Seeing the people instead of the system

I’m still catching up a bit, but I definitely want to recommend this piece by Richard Beck wherein he examines how bureaucratic structures in the world tend to dehumanize us.

In each of the [stories above] human beings are not interacting directly. We are, rather, interacting through the power structures of the world. I don’t know the name of the man in my backyard about to turn off my electricity. And he doesn’t know my name. Our relationship is, rather, defined by our locations in a bureaucratic power structure. He’s an agent of the electric company. I’m an address on his work order. That is how our relationship is defined. A relationship stripped of its humanity. And as a consequence I have to work mightily to treat this man with respect. He isn’t to blame. But everything about this dehumanized interaction makes me want to yell at him. To direct my anger at him.

We’ve all been there, haven’t we? How easy it is to rage against people who are only trying to do their job. Beck calls us to vigilance:

On and on it goes. If we are not careful, if we are not vigilant, if we are not prayerful modern life will dehumanize us. It is a demonic force that must be resisted. I keep going back to something William Stringfellow said, we must struggle to live humanely in the midst of the Fall.

And he closes with a fantastic illustration that I won’t copy here, but that is worth reading in full; go take a look.

Moving at the speed of love

Richard Beck has a great piece today on interruptibility.

Basically, interruptibility is a form of welcome and hospitality. It is a way of making room for others. This space we create is less a physical space than a temporal space, making room in your To Do list, making space so we can slow down and pay attention to others.

Interruptibility is, he says, “a sign that we are moving at the speed of love.” (What a great line!)

Beck goes on to explore some other traits that our interruptibility (or lack thereof) demonstrates. It’s worth reading the whole thing.