I have struggled with the meaning of this emotionally charged word that has come to represent a certain category of persons who have come under fire and threat these days. Here is the Miriam Webster definition:

“aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)”

Current political usage of “woke” is as a negative term implying advocacy for groups such as the racially marginalized as well as LGBTQIA+ persons. It at times is also invoked to attack those favoring environmentally friendly policies. The implication is that any supporting of so-called “woke” policies is anti-American and un-Christian.

Although not exactly the same, there is some overlap between “woke” and support of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Our government has undertaken actions to eliminate DEI policies from government agencies and has begun attacks on educational institutions supporting DEI topics and policies.

I recently watched a video of Fred Rogers testifying in a congressional hearing regarding PBS funding, something else that is currently being attacked because of being too “woke”. Here is a typical quote from Mr. Rogers:

“As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has or ever will have something inside that is unique to all time. It’s our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression.”

“Good grief”, I thought. “That sounds like being ‘woke’!” And indeed it would appear that, with his acceptance of every child “just the way you are” as well as his own gentle challenges to issues such as racism (Remember the episode where he bathed his feet with his African American policeman?) would appear to label him as “woke”.

Then I looked through my blog. Over the years, I have written about some extraordinary people who have truly blessed my spiritual journey. Nowadays I believe they all would be called “woke” and perhaps attacked. Here are a few.

Clearly Dorothy Day and Daniel Berrigan would be called “woke”, Dorothy Day for her advocacy on behalf of the poor no matter what their race and Daniel Berrigan for his protests against a government sponsored war. Similarly the great folk singer Pete Seeger was marginalized during the era of McCarthyism ( a time which has some eerie parallels to these current times). His many songs spoke out against racism, war, and the general marginalizing of minorities.

The great Jewish scholar Abraham Joshua Heschel marched with Martin Luther King. Vietnamese Buddhist and teacher Thich Nhat Hahn spoke out against war and discrimination. Thomas Merton was vocal in favor of civil rights. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson enriched our understanding of the challenges to African-Americans. Even Vincent Van Gogh through some of his paintings captured the sufferings of poor farmers and other laborers. All would likely be labelled as “woke”.

Larry Doby and Jackie Robinson, through their integration of Major League Baseball, actively undid decades-old discrimination in a major business. Where they not attempting to establish DEI in baseball? Would that not qualify them both as “woke”?(If this seems far-fetched, keep in mind that Jackie Robinson’s autobiography was earmarked for removal at the Naval Academy as part of a government program to remove literature supporting DEI).

The late Pope Francis would appear to qualify as “woke”. Even the likes of great saints such as Oscar Romero would appear to be “woke” because of his advocacy for politically oppressed groups in San Salvador. And, yes, it even seems likely that Jesus Christ, He who spoke for the poor and the rejected, He who challenged the power brokers, He who came to wake us up, would qualify as “woke”.

As noted above, there are eerie similarities these days with the Red Scare of the 1950s. At that time, books were removed from libraries. People lost jobs. Schools were pressured to not include any information that could be interpreted as “red”. Given that Donald Trump has a direct line to Sen. Joe McCarthy through Roy Cohn, the parallel is not improbable.

The issues of today that fall under the category of “woke” are not simple issues. What is missing is intelligent dialogue. Our country has become polarized. Some of our religions are headed in the same direction. Intelligent dialogue balanced by accountability is missing in the public discourse.

As I read over my list of spiritual influences that would likely be labelled as “woke”, it saddened me. Do I agree with everything they said or did? No. But their challenges have made me think, made me reflect on what I believe. This, I think, is part of what spiritual growth entails — a spirit of open-mindedness.

I am grateful for everyone on my list as well as other spiritual influences. I guess that means I’m “woke”.

Feel free to pass this on. Feel free to comment. Intelligent dialogue points the way.