Author,
educator, and human potential specialist Joseph Chilton Pearce has asked, “Why,
with a history so rich in noble ideals and lofty philosophies that reach for
the transcendent, do we exhibit such abominable behaviors? Our violence toward ourselves and the planet
is an issue that overshadows and makes a mockery of all our high aspirations.”
There
are plenty of people around doing good deeds, making meaningful contributions
in the world. They are caring, loving
people with the kindest intentions demonstrating the richness of our human
capacities.
But
why aren’t we all that way? And what is
it about the ugliness of life, the brutality and viciousness of people that
fascinates and too often entertains us?
This
business with Congress, upholding vital legislation in order to what? Play games with one another? Foil the legacy of President Obama? Pretend they are important people? What kind of gross unhealthiness is that?
They
still have not provided us with a national budget and slowly many of our most
vulnerable citizens are feeling the pain of having reduced services or completely
losing them altogether; critical services they need.
Congress
voted down the most innocuous gun legislation imaginable. It had no impact on current gun owners but
would have expanded background checks on future purchasers in a way that might
very well have stopped many criminals or those with psychiatric issues from easily
possessing guns as they are now able to do.
The bill failed and so did Congress.
There
is still no new, useful, intelligent immigration policy being seriously
presented. Just political talking points
for political speeches and the never ending political campaigns.
Both
political parties are abysmally dysfunctional.
The Republicans are on some kind of freakish 13 year ego ride that has
them incapable of responsible cooperation and sensible actions. The Democrats don’t seem to know what winning
means; they appear shrouded in passivity wandering about crossing their fingers
that their great ideas will be acceptable to their inattentive colleagues,
which of course is never going to happen.
Our
religious institutions are fraught with a bewildering intolerance, a silly
self-righteousness, and often responses that just seem completely contrary to
the spirit of religion, which I always thought to be redemptive, healing, and
affirming. Gay marriage and gay people especially
somehow appear to pose some cataclysmic threat to many in the church
today. Don’t get me wrong, there are
loving congregations in this country providing valuable spiritual guidance and
actually doing authentic diverse social ministry in hard places. But for far too many, it seems to me,
certainly the ones we hear about, a lot of churches and church leaders seem to
have left Christ out of the center of their beliefs. For them church is about partisan politics,
material wealth (greed), some kind of artificial Hollywood worship services, and
the promotion of tired, narrow ideas that no longer work in real life.
Someone
has said that all of human history has been a struggle between wisdom and
stupidity. We seem to be stuck in the
stupid stage.
Children
are viciously massacred in their school rooms and we’d rather dismiss that than
pass tougher background checks legislation.
Wall Street insolently struts around in obscene, lazy, often fraudulent riches
railing about taxes without contributing anything to the growth of a fatigued
economy. Twelve million immigrants could
legally enter the work force and be official citizens if we had the guts to
treat them humanely but instead we use them for political fodder and illogically
disregard their vast potential.
A
first century unknown female poet wrote:
“What
we have learned
Is
like a handful of earth;
What
we have yet to learn
Is
like the whole world.”
My
God, how we have so much yet to learn.
Darwin would be in despair over us.
We can’t seem to evolve enough to keep from hurting one another. Jesus must still be weeping over Jerusalem
and the US. He’s still waiting for
someone to pursue peace in the world.
There
is a line out of Pearl Jam’s song, “Wishlist,” that says, “I wish I was a
messenger and all the news was good.”
What a calling that would be.
We
have so much yet to learn.
©
2013 Timothy Moody
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