Palmer. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-7879-6554-9.

References

1. http://www.CourageRenewal.org
2. "Staff". About the Center. Center for Courage and Renewal. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
3. "Palmer", Thinkers, Infed.
4. Orr, Douglas M. (1999). "The Courage to Teach: Reflections on Parker Palmer’s Work"(PDF). The Independent. Council of Independent Colleges. Retrieved 2008-03-12. In 1993, [Palmer] was the recipient of the CIC Outstanding Service Award and was a speaker at the annual Presidents Institute.
5. "Who's Who: Higher Education's Senior Leadership", Change 30 (1), Jan–Feb 1998, pp. 14–18.
6. "2001 Award Recipients". Carleton College. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
7. "Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award". Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
8. "Diamond Honorees: Classes of 1999 to 2005" (PDF). American College Personnel Association. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
9. "Religious Education Association". Retrieved 2010-10-30.
10. "Parker J. Palmer: Wise Guy". Utne Reader. November–December 2011. Retrieved19 October 2011.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to:Parker Palmer

• Works by or about Parker Palmer in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parker_Palmer&oldid=722369417"

Categories: 

• American Quakers
• 1939 births
• Carleton College alumni
• Quaker theologians
• Quaker writers
• University of California, Berkeley alumni
• Living people
• 20th-century Quakers
• 21st-century Quakers
• American theologians

Healing the Heart of Democracy

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A Review of Healing the Heart of Democracy:
The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit

Bruce L. Mallory

Over the past 30 years, Parker J. Palmer’s  writings and teachings have been fundamental to our evolving understanding of the relationships between teaching and learning, heart and mind, courage and action, and personal and professional. His willingness to ask profound, even troubling, questions that get at the core of who we are as humans has informed and inspired countless classroom teachers, university professors, counselors, spiritual leaders, and professionals from all walks of life. As one who has read much of that literature and been gently prodded to search my own soul in one of Palmer’s intensive retreats, I cannot offer an objective, dispassionate review of his latest contribution, Healing the Heart of Democracy (2011, JosseyBass).

With that caveat, I assert that this is one of the most important books of the early 21st century for those who think and worry about the state of American democracy and the place of educational institutions in renewing our political and public lives. Those of us who see ourselves as part of the deliberative democracy movement, who work with young people who aspire to be effective and active citizens, and who sometimes feel the darkest despair at the tenor of contemporary politics will find Palmer’s book to be a clear, honest framework for looking toward the light.

The conception of this particular book has its origins in 9/11.

Palmer has always acknowledged his infrequent but deep depressions
and their effect on his worldview. The events of 9/11 happened
during one of those dark cycles. His sensitivities, as a Quaker and a
believer in what Abraham Lincoln called in his first inaugural address the “better angels” of the human spirit, were shaken to the cor, in the true Latin sense. Palmer often invokes the spirit, words, and challenges of Lincoln, whom he seems to revere both because Lincoln faced the most grievous challenge of our democracy and because Lincoln, too, suffered and learned from lifelong severe depression. Palmer’s 2005 essay on “The Politics of the Brokenhearted,” published by the Fetzer Institute, was an explicit effort to reconcile the events of 9/11 with their ftermath, when a national moment of grief focused on consolation and reflection morphed into years of ill-considered wars, Islamophobia, and a general circling of the wagons in American political culture. In this essay he offered the metaphor of the broken apart (shattered and angry) and the broken open (loving and redemptive) hearts that may follow such national and personal tragedies. In his current book, Palmer elaborates on that metaphor in depth.

Drawing on the writings of Terry Tempest Williams, Lincoln, Walt Whitman, Rainer Maria Rilke, Joseph Ellis and, most especially Alexis de Toqueville, Palmer asks us to start first with an examination of the capacities of the human heart. Following Williams, he sees the heart as the “first home of democracy” (p. TK), and he uses Toqueville’s observations of early American culture and its “habits of the heart” to create a framework for a psychological, moral, and political analysis of American democracy now. For Palmer, “the heart is as responsible for fascism and genocide as it is for generosity and justice” (p. 50). That is, the heart is where Lincoln’s better angels dwell and where the seeds of fascism and genocide can germinate. In the kind of democratic society that Palmer envisions, the conditions of public and political life create the conditions in which only the former is expressed, where our hearts are broken open to a collective compassion rather than broken apart into splintered shards of xenophobia and revenge.

Throughout his analysis, Palmer’s early Protestant and later Quaker convictions inform his understanding of human error and redemption. Concepts of sacrifice (see his retelling of the John Woolman story), suffering, compassion, and communalism are touchstones for creating a pluralistic democracy in which ideological differences become the starting point for problem solving rather than the seeds of wedge politics that dominate national discourse today. Thus, he writes, “No matter how jaw-dropping or morally offensive I find some people’s convictions, I must learn how to speak up in the civic community without denying my opponents their humanity and further poisoning the political ecosystem on which democracy depends” (pp. 31–32). Further, he claims:

Despite our sharp disagreements on the nature of the American dream, many of us on the left, on the right, and in the center have at Bruce L. Mallory is a professor of education and the director of the Carsey Institute, as well as former provost and graduate dean at the University of New Hampshire. He is founding director of New Hampshire Listens, which builds local and statewide capacity for civic engagement and public dialogue.

Parker-Palmer_politicsbrokenhearted.pdf

Parker-Palmer_politicsbrokenhearted.pdf

THE POLITICS OF THE
BROKENHEARTED

ON HOLDING THE TENSIONS OF DEMOCRACY

Parker J. Palmer

민주주의가 우리에게 요구하는 것은 참된 영성이다 - 뉴스앤조이

민주주의가 우리에게 요구하는 것은 참된 영성이다 - 뉴스앤조이

민주주의가 우리에게 요구하는 것은 참된 영성이다 

파커 파머의 <비통한 자들을 위한 정치학>(글항아리)

이원석  | 2015.12.14 

＜비통한 자들을 위한 정치학>(글항아리)는 <뉴스앤조이> '톨레레게' 12월 21일(월) 모임에서 나눌 책입니다. 톨레레게에 참가하길 원하시거나 자세한 내용을 알고 싶으시면 글 아래를 참고해 주세요. - 편집자 주

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교육학에 어느 정도 관심 있는 독자라면 거의 다 파커 파머(Parker J. Palmer)를 알 것이다. 기독교 교육학자로 시작한 그의 경력은 ＜가르침과 배움의 영성 To Know as We Are Known＞(IVP)을 통해 나래를 단다. 이 책은 비교적 얇은 지면 속에 교육의 영성적 차원에 대한 심오한 성찰을 담아낸 걸작이다(서문에 소개하듯이 여기에는 헨리 나우웬의 영향이 스며 있다). 이로 인해 교육학계의 구루로 거듭난 그의 포지션은 ＜가르칠 수 있는 용기 Courage To Teach＞(한문화)로 귀결된다(아마도 이 제목은 폴 틸리히가 예일대에서 했던 테리 강연을 책으로 묶어 펴낸 저작, ＜존재에의 용기 Courage to Be＞에서 영감을 얻었을 것이다).


정치, 영성, 마음

▲ ＜비통한 자들을 위한 정치학＞ / 파커 파머 지음 / 김찬호 옮김 / 글항아리 펴냄 / 328쪽 / 1만 5,000원

 
갈수록 확장되는 파커 파머의 영향력은 교육의 장을 넘어 사회 전체를 향하게 된다(또한 이에 따라 그의 접근 방식은 기독교적 언어와 개념을 넘어 개방적이고 포괄적으로 진전하게 된다). 그러한 결실이 바로 <비통한 자들을 위한 정치학>(글항아리)이다. 민주주의를 열렬하게 추구하는 미국 시민의 한 명으로서 써낸 이 작품 이면에는 평화주의를 지향하는 퀘이커 교도(202쪽)로서의 영혼이 불타오르고 있다. 따라서 "폭력은 절대로 답이 될 수 없다"(36쪽)는 게 그의 타협할 수 없는 신념이다. <비통한 자들을 위한 정치학>은 정치를 다루지만, 실제로는 영성을 강조하는 책이다.

정치와 영성이 마음이라는 단어에서 수렴된다. 이와 관련해서 <비통한 자들을 위한 정치학>의 원제를 살펴볼 필요가 있다. 원제('민주주의의 마음을 치유하기 Healing the Heart of Democracy')를 구성하는 세 단어(민주주의, 마음, 치유) 모두가 중요하다. 사실 역서의 제목은 서문의 제목(The Politics of the Brokenhearted)을 풀어 옮긴 것이다. 파머는 마음이 상한 자들의 정치 참여를 독려하고 있다. 다시 말해서 민주주의의 마음을 치유하는 것은 곧 마음이 상한 자들이 정치적 주체로 거듭나는 것이다. "이것은 링컨이 인간적이라고 할 수 있는 모든 것을 향해 상한 마음을 개방해 나갈 때 실행했던 정치다."(38쪽)

마음의 치유에서 정치적 용기로

마음(heart)은 "자아의 핵심을 가리"(38쪽)키며, 여기에서 지정의가 통합된다. heart의 어원은 라틴어 cor인데, 이는 courage의 어원이기도 하다. "우리가 자아와 세계라고 이해하는 모든 것이 마음이라고 불리는 중심부에서 하나가 될 때 자신이 아는 바에 따라 인간적으로 행동할 용기를 찾을 수 있을 것이다."(38쪽) 마음과 용기가 교차하는 지점에서 치유가 발생한다. 마음이 상한 자들, 곧 비탄한 자들이야말로 우리와 너희, 당위와 현실의 간극을 오롯이 껴안으며 긴장을 감수하는 이들이다. 이때 필요한 덕성이 바로 용기이다. 원서의 부제가 보여 주듯이 우리에게는 '인간 영혼에 조응하는 정치를 창조하려는 용기'가 필요하다.

용기는 한 면으로 미국적 덕성이다. 미국 개척의 역사는 스스로 돌보고(self-help, 자기 계발), 스스로 지키는 태도를 미국적 삶의 기본자세로 만들었다. 하지만 다른 한 면으로 보면, 용기는 예언자적 덕성이다. 예언자는 강자 앞에서는 강하지만, 약자 앞에서 온유(배려)하다. 약자와 소수자를 대하는 태도는 우리에게도 중요하다. 예수님이 양과 염소를 가르는 기준이 바로 소자(약자)를 대하는 태도이기 때문이다. 강자 앞에 당당하게 서고, 약자 곁에 함께 서 있기 위해서 필요한 것이 바로 이 용기이다.

나아가 용기의 미덕은 국가를 바르게 세우는 주요한 토대가 된다. "'우리가 두려워해야 할 것은 두려움 그 자체뿐'이라는 선언은 어디로 갔는가? 폭력은 문제를 해결하는 듯 보이지만 결국에는 적어도 그만큼의 다른 문제를 만들어 낸다는 것을 언제쯤 깨닫게 될까? (중략) 국가의 위대함을 가늠하는 척도는 강자가 얼마만큼 성공하느냐뿐만이 아니라 우리가 약자를 얼마나 잘 지지하는가에 달려 있다는 것을 왜 이해하지 못하는가?"(33쪽) 약자를 지지하지 못하는 이유는 두려움 때문이다. 이렇게 예언자적으로, 아니 "인간적으로 행동할 용기"(38쪽)가 부재하는 이유는 마음의 통합(치유)이 부재하기 때문이다.

민주주의의 마음

상한 마음의 치유를 개인적 맥락으로 한정해서는 곤란하다. 원제가 말해 주듯이 민주주의의 마음 또한 치유되어야 하는 대상이다. 폭력이 가해지는 상황은 언제나 치유를 요청한다. "군인들의 마음에 가해진 폭력은 자아와 공동체에 대한 감각을 부숴 버린다. 그리고 폭력은 전쟁터에서만 가해지는 것이 아니다. (중략) 따라서 정치에서 상대방을 악마화하거나, 절박한 인간적 요구를 무시한 채 정치적으로 편리한 결정을 내릴 때, 우리는 폭력을 행사하는 것이다."(40쪽) 이러한 맥락에서 본다면, 정치는 게임이거나 투쟁일 것이다. 하지만 참된 정치는 그저 자기 욕망을 따르는 게임도 아니고, 공동체를 무너뜨리는 투쟁도 아니다.


"제대로 이해한다면 정치는 절대로 게임이 아니다. 그것은 공동체를 창조하기 위한 오래되고 고귀한 인간적인 노력이다. 거기에서는 강자만이 아니라 약자도 번영할 수 있고, 사랑과 권력이 협력할 수 있으며, 정의와 너그러움이 함께 실현될 수 있다." (41쪽) 이러한 정치적 이상을 실현하기 위해서는 민주주의의 마음이 치유되어야 한다.

우리는 "민주주의는 항상 위기에 처해 있다"(43쪽)는 것을 부인할 수 없다. 파커 파머는 "민주주의는 끝이 없는 실험이고, 그 성과는 결코 확신할 수 없다"(15쪽)고 말한다. 하지만 그럼에도 그는 민주주의가 "시민이 이룩한 최고의 정치적 성취"(18쪽)라는 점을 강조한다. 이렇게 민주주의를 바로 세우기 위해 두 가지가 요청된다. 한 면으로 대중매체가 시민의 정치적 무력감을 조장하는 방식에 저항해야 하고, 다른 한 면으로 창조적(생산적)으로 긴장(갈등)을 끌어안는 "마음의 습관"(17쪽)을 들여야 한다.

이 '마음의 습관'이라는 용어는 알렉시스 드 토크빌의 <미국의 민주주의>(한길사)에서 유래하는 것이다. 이 습관, 즉 우리를 통제하는 습속인 아비투스(Habitus)가 민주주의를 형성하고 지탱하는 것이다. 민주주의 형성을 위해 제도적 차원 이상으로 중요한 것이 바로 이 마음의 차원이다. 파커 파머는 우리 생활을 지탱하는 여러 물리적 인프라가 소홀하게 취급되는 이상으로 무심하게 다루어져 왔던 민주주의 인프라의 두 층위에 주목한다. "인간의 마음이 지닌 보이지 않는 역동 그리고 그 역동이 형성되는 가시적인 삶의 현장들이 그것이다."(43쪽) 그러니까 민주주의가 부흥하기 위해서 우리가 주목해야 하는 곳은 무엇보다도 마음이다.

우리의 마음이야말로 민주주의 형성과 지속, 그리고 부흥을 위한 참된 출발점이다. "각자 안에 존재하는 마음을 통해 우리는 두려움을 극복하고 우리가 서로에게 구성원임을 새롭게 발견하면서 민주주의를 위협하는 갈등을 끌어안을 수 있다."(43~44쪽) 정상적인 민주주의는 인간 사이와 집단 사이의 갈등을 전제한다. 이러한 갈등은 당연히 인간의 마음을 상하게 만든다. 하지만 파커 파머는 이렇게 마음이 깨어지는 가운데 마음이 열릴 수 있다고 본다. 바로 여기에서 정치가 시작되어야 한다. 마음이 열릴 때, 다시 말해 마음이 치유될 때에 인간적으로 행동할 용기가 발생하기 때문이다.


"정치란 권력을 사용하여 삶에 질서를 함께 부여하는 행위로서, 심층적으로 하나의 인간적인 기획이다. 마음이 부서져 흩어진 게 아니라 깨져서 열린 사람들이 정치의 주축을 이룬다면, 보다 평등하고 정의롭고 자비로운 세계를 위해 차이를 창조적으로 끌어안고 힘을 용기 있게 사용할 수 있다." (57쪽) 민주주의의 교육

정치의 영성적 차원을 다루는 파커 파머의 논의는 넓고 깊다. 각 장마다 풍요로운 통찰이 숨어 있어서 여기에서 자세하게 다루는 것조차도 벅차다. 여기에서는 민주주의 교육 공간에 대한 파머의 논의를 소개하는 것으로 한정 지으려고 한다. 민주주의의 형성과 지속은 창조적으로 긴장을 끌어안는 마음의 습관을 형성하는 데에 달려 있다. 이를 위한 양육 공간으로 그가 제시하는 것이 바로 학교와 종교 공동체이다. 교회와 학교는 우리를 내적으로 바로 형성하거나 일그러뜨릴 수 있다. 여기에서 우리는 의식적으로나 무의식적으로 자신과 세계에 대한 심상을 내면화하게 된다. 이러한 인간 양육의 장은 동시에 시민 형성의 장이 된다.


"종교뿐만 아니라 교육에서도 우리는 미리 정해진 결과에 구애받지 않고, 내면 탐구를 수행하도록 여러 방법으로 도와야 한다. 그것을 잘 수행할 수 있도록 지침과 자원들을 제공해야 한다. 우리는 그런 과정에서 민주주의를 가능케 하는 어떤 마음의 습관을 형성해 가고 있을 것이다." (203쪽) 이를 위해서 교사들이 할 수 있는 것은 무엇인가? 먼저는 자신이 가르치는 "과목에 담겨 있는 '큰 이야기'를 학생의 삶에 있는 '작은 이야기'와 분명하게 연결시키(206쪽)"는 것이다. 학교에서 5·18 민주화 투쟁을 가르친다면 [?] , 한 면으로 지금 주변에서 일어나는 지역 차별 문제(현실 세계)에, 다른 한 면으로 어둠의 힘이 넘실거리는 학생의 내면세계에 이를 연결해야 한다. 또한 이에 더해 "학교 안에서 민주주의를 실행"(211쪽)해야 한다. "교사에게 요구되는 도전은 시민 교육적 가르침의 실천 모델을 창조하는 것이다. 그리고 학교를 그런 교육을 지지하는 장소로 바꾸는 투쟁에 앞장서는 것이다."(213쪽)

하지만 사실상 공교육이 무너지고 사교육이 그 권위를 찬탈한 한국의 교육 현실에서 이런 제안들을 실행하는 것이 도대체 가능해 보이지 않는다. 물론 홈스쿨링이나 마을 공동체에서의 공동 교육 등 해법이 아주 없는 것은 아니다. 좋은 대안 교육을 통해서 파머가 제시하는 그림에 근접하는 결실을 얻는 경우도 종종 목격한다. 이는 학교 안에서 민주주의를 실천하기 때문일 것이다. 그렇기에 우리는 교사와 동료 학생들로 이루어진 올바른 교육 공동체가 인간 형성에 선하게 기여할 수 있다는 작은 희망의 증거로 대안 교육을 제시할 수 있다(물론 대안 학교가 또 다른 귀족 교육으로 전락한 위험성을 경계해야 할 것이다).

하지만 한국적 맥락에서 볼 때 학교보다 더욱 심각한 것이 바로 교회다(지금 여기에서 다른 종교 공동체 현실까지 언급할 필요는 없다). 그저 '개독교'라는 단어 하나로 모든 것이 설명된다. 굳이 다른 말이 더 필요하겠는가. 안타깝게도 좋은 대안 학교를 찾는 것보다 좋은 지역 교회를 찾는 것이 훨씬 더 어려운 실정이다. 개혁적 성향으로 잘 알려진 교회조차도 많은 경우에 "교회 생활 속에 감춰진 커리큘럼을 바꿔야"(221쪽) 하는 형편에 처해 있다. 목회자와 성도들의 관계 속에서 구현되는 위계적 현실이 강단에서 선포하는 복음적 메시지와 엇갈린다. 많은 설교가 공허한 울림으로 전락하는 이유가 바로 여기 있다.


"모든 사람의 목소리가 들릴 수 있는 안전한 공간을 지도자가 일관성 있게 끌어안게 되면 어떤 배움의 공동체가 형성되기 시작한다. 그 안에서 사람들은 민주주의가 필요로 하는 겸손함과 뻔뻔스러움의 혼합물을 터득할 수 있게 된다. 그 공동체가 강인해지면서 평신도는 일상생활로 돌아와 신앙과 경험이 서로에게 어떤 식으로 조응하고, 적절한 반응이 일어나는지 새롭게 이해할 수 있게 된다." (226쪽) 

민주주의 동력으로서의 고독과 공동체

미국 교회와 학교도 실은 한국의 경우와 크게 다르지 않다. 파커 파머는 미국 교육계와 종교계의 현실을 묘사하는 것이 아니라 민주주의 교육을 위해 학교와 교회가 지향해야 할 방향을 지시한다. 이는 마음의 영역에 대한 성찰을 촉구한다. 제도의 민주주의는 마음의 민주주의를 전제한다. 파머는 마음을 변혁하기 위해 필요한 공간의 문제를 제기한다. "우리를 해방시키거나 제한하는 관념의 공간은 늘 바깥에서만 생겨나는 것이 아니다. 안으로부터도 생겨난다. (중략) 관념의 공간이 솟아나는 샘은 인간의 마음이다. 그래서 테리 템페스트 윌리엄스는 마음을 가리켜 '민주주의의 첫 번째 집'이라고 불렀다."(242쪽)

마음 자체는 눈에 보이지 않으나, 타자를 압도하는 공포의 순간과 타자를 포용하는 은총의 순간에 그 영향력을 드러낸다. 더불어 다른 힘에 의해 영향 받기도 한다. 우리의 정치적인 개념의 공간을 채우는 것은 주로 대중매체이다. 우리가 스스로 마음을 잘 관리하지 않는다면 미디어가 정치에 대한 우리의 개념을 형성하게 마련이다. 솔직하게 말하자면, 현대인은 미디어가 제공하는 자극적 뉴스에 중독되어 있다. 파커 파머는 이렇게 말한다. "우리가 민주주의의 시민이 되고자 한다면 대중매체가 아닌 개인적 경험에 의해 규정되는 개념의 공간에서 시간을 보내야 한다. 그 공간에서 안으로부터 들려오는 뉴스를 접할 수 있다."(246쪽)

신화 연구가 조셉 캠벨에 따르면, 누구에게나 "자신이 누구이고, 어떤 사람이 될 수 있는지를 온전히 경험하고 말할 수 있는 장소"(247쪽)가 필요하다. 마음속으로 더욱 들어가기 위해 홀로 머무르는 공간을 확보하라는 것이다. "세상의 뉴스는-천국 같은 것이든 지옥 같은 것이든 모두-마음속에서 시작된다."(247쪽) 자기 마음에 대해 알게 되는 만큼 세상을 더욱 잘 알게 된다고 파커 파머는 말한다. 따라서 고독한 묵상의 여정에 생을 바친 수도사 토마스 머튼을 주목하는 것이다. "수도사가 된다는 것은 세상으로부터 절연되는 것이 아니라, 그 안으로 더욱 깊숙하게 들어가는 것"(247쪽)이다.

또한 고독을 위한 공간에서 더불어 있는 모임으로 나아가야 한다. "민주주의를 작동하게 하는 마음의 습관을 형성하는 차원으로 가면 고독에는 한계가 있다. 우리에게는 낯선 사람들과 함께하는 작은 모임의 안전한 공간도 필요하다."(251쪽) 이는 그런 공간 안에서 "우리가 타인과 함께 자신의 마음을 회복하고, 연습하고 개방할 수 있"고, "그 자리에 모여서 서로에게 더 잘 연결되고, 민주주의의 긴장을 창조적으로 사용할 수 있"기 때문이다. 그러한 만남을 위해 파커 파머는 '신뢰의 서클' 결성에 주력한다. 그는 또한 오바마 대선 캠프가 이러한 나눔을 위한 공간을 제공했다는 흥미로운 사실을 소개하고 있다.

민주주의의 영성

이제까지 보여 준 바와 같이 파커 파머는 교사의 교사에서 이제 <비통한 자들을 위한 정치학>을 통해 정치의 교사로 우뚝 서 있다. 교육학계의 구루에서 민주주의의 구루로 진화한 것이다. 하지만 그는 자신이 아니라 민주주의를 내세우고 있다. 파머는 우리에게 민주주의의 영성을 보여 준다. 민주주의는 종교개혁이 새롭게 천명한 복음의 능력을 정치적으로 전유한다. 민주주의는 인간적인 동시에 종교적이다. 영적인 동시에 윤리적이다. 민주주의에 기반한 삶은 곧 낯선 사람과 함께하는 삶이다. 이웃과 공존하고 타자를 환대하는 것은 민주주의가 촉구하는 윤리적 삶이며, 종교적 사명이다.

따라서 민주주의는 효율성이라는 척도로 평가할 수 없고, 인격적 충실함이라는 기준으로 평가할 수밖에 없다. "충실함이 우리의 기준이 될 때 결코 완수될 수 없는 과업에 계속 관여할 수 있을 것이다. 이는 정의를 실현하고, 자비를 사랑하며, 사랑스러운 공동체를 만들어 가는 것이다."(300쪽) 그렇기 때문에 민주주의는 하나님나라가 궁극적으로 완성될 때에야 온전히 실현된다. 민주주의의 완성은 하나님으로 말미암는다는 뜻이다. 그렇다면 민주주의 성취와 지속의 과업은 구원론적인 것이다. 우리의 최선에 주님의 은총이 임해야 한다. [?] 이것은 파머가 라인홀드 니버의 아래와 같은 인용문으로 책을 마무리하는 이유이다.


"할 만한 가치가 있는 일 가운데 그 어느 것도 우리의 생애 안에 성취될 수는 없다. 따라서 우리는 희망으로 구원받아야 한다. 진실하거나 아름답거나 선한 것은 어느 것도 역사의 즉각적인 문맥 속에서 완전하게 이해되지 못한다. 따라서 우리는 믿음으로 구원받아야 한다. 우리가 하는 일이 아무리 고결하다 해도 혼자서는 결코 달성될 수 없다. 따라서 우리는 사랑으로 구원받아야 한다." (301쪽) 그러니까 <비통한 자들을 위한 정치학>은 심리학으로 출발하여 신학에서 종결된다. 서문을 우울증의 세 번째 발병(33쪽)과 회복에 대한 회고로부터 시작하는 이 정치적 매뉴얼은 정치의 심리학(치유와 통합)이자 동시에 정치의 신학(구원과 종말)이기도 하다. 여기에서 둘은 하나다. 종교적 영성이 곧 심리적 치유이기 때문이다. 한국 사회의 척박한 정치 현실에서도 역시 민주주의의 영성이 필요하다. 우리의 정치 현실을 바로잡기 위해 먼저 해야 할 일은 우리의 마음을 바로 세우는 것이다. <비통한 자들을 위한 정치학>은 정치 변혁을 갈망하는 시민들의 내면 변혁을 위한 최고의 지침이다.


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