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In the Face of Current Events by Amy Van Der Wyck, Third Year Late in the afternoon on Saturday, November 17, our Teacher Training convened a forum to address current international events. After a full weekend of classes, some 60 students, faculty and guests sat together in a large circle in our meeting hall.Opening remarks were made by Dr. Bob Dudney, a Waldorf school consultant educated in both conventional and anthroposophical medicine, and Dorit Winter, Director of our program. Dr. Dudney characterized illness as beneficial to the development of children and added that illness can strike families, peoples and nations as well. He asserted that the whole world is going through an illness, and that it is helpful to think of illness as a birth process. Ms. Winter cited the fifth lecture of "The Driving Force of Spiritual Powers in World History," by Rudolf Steiner, in which there is a description of how different spiritual entities "carry" human thoughts at different times. Following this introduction, all of the assembled were invited to contribute brief examples of changes they have perceived since the events of September 11, and these phenomena were then listed on a blackboard. They included the presence of armed guards at bridges and airports, a proliferation of American flags, increased compassion and consideration among strangers and families, racial profiling, and a greater knowledge of Islam and its practitioners, among others. When the blackboard was full, the reverse side was then covered with questions from participants, including, "How do we recognize evil?" "What form will healing take in this instance?" "What does America stand for?" and "If this is the illness, what is the cure?" After this a conversation ensued in which the group grappled with these questions, and formulated new ones. The afternoon was an opportunity for us to gather as a community in the face of current events. |
 
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