The rhetoric at work today drags up the specter of every political extremism available and imagines that the other side is coming after us, targeting everything we value, bent on destroying "our way of life" and undermining any good representation of society that we have ever envisioned. Have we no faith in our houses of worship, our organizations of advocacy, our structures of law and government with checks and balances and a constitution and bill of rights over it all?
I was recently disappointed to hear the pastor of a church that I respect (mostly because of their excellent worship team) engaging in a simplistic version of "us versus them," exhorting his congregation to embrace the reality that THEY do not like us, THEY are against us, THEY do not like what we stand for. He then proceeded to offer a laundry list of issues that "WE" have to stand up for, at once boxing his congregation into a corner on several sensitive and debatable social issues while simultaneously pushing them into the warfare mentality that will serve the exact opposite of helping them engage the culture around them in a constructive way. One would take from this that their mission is to defend the fort - a message of exclusion - rather than to seek transformation through the power of God's love.
The pastor exhorted his congregation in the language of "us versus "them," at once boxing his congregation into a corner on several sensitive and debatable social issues while simultaneously pushing them into the warfare mentality that will serve the exact opposite of helping them engage the culture around them in a constructive way.
In support of unimpeded capitalism and in fear of "anything else" (communism? as if this were a real threat in the U.S.), greed prevails and our economy increasingly serves the interests of the very wealthy, riding upon the shoulders of the rank and file of citizens and workers. Unbridled greed is not a Christian ethic.
In support of corporations and owners over workers, and in fear of "Marxism," laborers are underpaid and unprotected, full time labor with benefits declines while part time and contract low wage labor is too often the rule. Abusing the labor force is not a Christian ethic.
In support of free-market health care and insurance and in fear of "socialism," extension of basic health care to the poor and those with preexisting medical conditions is resisted. Failing to provide basic health care is not a Christian ethic.
In support of traditional religious norms on sexuality and marriage and in fear of sexual anarchy and the activism of fringe elements, the basic personhood, civic and religious freedom of homosexual and transgender individuals are trampled and denied. Denial of personhood, civil liberties and religious freedom is not a Christian ethic.
In support of the rule of law and in fear of "criminal aliens," we demonize fellow humans from across the borders and disparage their essential contribution to our present and past society and economy. A Christian ethic, Old and New Testament, is to welcome the alien.
The above paragraphs describe some of the ideological conflicts over wealth and taxation, labor law, minimum wage, health care, civil liberties and human rights.
In contrast to the culture wars, mud slinging, and fear mongering, what if our exemplars of moral leadership (e.g. our heads of government - president, governors, mayors, congress - religious leaders, and social/political commentators) held forth values, issues that entail those values, and causes which uphold those values and issues.
Even to take basic values from the Declaration of Independence...
Equality of Humanity, Right to Life, Liberty / Freedom, Pursuit of Happiness
From the Preamble to the Constitution:
Justice, Peace (domestic tranquility), Defense / Security, General Welfare, Blessings of Liberty
And from the Bill of Rights:
Freedom of religion and freedom from state establishment of religion, of speech, of the press, of assembly (entailing right of peaceful protest), the right to bear arms, rights of a just and fair police enforcement and judicial process, trial before one's peers, and against unlawful search and seizure, against unreasonable pretrial detention, against cruel and unusual punishment.
And from Faith: (in a confessional, that is, personal approach) looking to Christianity as a source:
We are exhorted to acts of love and compassion, piety and righteousness, mercy and forgiveness, to honesty and faithfulness, lifting up the downtrodden and the outcast, and respect of others, of parents, elders, spiritual leaders, government authorities, (to name a few of the values while leaving out a host of significant social values such as grace, patience, generosity), and we find among the leading prohibitions: untruthfulness, theft, fraud, sexual immorality, greed, abuse or abusive speech, quarrelling and factionalism, arrogance and favoritism, and hypocrisy. (These are the actual prohibitions in order of New Testament frequency.)
A Year of Turmoil
The year 2020 has been marked by the Covid crisis which stretches us in every direction, causing illness, loss of life, and loss of livelihood that has touched every family. This will continue and will require the best of us as we continue to endure. May our leaders have wisdom and find more basis for cooperation than we have thus far witnessed.
2020 has also been marked by many tragic incidents of racial violence and the subsequent protest movements, at times accompanied by violent and destructive elements of mixed political persuasions. This crisis is the fruit of centuries of racism and race inequity which we as a nation have not adequately addressed even after many decades of progress and reform. Around the specific issue of police use of force that often demonstrates race inequity in its application, voices across the spectrum call for national and local reform, including voices of citizens , of officials, and voices within the law enforcement profession.
As per the subject of this article, extremes often gain the loudest platform. From one edge comes the call to disband the police. From another quarter comes the call to meet resistance with military force. From another quarter comes the cry that "they" are destroying our cities. Other elements say "they" are fascists (yes there are some), or "they" are Marxists (yes, Marxism is a political ideology with continuing adherents). But these elements nearer the edge need not define or control the conversation.
Here we do not need social war of opposing factions, with leaders inciting the worst biases, fears, and negative attitudes latent within us (and often explicit around us). We need strong moral leadership that unifies diverse factions around common values for the common good, leadership that brings differing voices to the same table to do the difficult work of reconciliation, reform, and constructive change. The freedoms, rights, and values listed above are generally without dispute. We are not that far apart on our core interests and our desire for peace and safety, freedom and happiness, love and goodness for the benefit of our fellow humans.
I exhort religious leaders to be a voices of hope, grace, and moderation, rather than voices of opposition, fear, and social warfare of "us" versus "them." Whenever Jesus was confronted with debatable or controversial issues and baited to support "us" versus "them," he would go deeper and, shall we say, higher, for example, deferring to the immediate need to help, to heal, and to restore, rather than to debate or even apply the technicalities of religious correctness. Jesus never sacrificed the individual for the sake of the religious doctrine, and he never opined on many of the topics with which we so confidently outline the terrains of our culture wars.
I am confident that in almost every community, people of good will and good faith will work together for understanding, for healing, and for reform. To those among us who prefer negativity, conflict, and the strategies of culture war, I say back off and check yourself, for Jesus may not be on your "side."
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Going further into the issue of police violence, the culture war will not solve this problem. Engaging in mutual dialogue of diverse voices at the table centered on common values working together toward shared values and interests - this is conflict resolution, the work of reconciliation and reform. We do not have to reinvent the wheel. Communities and societies have worked through serious conflict and redress of harm and injustice before. This is an ongoing project of the welfare of a nation, of a state, of a community.
The value is respect and equality of human life. The issue - racially inequitable use of authority and force - is manifest in the present day not only as an outcome of implicit and explicit bias, but also out of fear, of limitation of resources, out of confusion and diffusion of a clear mission. For example, the local law enforcement mission is compromised by the failure of the local support structure in other areas such as mental health, homelessness, and investment in the youth of impoverished communities. The police cannot effectively address all of these areas under the milieu of law enforcement, so the mission does need to be reconfigured, and resources diversified under various community needs.
The reality is, when a 911 call is placed, the community expects a trained and professional response, able to deal with any of a wide range of outcomes. And those professionals called upon to respond need to know that they are empowered and supported to protect themselves from harm and violence, even as they face unpredictable and often dangerous circumstances. These problems require the sustained attention of diverse leadership as well as the commitment of resources of adequate pay, adequate training, and adequate support services.
May our leaders gather the diverse voices at the table to take on this issue, at the national level, at the state level, in every community.
Image Credit:
https://twitter.com/ShaneClaiborne/status/1168610405691867138/photo/1 - "White American Jesus with Assault Rifle"