Imagine Who We Can Be – Moral Beauty and Collective Effervescence
We are more than we think we are!” Yo-Yo Ma shared that perspective during an interview with Fresh Air host, Terry Gross, on May 29, 2024.
This perspective reflects the new theme for my blog this year: Imagine Who We Can Be.
Recently an amazing statistic has been noted about the number of calls to our United States Senators and Representatives in the House of Representatives. Typically, those phone lines receive about 40 calls per minute per day. That number now is 1600 calls per minute per day! These calls are being made by Americans who are showing their extreme dissatisfaction with the new administration.
When I heard that number, it reminded me of two examples of awe from the book Awe by Dacher Keltner. Moral Beauty and Collective Effervescence!
Moral beauty is about acts of courage, kindness, and strength. Such acts activate cortical regions of our brain where emotions translate to ethical action. I believe that’s exactly what these 1600 calls per minute reflect! Individuals willing to take the time to speak out against the injustices being carried out by the new administration!
Collective effervescence is usually defined as individuals moving in unison typically in the same space. I have chosen to expand this definition to the 1600 calls per minute that people across our country are making at the same time, not necessarily knowing anyone else at that moment who is making a call. But they are truly doing it at the same time.
This perspective inspired me to find the phone numbers of my Senators and my member of the House of Representatives. On Monday, February 10, I made my first call to Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon. I left a message thanking him for the actions he is taking to protect our democracy. On Tuesday, I called Representative Suzanne Bonamici from Oregon’s 1st Congressional District asking her to support HR-1101 titled the Tax-Payer Protection Act introduced by Representative Haley Stevens, Democrat from Michigan. On Wednesday I called the office of Senator Jeff Merkley thanking him for his email newsletter I had received the day before where he outlined actions he is taking. These calls each took less than two minutes, the essence of small steps.
I invite you also to demonstrate moral beauty and participate in collective effervescence by reaching out to your members of Congress. Here are two links you can use: Contacting Senators and Contacting House of Representatives
I recently learned of an app that makes this process even easier. It’s 5 Calls.org. 5 Calls In addition to directing you to your members of Congress, it even lists issues to discuss and provides a script to help you decide what to say.
If you are nervous about making these types of calls, remember the words of Yo-Yo Ma, “We are more than we think we are.”
I also listened to another interview by Terry Gross on Fresh Air with Joan Baez. During the interview she talked about singing “We Shall Overcome” early in her career in protest to the Vietman War. Baez reflected that she now recognizes the perspective that “We Shall Overcome” is not about one big act that ends a war. It’s about the small steps we take every day, over and over to fight to preserve our democracy and protect our planet.
We shall overcome through our acts of moral beauty and collective effervescence!
Let us imagine the best of who we can be on this day and every day in the years ahead as we take small steps!
Awe is about being part of something bigger than ourselves!
