Mildred Binns Young

This is as relevant now as in 1960. Young is our Quaker prophet who condemns our excess and calls us to simplicity, to lower our level of consumption and address poverty and war. [And now global warming as well.]
What does our testimony of simplicity mean for us today? She argues that by and large, American Quakers, in 1960, live as beneficiaries of a society that is in plain contradiction to our principles. Our testimonies against war and preparation for war are increasingly compromised by show more our being bound into a system to which war and poverty are both integral. And we don't much attempt even to resist thus being bound.
We are called to strong witness today. We are called to claim the tool of nonviolent resistance, of our Quaker tradition, on behalf of all. Friends must take a radical stance, must shoulder the burden of hope. Discouragement is an act of unbelief. We are called to make our lives an act of belief. show less

The author writes an eloquent and profound challenge to us. She thinks we as Quakers are deeply ill at ease in our privileged status. We accept it, we guard it, cling to it, promote it. But we are ill at ease in it; we realize we "stumble upon the dark mountains." Living in this contradiction, she thinks, is the root of most of the causes of our spiritual decline. We pay a penalty for giving in to hardness of heart and blindness of mind; it is increased hardness and blindness. She thinks show more this is the judgment under which the life of our meetings suffers. Quakerism is a radical criticism of contemporary culture. It sees contemporary progress and prosperity and institutions as a sickness. What will we do about this? show less

Young suggests that limiting possessions and refusing to isolate ourselves in “padded cells of privilege” and “ghettos of privilege” is the path to creating economic equality by accepting responsibility for our individual contributions to inequality. She writes: “as long as our brother and our sister lie starved and beaten, our mere acceptance of ease, abundance, and safety, builds a wall between us and them so that we cannot collaborate in our common task, and builds a dam against show more the flowing sources of power and strength.” show less

This pamphlet is about voluntary poverty as a spiritual practice in the life of worship and commitment. It explores our almost frenzied search for security, our individualism, and the seeds of war in a "high" standard of living. It addresses the freedom and spiritual life of choosing poverty. This is a deep challenge to most all of us.