| YOU DO NOT have to have a temperament inclined to alarmism to feel that there are multiple signs of decay around us in the United States today.
The dollar is down. Financial markets have been shaken. Productivity is not good. The stock market cannot decide whether to remain in manic mode, or reverse itself into depressed. The one thing we can be sure of is that it is not really trustworthy, because the decay of regulatory authority and of business ethics in general has left it without reliable standards.
We are mired in wars that have accomplished little or nothing of value, and prove that we are stretched too thin. Some of us are in a panic over illegal immigration into the US. Our medical system is abandoning a large portion of the populace. The country’s infrastructure shows serious signs of decay, from unusable school buildings to fraying road systems, and to the occasional collapsing bridge. And we have still not made much headway on the rebuilding of New Orleans.
We cannot expect commiseration from others, who may well have grown tired of living in our shadow for the past few generations. I simply note that this reality is beginning to sink in. It leads to a degree of introspection, as we reflect on how things could deteriorate so quickly.
Traditionally, this is the opportunity for religious leaders to speak of judgement, and admonish the people for their sins. Unfortunately, it is not a helpful move, since the lists of sins put forward by right-wing and left-wing Christians are incommensurable. Is sexual laxness destroying us, or hostility to illegal immigrants? Is it the teaching of evolution in state schools, or indifference to the environment?
It is easier for me to argue on the side of the left. The present regime’s subservience to the rich, its hostility to all kinds of regulation, and its quasi-messianic effort to impose democracy on Iraq have all contributed directly to most of our current ills. But our religious traditions, with their roots in Puritanism, still find it more natural to place the blame on individual morals.
In any case, religious leaders might better devote themselves not to listing faults and assigning blame, but to offering grounds for hope: hope that we can yet remedy some of our failings makes repentance possible. It creates the possibility of commitment and of a new sense of community.
That may also be the most valuable thing the current competitors for the presidency could be offering. At the time of writing, I am still struggling with the question for whom should I cast my ballot in the California primary election this week. I would like the person to win who can most effectively articulate hope.
This will not be a matter of mere optimism. It will require persuading us that this person is aware of past failings, has a vision of a more just and generous nation in the future, and is shrewd enough to help us move towards it.
The Revd Dr Bill Countryman is Professor of New Testament at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California.
|
back to Comment
previous story
|
next story 
.gif "Caris Magazine for girls aged 11 to 16 © site")