In Hampstead Heath Rebekah and I passed lusty bathers soaking in the rare English sun. In San Jose Katie and David joined protesters who filled the streets to proclaim that Families Belong Together. Despite the different contexts, our conversations paralleled: we discussed walking as interdependence, the ethics of making art from your everyday (and the people you encounter in it), and, especially, the empathetic switching of perspectives. How, we wondered, do we empathise without acceptance? How do you engage someone in meaningful debate when their confederate flag hangs in the background? I have fewer political conversations with my family these days. We have limited time together and don’t want to spend it in conflict. But we have to find places for this discussion. To engage, but not attack. To empathise, but not accept. It is often uncomfortable, but we have to give up the privilege of comfort when the stakes are this high. Walking rallies the faithful, but can it also help us to build coalitions? Walking together can we build an interhuman church?
A Wander is not a Slog 