An Open Conspiracy for the Common Good

An Open Conspiracy for the Common Good?

According to the Oxford Dictionary "conspiracy" is a bad word!
"1. a planning and acting together secretly, esp. for an unlawful
or harmful purpose such as murder or treason."

Indeed the word has sinister connotations in our common usage--plotting in shadowy secrecy to overthrow the government or to take out a political opponent. Or we might think of recent corporate conspiracies to bilk companies and plunder retirement accounts hatched in more comfortable settings, but sinister nonetheless.

During WWII in NAZI Germany many conspiracies were plotted to get rid of Hitler including one in which Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran theologian and pastor, was involved. In fact his involvement in this conspiracy to assassinate Hitler is currently the subject of much conversation as he himself, despite writing a book on ethics, never tried to justify it. When his involvement in the nearly successful attempt to explode a bomb at Hitler's table failed, his fate was sealed. (The bomb actually exploded with Hitler at the table, but the briefcase in which the bomb was concealed had been pushed too far under the heavy meeting table. Some Generals were killed, but Hitler survived only wounded. He claimed it as a sign of his invincibility.) Bonhoeffer was hanged on April 9, 1945, just days before his prison was liberated by Allied Forces.

How conspiracy got to mean what it mostly means today is a subject someone else might explore. My purpose is to reclaim an alternate meaning, a meaning which goes back to its roots in Latin, "conspirare: to breathe together, agree, unite". While this meaning does not exclude the more common and sinister interpretations, it also allows a more positive and challenging alternative: To agree to work together for the common good.

What might it mean to conspire, not to commit treason or murder, but to commit common good? What might it mean to plot, not secretly, but openly in church basements and union halls, in neighborhood gatherings and coffee shops, in living rooms and community centers for peace and justice? What might it mean to train and develop leaders who are grounded in relationships with ordinary people and who are acting in concert with their interests? What kind of conspiracy might seek to organize the ground swell of good will in the hearts of most people and convert it into public good? How might the many with little conspire to counter the power of the few with much?

Conspiracy in the murderous sense is only called for in desperate times, as a drastic last resort. Open conspiracy for the common good is for those who have not given up hope in democratic freedom and the ability of the people to act for themselves. Open conspiracy is for those who have not given up on history, but are engaging the threats and opportunities strategically and with power grounded in the common good. Open conspiracy is not for heroes and heroines, for those who want to be "Hercules at the crossroads," but rather for common folk to act responsibly with others for the sake of a better world.

I'm in faith-based organizing because I want to conspire with others for the common good. It is not frantic, desperate activity, but plodding, steady, strategic building, breathing together the spirit which is more than any one religious, political or economic system can contain, and moving together powerfully in that spirit. Will you breathe with me?

P Moe