Before I got my driver's license, I was a typical teenager: generally bored out of my mind with nothing to do (I am now 36). Growing up, we didn't have cable, so T.V. was a real drag during the day (I detest soap operas and game shows). There was no internet, so I couldn't waste my days away in that manner. I could only hang out with my friends for so long until that became more boring than being by myself. Since I couldn't get anywhere with speed and efficiency, that left me with one viable option (for me): read. Up until I was sixteen years old, I loved to read for pleasure (that pleasure would return again after college and Seminary). I ate up anything that had to do with history. And simply by association I would also read much about politics. I became very fascinated by history, politics and how the two engaged to form the world we live in today. I was a political science major in college and even considered at one time (very fleetingly) a life of public service (in the political realm). I grew up putting on a pedestal men like George Washington, John Adams, John Jay, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, etc. These men were heroes to me. They were creating a nation and a way of life that I have come to love dearly. Each one of these men understood inherently that in order to create a nation of unity, prosperity and equality that there would be a substantial level of personal sacrifice required of its leaders to make that happen. Our nation is not what it is today (even with all her faults) without great personal sacrifice from her leaders when the foundation was being laid. Personal sacrifice, however, does not seem to be a part of the skill set of the majority of our national leaders today. It seems that even the best of our leaders are in some way, shape or form in the pockets of powerful lobbyists and corporations who, it seems, steers the direction of our nation. In my most cynical moments I wonder, is it possible to reform the system? Will there ever again be grassroots politicians who can rise through the ranks and make a difference on a national level without selling out and losing their soul in the process? I honestly don't know. I think it's possible, but our political process is one of those things that will have to be chipped away at over the years. I don't see any short term solutions. This is where our leaders are going to have to be very far-sighted. We need a visionary or two to stand up and show us a better way to do politics. A way that benefits all Americans. We need a system where everyone's voices are heard - not just the one's with the most Washington's, Lincoln's and Jackson's.
We'll talk more about moving toward a possible solution tomorrow.
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3 comments:
Rising Above...Politics?
I feel your passion to read!
And I do understand your engagement with history, especially political history. After all, history is indeed the record of power, and as Christians, power (though not always power in the sense of force) is of our primary concern. It is our core belief that Jesus is the one with "all authority in heaven and on earth."
One of the blemishes of history, however, is the inevitability of bias and selective exchange of information. Probably one of the more damaging things we do is 'hero-ify' individuals of the past. The "Founding Fathers" and great presidents of the past have been delivered via filters managed by those who have a supreme interest in ensuring a sense of pride in the American past. This undoubtedly leaves us with less than perfect information. We all understand that history is a messy and imperfect discipline, but is it beneficial, or even accurate to lift up strong figures of the past as the self-sacrificing giants who overshadow our self-serving politicians today?
I might argue that our modern politicians are products of the very system of governance that Washington, Jackson, and Lincoln fought to produce. In any nation, either the government or the economy reigns supreme. In our case we chose the economy (laze faire) whose momentum would direct our country. Our government was situated in such a fashion that the economy drives industry, wages, jobs, affluence, and influence - and the government just enforces the laws. Economy operates and powers the nation, government simply exists to create and maintain the best conditions for it to do so. From the get go our country has chosen dollars over people - our economy has taken precedence over our presidents.
We are currently paying dearly for that on two fronts. 1.) the current economic crisis. We've come to understand what happens when the economy is given unregulated sovereignty: it can get way out of hand. 2.) it creates a system where our government gets its power from our economy. Following the logic, is it any wonder that our economy (led by huge corporations) is leading our politicians? Is it any wonder our government bows to the lobbyists? That's where the power lies. That's who has the last word. One of the reasons we look back at those historical giants (Lincoln, Washington, etc.) with awe and disbelief that any modern politician could be anything similar, is that they led a country with a much weaker economy that leaned far more heavily on the government. Those leaders actually got to lead our country because our economy hadn't eclipsed our government. It wasn't until much closer to the end of the 19th century that industry and market become so powerful (which is why we see people like Morgan and Rockefeller; and also why we see the progressive era - a backlash against the sudden rise of the market economy and its sharp lack of distribution of wealth).
Getting past all that fun stuff and to the heart of my response... We mention these fore-fathers of our country (not too dissimilarly from the fore-fathers of our faith, interestingly enough) as those who hold an extreme amount of power over a significant portion of the globe. As followers of Jesus, our entire existence is wrapped up in working with God to bring God's Kingdom - heaven - here to earth. My question for you is this: how does the power of the presidency (and any elected position for that matter) intersect with our striving to work with God in the redemption of all things? What is the role of the government (if any), and ours as citizens who vote, in making God's kingdom a reality?
Waiting patiently for more on the solution...is it tomorrow yet?
Wow...what a fantastic comment...I respond a bit in my newest blog.
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