Americans have long been enchanted by the story of our own magnificence. Deep in our national psyche lies the myth of our divine exceptionalism. As children, we were read the great American fairytale - the one about the precious God-blessed paradise, and its shining "city upon a hill", whose holy light leads the way in a dark and unholy world. As adults, we're still reading this story, only now to our own children.
Viewing ourselves as the embodiment of absolute goodness in a world of evil, and of justice in a world unjust, we mistake our methods as entirely wholesome, and our purpose as completely pure. We even go so far as to sing "God Bless America" at our baseball games, and put "God Bless America" bumper stickers on our cars, believing somehow that America is divinely entitled, deserving of God's special favor.
God, indeed, has blessed America, abundantly, as He has in varying ways all nations and peoples of His earth. We live in a time of unparalleled abundance. Our nation is blessed with riches and possibilities far beyond anything imagined by our ancestors. That we should be so fortunate to live in America at this time in history cannot be understated.
How is it, then, that in the midst of all this greatness we are giving unwitting consensus to allowing more and more of our fellow citizens, disproportionately children, to fall into vulnerability, and into poverty? We profess to pollsters a high regard for "moral values", and yet why isn't poverty immoral? Why isn't lack of medical care immoral? Surely there is no more commanding moral imperative than to "value" the poor and the vulnerable, for whom the God of all religions admonishes us to care? That as a people we take so little interest in the troubles of those less fortunate demonstrates plainly that America is failing to honor God's blessing.
We esteem ourselves an advanced society, and technologically we are. Yet as a nation obsessed with money and possessions, celebrity and sport, we are not advanced morally or spiritually. As a culture that has established monetary criteria for success or failure, we are not advanced morally or spiritually. As a society that increasingly misuses religion as justification for intolerance and division, we are not advanced morally or spiritually.
A moral culture is defined through tolerance and compassion, and respect for the image of God in every person. A moral culture has a national conscience, upon which weighs heavily the plight of the nation's poor, and its vulnerable. In this way, a nation honors God's blessing.
And where is our national conscience? Do we still have one? Parading a hatred of homosexuality under the banner of "moral values" is not the same as having a national conscience. Pushing an aggressive agenda of sexual morality legislation is not the same as having a national conscience. How can one read religious texts and find justification for such intolerance when others find inspiration for charity?
America does not have a money problem - it has a priorities problem. We silently tolerate widespread poverty and blatant inequalities. We give tax cuts to the wealthy, and budget cuts to the poor. We allow forty percent of our fellow citizens to go without health care. We demand lower levels of government spending, thereby allowing higher levels of economic inequality. All this, even though the provision of decent subsistence, shelter, and health care are well within our national capacity to provide.
If, as has been apparent these past few elections, Americans across the political spectrum are to inject religion into the national political conversation, it must first and foremost be done with the common understanding that God is not partisan. Religion is a source of wisdom, strength, and moral clarity, not a source of words to be used to gain political advantage. Religion, if it is to be used politically at all, must be used only to rediscover the sense of the preciousness of every human being, our fundamental connectedness, and the responsibility we all share towards the common good.
Our greatest challenge if we are to remain a great nation is not terrorism, and not Iraq. Our greatest challenge is to recover our national conscience. Many will choose to do this with the help of religion, and some without. But the only way to honor God's blessing of America is to become conquerors of poverty and ignorance, and not remain defenders of greed and arrogance. Only in this way can we actually be as good as we already see ourselves.
www.strangeanimals.us
Todd Huffman is a pediatrician and writer living in Eugene, Oregon. He is a regular contributor to many newspapers and publications throughout the Pacific Northwest.
This article by Dr. Huffman is a great article. God has given America many gifts of beauty, resources, etc. We have abused many of God's gifts to our country. A national conscience for justice and peace would go a long way to enhance America's stature in the world. Most of the world looks upon America with scorn because we tell the world it's "my way or the highway."
by
Gerald Socha (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments)
on Friday, November 24, 2006 at 2:47:28 PM
Christ was NO Christian-that term was not even coined until three decades after he walked the earth.
JC was all about WAKE UP! The Divine is within ALL!
JC was a social justice radical revolutionary Palestinian devout Jewish road warrior who ROSE UP/Intifada and challenged the corrupt Temple and the status quo of Rome: the occupying force at that time.
Thomas Jefferson weeded out the miracle stories from the gospels and clarified the teachings of Christ in
The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth
1. Be just: justice comes from virtue which comes from the heart.
2. Treat people the way we want to be treated.
3. Always work for PEACEFUL resolutions, even to the point of returning violence with COMPASSION.
4. Consider valuable the things that have no material value.
5. Do not judge others.
6. Do not bear grudges.
7. Be modest and unpretentious.
8. Give out of true generosity, not because we expect to be repaid.
9. Being true to one's self is more important than being loyal to one's family...those who think they know the most are the most ignorant......
After that day we call 9/11,
Bush's Doctrine of FEAR was allowed to rule and manipulate we the people, for a limp media went along without asking, investigating and reporting on the hard question:
"WHY DO A FEW PEOPLE IN THE WORLD HATE US?"
I have been to OPT four times since June 2005, I have researched, I have written a book to address that question for I have learned:
'They' have plenty of reasons!
"We have seen the enemy and he is US!"-Pogo
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth mentality only perpetuates the cycle of violence:
and violence can only begat more violence.
COMMON SENSE understands that democracy, peace, security and justice can never come from the barrel of a gun:
or by torturing anyone.
Who would JC bomb?
Who would JC torture?
Who would JC occupy and oppress?
NO ONE!
"Soon after I had published the pamphlet "Common Sense" [on Feb. 14, 1776] in America, I saw the exceeding probability that a revolution in the system of government would be followed by a revolution in the system of religion... The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion."-Tom Paine
It is up to we the people to RISE UP/Intifada and hold our 'leaders' accountable; to remian ever vigilent and on their backs!
There are 64 Lobbyists PER Congressional Rep!
Corporations write legislation and if the Senate votes to gut Net Neutrality, FREEDOM of SPEECH will be history!
Orwell's nightmare is reality; war is peace and Big Brother is out of control.
Bush PROMISED:
"In the long run, there is no justice without FREEDOM. There can be no human rights without LIBERTY. All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know the United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for liberty, we stand with you."-President George W. Bush, Second Inaugural Address
Until USA wakes up that our blind allegience to the ethnic cleansing and apartheid ideology of the Israeli government is NOT in America's best interest: the 'war on terror' will be endless.
The truth hurts, but the sooner we the people WAKE UP and DO SOMETHING,
the better for the USA and the world.
The previous posts are much appreciated, but Ms. Fleming is missing the sarcasm in the title, which leads her to launch an invective that leads one to wonder whether she even read the article. If she did, she might read that I largely agree with her points, and share her enthusiasm for the true but largely lost message of Jesus. I would urge her to read a previous article of mine, "How The Christian Left Can Get It Right", for further proof of this. I would also urge her to take care in her comments not to shove aside someone already standing on the same soapbox she wishes to use.
by
Todd Huffman, M.D. (80 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 109 comments)
on Friday, November 24, 2006 at 10:25:16 PM
I found Ms. Fleming's response to be a fitting furtherance of your post and not critical. I noted the sarcasm of your referencing our "christian nation" and I am certain that she did as well. perhaps she felt a bit of reinforcement was necesary and she did so rather well, dontcha think?
by
ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments)
on Saturday, November 25, 2006 at 9:51:00 AM
I found this to be an exceptional post and one which moved me greatly. Tom Paine, by the by, is possibly my favorite Founder ( and second favorite revolutionary behind Dr. Ernesto Guevarra). Allow me the liberty of citing another of his wise statements:
"..... in America the LAW IS KING. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other."
Common Sense 57
OK ., just one more, I promise:
" I do not believe in the creed expressed by the Jewish church, Roman church, Greek church, Turkish church, not by any church that I know. My own mind is my own church.'
by
ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments)
on Saturday, November 25, 2006 at 9:48:09 AM
This whole article & comment thing has been refreshingly tollerant and solidly grounded in the ideals that have been responsible for the rise of this nation. We need this type of discussion. We need a national search for TRUTH.
Blessed Are The Peacemakers
And may we never forget those who died on 10/23/1983.
by
Sleeper (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 6 diaries, 272 comments)
on Saturday, November 25, 2006 at 5:26:17 PM
should not only be remembered but we should endeavor to understand why people strap themselves into bombs and detonate themselves in an irrational act of hatred, or is it a selfless act of nationalistic pride? We must decide.
by
ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments)
on Sunday, November 26, 2006 at 11:00:18 AM
It is both. They see no way out and their support network is supporting them to become pawns for one reason or another. Heroes dive on grenades to save friends and I think it is a similar response only more self inflicted. I have read that RDX rag bombs were used in the truck that the driver rode into the barracks. Hezbollah had no access to RDX rag bombs unless Israel or the US sold them to them. This subject has received no public discussion even 23 years after the bombing. Its possible that Gates had a hand in this. His hands have been involved in many illegal arms sales from the Hostage Crisis to Iran Contra. Hezbollah is well grounded in Iran where all this went down.
by
Sleeper (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 6 diaries, 272 comments)
on Sunday, November 26, 2006 at 3:04:18 PM
I grew up in Northern Germany, Hamburg, and my experience growing up was the opposite of what you describe. My generation of Germans were given the responsibility to ensure that nothing, absolutely NOTHING as happened during WW2 would/could ever happen again. We were drilled in Politics. We learned to hate ourselves, and our country, and to discriminate against ourselves. The latter was in fact an excellent way to prevent us from discriminating against others. It never occurred to us. We were taught to be absolutely brutal as far as truth, honesty and reality is concerned, and we were reminded, that our policing had to include policing the police.
Since I had an American father, my sisters and I spent many summer vacations in the US, and we were a rare exception of germans who traveled to the US at that time. (1960's)
I remember my father always telling us not to speak german; he was embarrassed.
We kids went to a camp in Vermont during those summers, and this included standing in a circle every morning and watching the US flag being pulled up.
We had to place our right hand over our heart and sing, or say some pledge along with it.
I remember us sisters promising each other every few days that we would not make eye contact during this time, in order to prevent us from 'cracking up'. (laughing uncontrollably) Still, I secretly wished I lived in the US, and I loved this 'thing'. I hated this 'intellectual' life in Hamburg, and whenever an American visited, and asked us what we did for fun, we also started laughing at this stupid question.
During our teen parties, we smoked, drank wine, and talked politics. We didn't get drunk.
Anyway, I did end up living in the States, and I took advantage of this at the first opportunity I had. (age 17) My sisters, and mother still are spread out in Europe. I loved living here, and I bloomed in every way. (meaning, the German way had not encouraged my intellectual, and otherwise development..on the contrary.) What changed me so positively was that for the first time my teachers believed in me, and I lived up to it. I forgot all about my childhood until about six years ago. And then it all came back...everything I had learned. I recognized all the warning signs; I saw it; I experienced it...and there was no 'denial' possible. My early education had paid off.
We never received a medal, whenever another country messed up. I also believe that we Germans, as a nation, or country... benefited, and matured greatly, as a result of all the terrible things that happened. Our parents had lived through the war...(my mother, in my case), and they had also tremendously suffered, and experienced great deprivation, especially in the years after the war. This rubbed off on us children, and who had not been there, but were made responsible. We were not spared any truth, and we were more capable than our parents, because we had not been scarred in the same way. They, on the other hand, tried to repress and suppress all the bad things. that was why we learned most of it in school.
Maybe America has not fallen low enough, and especially not together, as a nation. They have not shared the horror of war in your own country; they don't know what it can do to the collective mind and spirit. They don't know about real guilt. They don't understand many things, and have little insight. They are naive, and either mindless, or prone to mind manipulation)
by
Katrin R. (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 525 comments)
on Saturday, November 25, 2006 at 1:43:21 AM
that the assumption exists that the only way for anyone to be moral is to be at one with the Judeo-christian pantheon (Yahweh, Jehovah, "Father", "Son", "Holy Spirit (or Ghost)". Within that assumption dwells many of the problems that have been created by the christian faith, or sects thereof.
There are moral people in this country (and world) who are not christian, or monotheists. Morality has nothing to do with religion. One may define the other, but that is not true in all cases. Clearly, the Religious Reich is anything but moral.
Also, to say that America isn't god's favorite, and then to say we have been blessed by "him" is to nullify both arguments. God is not partisan, nationalistic, or in any way intimately involved in the comings and goings of us hairless apes. If he were, then articles calling for a national conscience would be moot and unnecessary. His "spirit" would move us to be moral and ethical beings.
Obviously, that isn't happening.
I for one wish y'all would find your national conscience. It would be refreshing to hear someone speak of the Rabbi Chirst as something more than an object of abject affection who needs us to cheerlead for him. I'd find it even more refreshing to see more people worrying about the sick, the poor, the hungry...err, I mean those afflicted with low food security, and others who are downtrodden instead of trying to force their sin-based morality on those who don't accept such nonsense.
I don't really see it happening any time in the near future, but hope springs eternal...sometimes.
Blessed be!
Pappy
by
Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 863 comments)
on Saturday, November 25, 2006 at 2:50:14 AM
"Our greatest challenge is to recover our national conscience."
You use Winthrop's " Shinning City on a Hill " as a metaphor of America. Itself indicative of our educational system.
In 1629 Winthrop FLED England with his followers from the constraints the Catholic leaning English Crown was imposing on their form of worship. He and his colonist were funded and supported by less publicly vocal relations that remained in England. His colony was burning women as witches by 1692. His co-religionist had beheaded their King and allowed Cromwell's terror.
When you say GOD blessed America, I draw the impression that you believe an all powerful, sentient being, gave special favor to America and with-held it from other nations. Kind of like when the commercial jet goes down in a swamp and of the 83 people aboard, only a 3 year old girl survives. Common accepted reasoning is that the all powerful, all seeing GOD blessed her. There-by saying the same GOD said "fuck them other 82 assholes, I never liked them any way".
Could it not be that America's greatness, the national conscience you speak of, was no more than basic human nature evolving without un-necessary constraints of religious or political rules governing behavior?
We as a people are generous by nature, we have historically aided our neighbors and worked to better our communities.
Our media sources have gradually denigrated the down-trodden among us to the point where most Americans will not give cash to the homeless on a city sidewalk,for fear it will be 'wasted' on drugs or alcohol. Those same citizens will vote for funding of public funds to fight the war on poverty. Never once investigating how the World Bank uses those funds to privatize water rights in third world countries.
The tenants of all religions require some form of tithe to the under privileged, It must be an inherent part of being human that is being exploited by religions here.
Every living thing has a built in genetic knowledge of what is beneficial to it's species. A flower turns to the sun, a rabbit in an over populated environment, eats it's young. All living things obey the inner dictates, except man. We hire clergy and allow religion to ' interpret ' our inner voice.
We appease our conscience when we walk around the homeless on a city street by voting charity to be directed by others. We compound our ' sin ' when we allow those funds to be used in ways detrimental to the benefit of the species in our name.
To regain the National Conscience you allude to, Americans need to be free to make choices of right and wrong on an individual basis. We have to have the INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY our founders fought for, not the interpretation of right from wrong we as a society are instilled with by corporations, media, legislators and religious leaders of today, all of whom are in a scramble for money and power.
by
cliff567 (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 190 comments)
on Saturday, November 25, 2006 at 4:29:09 AM
As for God, I ask him/her/it to help this blood-stained pack of murderers, aka the U.S.A., before he considers blessing it. Meanwhile, I encourage readers to contemplate the wisdom of my now ninety+ year-old friend, Deana Jensen:
Godwho?
Rather than worrying too much about God, maybe we can start with a little kindness, and once that aspect of our conscience is in place, expand further in a more positive way.
by
Daniel Geery (26 articles, 58 quicklinks, 121 diaries, 681 comments)
on Saturday, November 25, 2006 at 9:24:07 AM
I want to begin by saying reading the article Godwho? was perhaps the most wondrous thing I have done in a while. I have never seen such a well codified argument for the intellect of man, and against the brain draining gobbledy-gook which is religion. While it was a lengthy read, it said so many things and answered so many questions that have bothered me.
Rather than worrying too much about God, maybe we can start with a little kindness, and once that aspect of our conscience is in place, expand further in a more positive way.
What a beautiful statement. It goes along so well with the words to the song What The World Needs Now: "What the world needs now, is love, sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of. What the world needs now, is love, sweet love. No, not just for some, but for everyone."
As we plod towards commerce day, the supposed birthday of the Rabbi Christ, we will hear much rhetoric about peace on Earth, and good will towards men. Unfortunately, that's all that will happen towards that tired cliche: rhetoric. Those who are the supposed roots of it (christians) aren't going to do anything to really make it happen.
They are too busy wondering whom Jesus hates, or telling us who those people are. They are too busy drooling over the growth of the bottom lines brought about by the aptly named "black friday". They are too busy shouting their morality from the mountaintops to concern themselves with the immorality they have allowed to blossom.
They have railed against the "immorality" of gay marriage, and allowed a truly immoral war built upon lies, hypocrisy, and deceit to go unchecked for over three years now. They have railed against the "immorality" of abortion, contraception, and stem cell research, but turn blind eyes to the unwanted, neglected, abused, and hungry children the world over. They have railed against the "immorality" of allowing a brain dead human to die with dignity, yet they do nothing as otherwise sentient human beings die because they can't afford basic health care. They have railed against the "immorality" of Islam, yet ignore the blood drenched, corpse laiden history of their own brand of radical monotheism.
What is more moral, curing the sick, or maiming the healthy? Clearly, in this country, the choice has been made, and it's the latter, not the former.
I would love to see a world where kindness was more important than miniscule points of theological dogma. I'd love to see a world where love was more important than whether one form of human love is more or less moral than another. I would love to see a world where all men can know dignity, instead of one where dignity doesn't exist. I'd love to see a world where self respect is a given, not a cheapened commodity bought and sold with the goods for which it has been made synonymous. I would love to see a world where a national conscience doesn't need to be called for, it exists because it needs to exist.
I am not holding my breath that I will ever see this world. Just imagine how much closer we'd be to the Star Trek Utopian ideal if such was the case. Alas, Star Trek was only a TV show, and Utopia exists on the same plain as Atlantis and Shangri La.
Blessed be!
Pappy
by
Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 863 comments)
on Saturday, November 25, 2006 at 3:47:12 PM
Dear Doc, I did NOT miss the sarcasm in your message!
But, you apparently missed my point!
I THANK all the WIDE AWAKE readers who got it!
What absolutely inflames me is the religious right's hijacking of my brother, master, friend and lover, JC who as I said was NO Christian, but was a social justice, radical, revolutionary, Palestinian, devout Jewish Road Warrior, who ROSE UP/Intifada and challenged the corrupt Temple and the status quo of the occupying forces of his time!
Call me a zealot, for I do the same as they did, and most Christians absolutely hate the fact that the truth is:
JC was never a Christian!
The neo-con, neo-christian right has made JC over in their image; a white bread, blue eyed blonde effeminate sappy icon that is all about their being 'saved' and the hell with anyone else!
JC was into liberation, freedom, accepting yourself and others just as you and they are, for The Divine already indwells.
JC was NOT into oppression, control, capitalism and empire building!
JC was brutally sarcastic to those who thought they knew God's head.
But, JC always compassionate to the weak, the sinner, the outcast, the poor, the oppressed, the widow, the orphan, the prisoner, the outcast.
It is the misuse of JC for political gain that is at the very root of the abysmal state of our Nation.
The gospel is FEAR NOT, and Bush manipualated the nation with his Doctrine of Fear to lead us into an immoral war.
No matter who wears the uniform, or how noble they believe their cause: WAR is the ultimate form of terrorism and the commandment remains:
