Voices at the Table
We all have thoughts, opinions, values - based mostly on our life experiences and exposure. This is typical, but not necessarily beneficial in many situations. Because many of us have experience with and exposure to a narrow amount of social and cultural situations, our view of reality and circumstances is shaped by that limitation.
Today, our society finds itself in a struggle with cultural diversity versus cultural equality. In his book “Canoeing the Mountains”, Tod Bolsinger equates much of this to disorientation of mainstream businesses, organizations, and yes, churches. Many of these have been run the same way, done the same things, listened to the same advice and produced the same “product” for so long that they fail to recognize the fact that their surroundings have changed, and what they are doing no longer works.
Lewis and Clark found themselves in a similar situation. They discovered that they had to adapt to survive and accomplish their mission. So, they started doing things differently. Sacajawea, the young Shoshone bride of one of the trappers along with the party, was a native to the area they were entering. She knew the people. She knew their ways. She understood the landscape. So, wisely, Lewis and Clark, along with their team, listened to and heeded her voice. They valued her knowledge, experience and wisdom. It was something they didn’t have in these circumstances. Her voice ultimately led to more peaceful relationships with the natives, safety in the terrain, and success in their mission.
Sounds logical, right? Of course. But at that time, women, and especially a Native American woman, were not typically given a voice at all. Many times it wasn’t an intended disrespect or omission - it just was not done in the culture they knew. Women, Native Americans, slaves, even people of other races were not considered. It just wasn’t done. The norm of leadership and societal decision making was just the norm. They didn’t see or recognize a need for or even chance for change.
But, when faced with the uncharted journey ahead, Lewis and Clark considered every voice from within their small ranks. At one point, they even took a VOTE on where to make camp for the winter. And… every voice was counted, including not only Sacajawea, the Shoshone girl, but also Clark’s slave girl, York. They listened to EVERY voice, because they knew there was value to each perspective, and it mattered.
And here we find the juxtaposition of today. There is a glaring problem with our society because our cultural groups fail to “see” and hear the voices of other groups. Sometimes that is unintentional, but nonetheless wrong. Sometimes it is intentional, which is ESPECIALLY wrong. We have an instinctual nature to respond as if different is wrong. Different is NOT wrong, it’s just different. Also, different is valuable! Different can help us see things in a perspective that we missed or hadn’t thought of before.
Bolsinger concludes chapter 14 with this:
“Leaders… must courageously face the future. But to do so wisely and well will require first and foremost a commitment to collaborative leadership with unexpected partners. Uncharted leadership survives and thrives by listening to the ignored voice (Sacajawea), by expanding the table of participation beyond what is imaginable (Sacajawea’s and York’s votes)... but mostly, the challenges of uncharted leadership challenge us to keep exploring and become someone completely different from when the journey began.“
In order to make progress, every voice matters. Every perspective is valuable. Every person and group needs to be seen. Are we valuing voices outside of our norm or outside of the ones that look and sound just like ours? Are we striving to make a difference by discovering and creating a new reality for our communities and neighborhoods by doing new things in new ways in order to unify as a people? Are we inviting all voices to the table?
Lewis and Clark did.
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