What do we do?

What do we do?

That’s the question I hear many people struggle with right now in response to so many things that are going on in this country. I don’t think there is a nice simple, easy answer for that question either. Some of that is due to the reality that there isn’t a playbook or answer book that lays out what we should do. Some of it because we are dealing with things that are deep seated in this country and beyond our control. And some of it is because of the limited nature of who we are and what we can effect.

We can’t control what this administration will do. Let’s start with that. It’s important to acknowledge what you don’t have control over and really don’t have any influence over either. Based on what this administration has done in the first six months, we should expect their decisions and policies to be oriented towards more of the same. The level of cruelty, greed, nationalism, and foundational belief in the ends justify the means, might makes right, and the strong survive are stunning. But they aren’t unusual in terms of the entirety of human history. For most of humanity’s existence, these have been the norm. It’s part of the reason why life spans were shorter. It’s also why there was often instability in governments, overthrows, coups, and wars. None of what happens should surprise us. We should expect more cruelty, violence, use of force, and more. These people have control issues after all.

On the larger scale, America has had a constant battle for who it is since the very beginning. There are national myths that have been used to shape who we are to some extent. But even then, we add more myths, and we fight about those myths. And while myths are nice compact ways to tell the story of who we are, often they fudge the truth in order to give us the cover of innocence and righteous action. Reality though often tells a more complex and disturbing story.

American exceptionalism is one of those myths. It’s the idea that we are somehow “special.” Maybe even chosen, if you want to get theological. There are numerous problems with the idea of American exceptionalism. It dismisses uncomfortable truths and injustices about our past. In that way, it’s very American – we’re really good at avoiding dealing with problems after all. We’d much rather shoo them away and make them someone else’s problem. We move problems. We spin problems away. We make empty promises. And when all that fails, we just eliminate the problem.

Another problem with American exceptionalism is that it gives adherents an excuse to think they are somehow better or superior to other people and other countries. Which is ironic because in so doing, we become just like every other empire or great nation that has ever existed, which makes us pretty common actually.

Each generation participates in the battle over America. Are we the America that leans into this exceptionalism, making excuses for our cruelty, violence, control, empire cosplay? Or are we the aspirational America, which upholds and expands rights, has a vision for a better country and better world where there is more freedom, and advances humanity to something more than what we’ve always been? The first option offers power and control. The second option empowers and expands.

The first option always ends in collapse. It’s just not sustainable. But sure, let’s give it a try. Maybe the right people just haven’t tried it yet. After all we’re exceptional. Exceptionalism leads to collapse mostly because it can only exist when it uses force. And that eventually exhausts the system. The dream, or maybe a more accurate description would be irrational addiction to control, traces its roots here in America to the Puritans. They thought of themselves as special. They wanted a theocracy in which they imposed their ways on everyone else. How’s that working out for us? The Purtians died off. One can only wonder how much damage they caused and how many people suffered under their rule. What we are experiencing is just a bunch of Neo-Puritans picking up where the first Puritans left off. It will go just was well as the first theocrats – ending in disaster, hopefully with these Neo-Puritans going the same way as the first Puritans.

This is a time to see who we really are and what it is that we actually believe. We’ll know based on what we do – individually and communally. We’ll know based on who we vote for and what they stand for. We’ll know based on what we are willing to put up with. We’ll know based on how we treat others that we disagree with or consider as enemies. We’ll know, and so will everyone else. And that’s a good thing. Because far too often we hear aspirational things from people who turn around and carry out the exact opposite of those aspirations while still claiming the aspirations. I’m really quite done with that. If you can’t be congruent between what you claim to believe and how you act, then you’re just full of it and why should I listen at all? Why should I trust you? What I hear is not the aspirations. No, what I hear is the embodiment of the ends justify the means. And I know that anyone who adopts this belief system believes that everyone and everything is disposable. The holder of this belief often doesn’t think they are disposable though. They think they are in control. Nope. You don’t get out of it. You are just as much disposable in that belief system as anyone else. History shows that.

In the Exodus story we hear about God hardening Pharaoh’s heart. That’s always been a struggle to understand. Why? Why would God make the situation more difficult for everyone. Why not soften Pharaoh so the people could be set free. I’m starting to get a glimmer of why though based on what we are experiencing.

If Pharaoh had softened his heart and let the Israelites go free, the system of oppression, enslavement, cruelty, dehumanization, and more would still be in place. Someone else would just need to be enslaved to keep it going and Egypt would just pick up where they left off. Instead, by hardening Pharaoh’s heart, it leads to his willful resistance, causing him to make decisions that bring about collapse of the very system at the foundation of ancient Egypt. Only total surrender and the complete breaking of the systemic nature of the cruelty, oppression, enslavement, and dehumanization means that it can’t be started up again. Total victory in other words.

When Jesus is crucified, it was the Roman empire’s attempt at total victory over God in the person of Jesus. But it failed. The weapon of empire, every empire, failed – death. Jesus’ resurrection was a total victory, which breaks the system. Yes, the Roman empire went on. But it did not last. Just like every empire before it and after. It fell under its own weight. It could not maintain and sustain the level of control over the population that it needed to. Eventually it fell and collapsed and ended. The threat of death lost its sting.

Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better in order to show the emptiness of those that want to control others. Sometimes hearts need to be hardened so that those with the hardened hearts will make bad decisions that cost them greatly, leading to their own demise and finally surrendering. Sometimes the perpetuators of cruelty, violence, and control have to be brought to the point of not wanting to play anymore before they finally give up. I don’t know why humanity is so stubborn, so willfully obstinate, so middle finger oriented, so addicted to control, so eager to use force, so prone to violence. It never works. It only causes pain and suffering. And we don’t seem to learn as a species. We take a few steps forward in progress and then jump back. It’s quite sad actually.

So what do we do in light of all of this? Do we adopt the methods of those we oppose and resist? I don’t think. If we do, we just become the very thing we hate. Then we are no better than they.

If we claim to follow Jesus, then we are called to follow his way. We are called to persist in his ways. We are called to be stubborn, but in a different kind of way. Stubborn about not controlling others. Stubborn about seeing the humanity of others, especially our enemies. Stubborn about following the way of peace. Stubborn about rejecting violence. Stubborn about grace. Stubborn about caring for the poor and marginalized. Stubborn about welcoming the stranger. Stubborn about finding housing for the unhoused. Stubborn about feeding the hungry. Stubborn about setting people free. Stubborn about speaking the truth. Stubborn about remembering actual history. Stubborn about offering healing. Stubborn about expanding justice. Stubborn about expanding the circle and making the table bigger. Stubborn. To the point that what we do becomes a pain in the butt of those who reject this way because we stubbornly refuse to become who they are or use their methods.

They will push and prod to get us to become violent. They will yell and call names to get an equal response. They will use force in order to get us to push back. They will threaten in order to have us return the favor. They will twist words and meanings in order to get us angry. They will harm people in order to get a harmful response. All of this is an effort to justify their cruelty, violence, and control. Should we engage in these activities, they will point to our response and say “See, they are a threat. We have every right to harm them, to control them, to send them away, to eliminate them.”

My friends, who are we? Are we America that peddles in the common human addiction to control through cruelty and violence? Or are we the aspirational America that sets people free and expands power? In reality, as a nation, we are both. We have been both. But who are we individually? That’s the question that is posed to us in this time? Who are you when cruelty and violence are shouting loud? Who are you when control is asserted? Who are you when our nation is stripped of so much? Who are you in this time? Don’t tell me. Show me. Show everyone else.