What is Relational Activism? by John Mariner

Mahatma Gandhi was never satisfied with the English rendition of his work as “nonviolence” or “passive resistance”. He thought this term was too passive a description of what he was about. “Truth force” or perhaps “soul force”, came closer for him.

Gandhi said that truth and love were two sides of the same coin. It is here that we come to a definition of relational activism: The coming together of truth and love in our relations that undergirds and empowers our activism to be a powerful force for growth and change.

So what does this mean, this cross-hair of truth and love? This Relational Activism? First of all, about truth. We are not talking about absolute truth here, or imposing my truth on you. It means telling “my truth” as best as I can and owning it as mine. It means speaking my truth about the reality I live in with the openness to always seeing a deeper truth than what I presently see.

Secondly, what does “love” mean in this context? For one thing, it means always striving to be relational with everyone and everything. It means the dissolution of false boundaries or walls. It means moving out of one-up and one-down—I’m better, you’re worse- or I’m worse and you’re better dynamics. It means the dissolution of false hierarchies and the recognition of real community, a recognition and appreciation for each person’s strengths or gifts and contributions to the community.

Significantly, it means seeing truth and love together as related aspects of the same force within us and without us. This is important because truth without love can be like a hammer and move swiftly to grandiosity – I have the Truth and you don’t and therefore I am inherently superior to you. Love without truth becomes mushy, can blur essential boundaries and level everything in an indistinguishable soup that is no longer really loving. It is this cross-hair of truth and love that is the essence of Relational Activism as it is directed at the injustices of this world. Truth and love harnesses the power of love.

So what does this mean, practically, creatively living in the world? Relational Activism begins with ourselves. It means we work to stay in Same As and have healthy boundaries with ourselves.