Notes for The Oppressed: Toward Resilience
You are a subordinate, an employee in a workplace marred by incompetent or hostile leadership. Hostile, as in the exercise of leadership in ways contrary to reason and good governance, in ways contrary to the common good.
Give sentence with me, O God, and defend my cause against the ungodly people; O deliver me from the deceitful and wicked man.—Psalm 43
Business, and any service institution, like Mother Nature, abhors a vacuum. Consequently, into the void allowed by ineffective leadership pours egotism and envy. Power plays erupt which further marginalize an already depressed group of workers—junior staff, adjunct or part-time faculty, junior management—who fear loss of opportunity if they speak up for themselves and for those whom they serve.
O send out thy light and thy truth, that they may lead me, and bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy dwelling.—ibid.
Despite the challenges, and they can be very serious and debilitating for those who labour in a toxic environment, there are reasons for hope despite the odds against one being promoted or even valued.
O put thy trust in God; for I will yet give him thanks, which is the help of my countenance, and my God.—ibid.
At the end of the day, one must retain his or her dignity, his or her self respect, his or her reputation for upholding truth and justice. Store up your treasure in heaven (St. Matthew 6:19-21).
Wilt thou not turn again and quicken us, O God? That thy people may rejoice in thee.—ibid.
Training for Resilience
- remain engaged: you cannot influence others if you detach and wallow in self pity and/or anger, envy and covetousness;
- don't make it personal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OQHmg0KSPQ
- do not harbour grudges which blind you to solutions; don't drink the poison expecting the other person to die;
- look past the pain; if you are suffering unjust treatment, enter into the suffering and understand it as an opportunity to allow Jesus to enter more deeply into your life (2 Corinthians 12:9-11); allow Jesus to take on your struggle (Jesus, I trust in Thee!); Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”—Romans 12:19;
- focus on real issues; do not be distracted by things beyond your immediate control or influence; use your experiences to discern and/or determine a course of action; refine your discernment by seeking wise counsel; be careful in your choice of consultants; restrict your consultations to finding solutions; never engage in character assassination to effect one's own progress;
- grow support for the mission of justice; support others on the basis of facts not feelings; insist gently but confidently in meetings and conversations that good ideas, based on intellectual merit and fairness, should be the basis for policy;
- maintain personal integrity: avoid gossip; assess others' behaviour to determine whether or not you may (or may not) confide in them; keep the results of your assessment to yourself as you select your allies;
- learn the language of honest diplomacy; decline or avoid involvement in problematic or unjust situations where the risk is you will be guilty by association; avoid contentious behaviour, your own and that of others; avoid the trap of false alliances, alliances that require you to drop your commitment to just and equitable outcomes;
- cultivate allies based on a shared commitment to truth, justice and the common good; surround yourself with people who will bring out the best in you, and in return offer your very best;
- widen the prayer circle: believe in intercession; ask others (outside or separate from your workplace) to pray for you, and pray for them; pray for your coworkers; bring every challenge and every joy to God in prayer.
You may seek consolation; instead, seek the Consoler. You may seek the gift; instead, seek the Giver. Entrust all cares to God and seek His mercy.
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PSALM 37
Keep innocency, and take heed unto the thing that is right : for that shall bring a man peace at the last.
POPE LEO XIV
The right to freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, religious freedom, and even the right to life are being restricted in the name of other so-called new rights, with the result that the very framework of human rights is losing its vitality and creating space for force and oppression. This occurs when each right becomes self-referential, and especially when it becomes disconnected from reality, nature, and truth.
ST AUGUSTINE
The truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself.
SAINT PHILIP NERI
The greatness of our love of God must be tested by the desire we have of suffering for His love.
ANTONIN SCALIA
Knowledge is one thing, virtue is another; good sense is not conscience, refinement is not humility. Liberal Education makes the gentleman. It is well to be a gentleman, it is well to have a cultivated intellect, a delicate taste, a candid, equitable, dispassionate mind, a noble and courteous bearing in the conduct of life. These are the natural qualities of a large knowledge, they are the objects of a university. But they are no guarantee for sanctity of even for conscientiousness; they may attach to the man of the world, to the profligate, to the heartless.
MARCUS AURELIUS
There is but one thing of real value - to cultivate truth and justice, and to live without anger in the midst of lying and unjust men.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.
MARK TWAIN
If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
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