Finding a Voice Beyond Outrage

a call to moral clarity.

Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash

“Your silence will not protect you.”

— Audre Lorde

The time for silence and safety is over. We all see how crazy everything has become. Every day brings a new headline that leaves us stunned in disbelief. There is an old adage of wisdom, I heard long ago from Jim Rhon “When you become intolerant of the present, you’ll begin to create the future.”

So the question is, are we there yet? Public polls have turned on the president in every category, town halls are filled with citizens demanding accountability in red and blue districts alike and streets are filled with protestors.

Yet in a system that is built on protecting and preserving whiteness (aka privilege and power) at all cost, change will not come until a majority of those who benefit the most from the system actually demand the change themselves. What will it take? What will be the tipping point? Dismissal of the rule of law? Denial of due process? Incompetence in matters of national security?

We are living in a moment that demands more than belief in change—it demands boldness. And not performative boldness, but the kind rooted in moral clarity, spiritual authority, and deep compassion. It’s not about choosing sides, it’s about choosing humanity. And let’s be clear, It will require white people to lay down the armor of whiteness—privilege, defensiveness, and the illusion of neutrality—and choose humanity instead.

There will be a time when we have to come together and heal as a family - it will be a tender time to give grace and compassion to those neighbors, friends, family members and fellow church members who did not vote the way we did, did not speak up, and did not - in our view and judgement “come to their senses” nearly soon enough. There will be a time to heal that pain. But right now, we have to get everyone to safety. Right now, none of us are safe and when you are helping lead people to safety - you don’t check voter registration cards, or social media post history, you just help get everyone to a place of safety.

This moment is not about judgement or distain, on either side, it about morality.

For the second week in a row, clergy have been arrested for the sacred act of praying in the Capitol Rotunda. Not protesting violently. Not threatening anyone. Praying. In the rotunda of a nation that claims “In God We Trust.” Why didn’t the White House Faith office, whose mission is to protect against “anti-christian bias” come to the rescue of these clergy?

What clearer sign do we need that prophetic truth is being suppressed, and that spiritual courage must now rise to meet the moment?

These arrests are not only a chilling commentary on the state of our democracy—they are a clarion call to the spiritually awake to rise and respond. These women and men of faith, part of Rev. Dr. William Barber II Poor People’s Campaign and the Moral Monday movement, are modeling what it means to put prayer into action. They are reclaiming public spaces as moral ground, reminding us that sacred protest is an ancient and holy act.

They were praying because they believe, as I do, that prayer changes things. Prayer can shift mindset, hearts, and positions that have become stuck on limited thinking. Prayer lifts us to new insights. And prayer in public calls attention to moral issues that demand more than just prayer, but action.

These clergy believe, as I do, that the current administrations’ budget proposals are immoral and detrimental to our nations health and wellbeing. Here are some of the areas that will be affected, should the budget proposals go into effect:

• Medicaid: A proposed reduction of $880 billion over the next decade, potentially affecting healthcare services for over 80 million low-income Americans. The plan suggests implementing work requirements, which could result in approximately 5.2 million adults losing eligibility.

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A proposed cut of $230 billion through 2034, which could lead to more than 9 million low-income individuals losing access to food assistance in an average month.

• Education and Student Aid: Reductions totaling $330 billion from student loan programs, including cuts to Pell Grants and other financial aid, potentially making higher education less accessible for low-income students.

• Social Services: Elimination of the Social Services Block Grant, which provides funding for services such as child care, assistance for the elderly and disabled, and programs for abused and neglected children.

If we stand by while these cuts go into place - it will take years to recover. While it’s hard at times to keep up with all the outrageous things taking pace, keep this in mind: Executive Orders can be challenged in court, budgets cannot.

Learn more at repairers.org.

Self-Advocacy in the light of Oneness:

In last Sunday’s message, I spoke of self-advocacy as a spiritual practice. It begins with knowing your worth, honoring your needs, and voicing your truth.

But it doesn’t end there. Spiritual self-advocacy matures into collective advocacy—a willingness to speak up for the vulnerable, to confront systems of injustice, and to embody the change we wish to see.

To speak up for yourself is to honor your divine spark.

To speak up for someone else is to honor theirs.

Any spiritual tradition that teaches you one must be scarified for the other - knows nothing about the principle of Oneness.

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.

God will not hold us guiltless.

Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer, who resisted Hitler’s regime and paid for it with his life, knew something about the cost of silence. We are not facing the same historical moment—but we are facing moral crises that call us to similar levels of courage and conviction. Economic injustice, racial inequality, anti-democratic power grabs, and the politics of distraction all demand that we speak.

The ultimate essence of self-advocacy and moral courage that this moment requires is found in the Gospel of Matthew and Jesus’s simple teaching:

“Whatsoever you do to the least of these, you do to me.” - Matt. 25:40

Use Your Power: The Force is Strong with You;

“There is a Power in the Universe greater than you are, and you can use it.”

— Ernest Holmes

That Power is not reserved for pulpits or protests—it is available to each of us. It speaks through our choices, our boundaries, our public witness, and our willingness to refuse the easy path of quiet conformity.

So I ask you now:

• Where are you being called to raise your voice?

• What truth have you been holding back out of fear?

• Who needs your witness—your presence, your courage, your clarity?

This is your moment. You don’t have to do everything. But you must do something.

Call to Action:

• Speak truth in your circles—even when it’s uncomfortable.

• Contact your elected officials about the issues that matter to you.

• Support movements like The Poor People’s Campaign and Repairers of the Breach who are doing the sacred work of systemic change.

• Pray not just for peace, but for power—the power to stand up and speak out.

• And when you’re ready to get trained, consider taking Bystander Intervention Training so that your voice can be used to protect others in public spaces.

Let your life become the sermon. Let your voice be the prayer. Let your truth be the healing.

Raise your voice. The world is listening.

Rev. David Alexander D.D. is the spiritual director of the of Spiritual Living Center of Atlanta, author of Freedom from Discord: The Promise of New Thought Liberation Theology and Recovery from the Lie of Whiteness.