Enlightened America, Part 1

“Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.”
Langston Hughes, American Poet

In my last blog, supported by the writings of our nation’s Founders, I asserted America was not founded as and is not today a “Christian nation.” I did not identify the founding principles of America or why in the world we should care about them nearly 250 years later. Addressing that means I must digress to provide some crucial historical context, and since our Founders were European, this must be some European history.

(Ugh! History. I know, we all hate it, but stick with me for a few minutes. It’s important.)

In the 15h and 16th  Centuries, leading into our nation’s founding, Europe was emerging from 1,000 years of a social order built on three pillars – hereditary rulers (aristocracy and nobility), Church authority, and brute force.* In various ways each pillar supported the other to maintain power. The state supported the authority of the church, the church sanctified the authority of the state and, should you rebel against either, they could resort to brute force to keep you in line.  Your heredity determined your social class and no matter how good or vile a person you were with few exceptions, you and your progeny maintained that class and the privilege or burdens that came with it. The religious authority insisted the aristocracy and nobility had a divine right to rule over commoners and commoners had a divine mandate to submit. The Church also taught that, in a world filled with demons, angels, saints, and witches,  we are all in danger of hellfire. Conveniently the Church, via moral instruction and ritual, offered a way to escape damnation, extending or withholding eternal salvation. Your body was owned by the aristocracy and your soul belonged to God who was available only via the Church. Each were intent on expanding their wealth and influence and when negotiation failed, brute force was called to action. Religion became political, and with the force of the state the political became brutal. Religious wars became devastating political wars [see the 30 Years War]. A change of monarch altered the fates of millions based on a monarch’s religious loyalties. Millions died in war’s combat, disease, and starvation. Commoners were the foot-soldiers and cannon fodder of the powerful political and ecclesiastic elite.

In the 14th Century, the technology of the printing press with moveable type and published translations of the Bible in the common languages eventually germinated the Protestant Reformation in the 16th Century. This fractured the authority of the Church as Protestants asserted every man had a right to a direct connection to God and the right to study the Bible on their own terms.

Out of this ferment of new technologies and ideas, the Age of Reason emerged in the 15th and 16th Centuries and “natural philosophy” of ancient Greek scholars was rediscovered and refined. This was essentially the birth of the mindset of modern science, although the term “scientist” would not be used until the 19th Century. Inductive and deductive reasoning was used to examine everything, including religious claims. New scientific discoveries demonstrated that much of what had been explained by God or demons could be explained by natural processes. Deism was a theology claiming the nature of God could be determined by the study of his creation rather than divine revelation. And in that creation, it was the nature of every man – we didn’t get to women yet – to have certain inborn, natural, and inalienable rights. This gave rise to the Enlightenment.

Enlightenment thinking deemed all men are created equal (goodbye to aristocracy) and that every man owned his own self (goodbye, hereditary authority) and that his life was his alone. Anything which a man produced by his own labor also became his property (so long, serfs) and he could not be deprived of it without a due, fair process. The church provided opportunities to pause and commune with God – who still had His rules – but it was no longer the sole authority of that access. As these ideas took hold, more commoners began demanding a say in their own destinies.

Our nation’s Founders were educated men who embraced the Enlightenment. Thomas Jefferson once said that “Bacon, Locke and Newton are the greatest three people who ever lived, without exception.” Enlightenment philosopher John Locke especially influenced our Founders. Locke insisted life, liberty, and property were natural rights that pre-exist any government or religion. While Locke held his own Christian views and his writings were influenced by them, he insisted religious tolerance was necessary to a civil society since a man’s conscience was his own. Likewise, no government should establish a particular religion since it could not verify absolute truth nor command a person to believe what they do not believe. Violating a man’s conscience violates his property and therefore his natural rights.

These are Enlightenment principles on which America was founded. When Thomas Jefferson wrote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” he did not echo words from the Bible, he stated Enlightenment philosophy. This seed sprouted into both the American and French Revolutions. It also upended hereditary monarchy as a ruling force across Europe. Monarchies acceded to democracy in various forms, giving people a say in their own lives to an extent not seen in 1,000 years.  

Across American history our major conflicts have been around Enlightenment principles – the nature and rights of individuals. Sadly, our Founders cultural blinders let them create a nation with gaping contradictions to Enlightenment theory including the rights of enslaved people, the rights of non-European native peoples, and the rights of women. This blunder is our great national sin which abolitionist, suffragette, and union member progressives have continually tried to correct to make “a more perfect union.” We are now in a period where the forces pushing us back are the same old ones. Religious “authority” in the guise of Evangelicals using political power to control the lives of the majority. As our new “aristocracy” the uber-wealthy now own our legislative processes and wish to own us as “human resources.” The Republican Party wants to restrict the power of the common person to vote.  These movements are coordinated. They are also as unAmerican and as unenlightened as any tin-pot dictator.

Next time I’ll say more about how our Enlightened Nation is threatened. Until then, as I opened with the words of Langston Hughes, let me also close with them:

“O, let America be America again—
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME—
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.”

Langston Hughes, American poet

Tikkun Olam

(*I am deeply indebted to Seth David Radwell for his concise summary of medieval social order and other definitions in his excellent book American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret for Healing Our Nation. I highly recommend it to those concerned for our country.)

Is America a Christian Nation?

“Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other Sects?”
James Madison, Father of the U.S. Constitution

May 23, 2022 Kandiss Taylor, Georgia Republican Gubernatorial Candidate: “We’re going to do a political rally and we’re going to honor Jesus… They’re not going to tell us ‘separation of church and state.’ We are the church. We run this state!… The church runs the state of Georgia.”

July 26, 2022 Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican member of Congress “The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church. I’m tired of this separation of church and state junk. It was not in the Constitution; it was in a stinking letter, and it means nothing like what they say it does.”

Boebert and Kandiss are the most recent politicians to claim the United States of America was founded as a “Christian nation” and suggest separation of church and state is a subversive concept. Current advocates of this view appear less interested in Christian doctrine and more determined to use the Bible as a political weapon. They hope to impose into our nation’s policies their interpretation of Biblical morality while also using religious fervor to raise money and motivate voting. Their intent is to grasp power to advance unChristian and anti-democracy agendas. As an American citizen holding advanced degrees in theology and policy, I find this revolting.

So let’s be clear. America is not now, nor has it even been, a Christian nation. Moreover, our Founders never intended it to be.

Saying this is neither anti-American nor anti-Christian; only a matter of history and from much more than “a stinking letter.” In 1797, the U.S. Senate, a body more than 50%  composed of original signers of the U.S. Constitution, unanimously affirmed a Treaty with Tripoli clearly stating:

[Article 11] As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,-as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen, [Muslims] -and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan [Mohammedan] nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”

Obviously, time has altered this relationship but it clearly demonstrates at our nation’s founding neither Christian dogma nor identity played any role in how our government was constructed or operated. Separating political power while carving out a cultural space for each person to follow the dictates of their own conscience was a clear goal of our nation’s Founders and one of their crowning achievements. In their time, this was considered radical, so why did they do it?  

Our nation’s founders knew first-hand from European history how the mingling of political power and religious dogma was a toxic brew leading to bigotry, social divisions, bloodshed, and repeated religious wars. In 1785 James Madison, the Father of the US Constitution, published a letter to the Virginia legislature as it worked out the State’s constitution where some wanted a tax to support a state church. In opposition Madison wrote, “Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other Sects?” ( in Memorial & Remonstrance)

in other words, Southern Baptists would rebel against a government mandate to live by Catholic doctrine and vice versa. In 1803 Madison again pressed this point stating:“The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries.”

Nearly 20 years later on July 10, 1822 Madison wrote  to Edward Livingston still insisting, “Every new & successful example therefore of a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters, is of importance. And I have no doubt that every new example, will succeed, as every past one has done, in shewing that religion & Gov will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.” 

Distancing church from state protects both, a belief held by many of our Founders. Despite biographies published after his death portraying George Washington as a fervent Christian, his own letters and diaries portray a different person. In one such letter he assures a Hebrew [Jewish] Congregation of their status as equal citizens in this new nation. As an adult, Washington only occasionally attended worship services, was never a church communicant, and on his deathbed no minister or priest was called into attendance. Academic study by known historians has debunked fabricated stories and misattributed quotes intending to portray him otherwise.

When someone asked Alexander Hamilton why the U.S. Constitution makes no reference to God, he famously quipped, “We forgot.”  The Founders did not, of course, merely forget; it was a conscious decision based on both their principles and their experience. The writings of our nation’s Founders never refer to the Bible as an authoritative source for governing or policy. Neither Christianity nor the Bible are quoted as a basis for their political views.  Our Founding documents do not cite Jesus Christ and rarely reference God in more than general terms such as “Providence” or “Creator” or “Nature’s God.” To read even those statements with 21st Century Evangelical lenses is to misunderstand profoundly, even dangerously, what they intended. While some of the Founders were church members most viewed religion, broadly defined, as a source for moral guidance, not absolute or spiritual truth.

For example, while Thomas Jefferson, who authored the Declaration of independence, viewed Jesus as an excellent moral example to which one could aspire  – a view he called “Christianism”—he rejected Jesus’ divinity, resurrection, and miracles. I could continue with similar documentation about Benjamin Franklin, or Thomas Paine (who called the Bible “the pretended word of God”) but you can explore these links for yourself. There is ample, written documentation the nation’s Founders deplored the idea of the United States ever establishing one religion over another, including Christianity. Moreover, for those Founders who were observant Christians, their beliefs would fail the current litmus test of being “true” Christians by today’s Christian Nationalists, Evangelicals, and Fundamentalists. 

The Founders’ chief interest in religion was not its dogma but its usefulness in providing a common moral code within which a democratic society could function. Yet in the 21st Century large portions of American Christianity have abandoned that moral code, supporting highly immoral individuals and political tactics. Moreover, parts of that religious segment have become arrogant, autocratic, punitive, and more lately, violent. All of these are traits inherent in religion that our Founders feared and sought to uncouple from the power of the state.

Intermingling state and church is becoming coercive and dangerous to our democracy and to the free exercise of religion. Their wisdom is once more revealed by a violent Christian presence in the January 6th insurrection, an eye-opening moment for many of us. Boebert’s shockingly ignorant comment that the church is supposed to direct the government, coming from a sitting member of Congress, reveals how far we have strayed. The most recent ruling overturning Roe vs. Wade protecting access to abortion was made by a predominantly conservative, Catholic Supreme Court and supported by Evangelical Fundamentalists. It is not the will of the larger American public. These are the latest examples of intermingling church and state. Christian dogma must never be the source of national policy. Our Founders would applaud our resistance to it.

Tikkun Olam

[A following article explains the principles upon which our nation was founded and why our forgetting them is costing us so dearly.]

Who is Really Politically Correct?

Back in the 1990’s I lived in Lexington, KY. The city was the first in the state to pass a “Fairness Ordinance” barring discrimination against LGBT people in housing, employment, or public accommodations. (Louisville had a similar ordinance but it did not include bisexual or transgender people.) After two city council meetings filled with opposition and controversy the ordinance passed. A few weeks later I was on a business trip to a distant part of the state. A local woman there, when she heard I was from Lexington, brought up the Fairness ordinance and said, “I think that city council up there just wanted to look politically correct. I think all this gay stuff is just about political correctness.”

She did not know that I was a gay man, nor that I served on the Lexington Fairness Campaign which had created the wording and the organized drive for that ground-breaking ordinance. We weren’t trying to “look good” to some group of people; we wanted equal treatment under the law in a time and place where LGBT people had few protections. I never mixed politics with my professional work with the public – I had to train and work with people across the political spectrum – so I let the comment slide. But I have never forgotten it. It was dismissive of an effort to get equal treatment under the law.

The memory resurfaced again today when I read about President Biden’s nomination of Dr. Rachel Levine as Assistant Secretary of Health with the U.S. Department of Health and Human services. Dr. Levine is well qualified, but also transgender and, if confirmed, will be the first transgender person to ever be confirmed to a Federal post by the U.S. Senate. Predictably, there are already charges from conservatives that this appointment was all about “political correctness.” Pardon me?  

Dr. Levine is a highly qualified healthcare professional, a former Physician General of Pennsylvania and currently serving as their State Secretary of Health. She is a credentialed pediatrician, a graduate of Harvard and Tulane Medical School, and a Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine. Her current state position required her confirmation by a Republican-controlled state senate. She won accolades for spearheading the state’s response to the corona virus pandemic and has decades of professional practice and administrative managing of medical care. We are fortunate to have someone with her credentials in this position.

When you hear her appointment – and others like it – labeled as mere “political correctness” it means the accuser believes the person is unqualified apart from belonging to a politically favored group; that her appointment is just meant to look good to certain people. It is a slur on the reputation of qualified professionals. The “PC” charge is not like nepotism where, for example, a public official appoints his children and in-laws to positions for which they have zero expertise. Rather, nominations such as Dr. Levine’s mean that qualified individuals are no longer barred from consideration because of ignorance and bigotry. They can be freely and fairly considered for positions for which they are highly qualified without the fear that irrelevant issues such as sexual orientation or gender identity are viewed as pertinent. It is the exact opposite of being politically correct. It means that person has been appointed despite the likelihood the ignorant and the bigots will scream their heads off. It’s not being “politically correct;” it’s being fair.

In fact, denying equal treatment to groups of people in order to curry favor among voters can more legitimately be viewed as trying to be politically correct, because the discrimination is not based any actual facts about the individual but on the political persuasions of the person doing the appointing without reference to the person’s credentials. It’s just as “politically correct” to deny an appointment because of belonging to some group as it is to appoint them for belonging to some group. In both cases. it ignores the individual’s actual qualifications.

“Politically correct” has become conservative short-hand for not having to consider an individual’s actual fitness for a position. In the coming days we are likely to hear a lot of accusations of political correctness as a liberal and progressive administration recognizes people of color, LGBT Americans, Native People’s and other groups “suspect” to conservatives. It is a mentally lazy way to snub individuals and reduce respect for their work once they are in place. It is also a big, red flag revealing far more about the person making the PC accusation than anyone else.  

When you hear “politically correct” aimed at anyone, take a look at who they are speaking about, and then take a longer and harder look at the person saying it.

Tikkun Olam,

AB

Truth or Consequences

“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
― George Orwell

It’s time for healing in our nation. In fact, it’s well past time. Our American democracy has gaping wounds, and we the people long to see them closed. Yet, as with many injuries, healing only comes with an accurate diagnosis of what caused and is causing the damage. In the immediate situation, in a nation with a barricaded Capitol and threats of violence across the country, the most damage is being caused by a particular set of lies, those being 1) the 2020 election was riddled with fraud, 2) Trump actually won, and therefore 3) he is being unfairly robbed of a 2nd term. All three of these statements are inflammatory, damnable lies wounding our nation.

How do we know? Because representatives who have the most reason and resources to know have told us so. This includes then-Attorney General Bill Barr who, despite being an unflagging Trump loyalist and apologist, said there was no evidence of fraud. We know because Chris Krebs who headed the Trump Administration’s Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency reported absolutely “no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.” We know because Ben Hovland, the Trump-appointed head of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission said there was no evidence of fraud. Likewise, those overseeing elections in various states – including members of the Republican Party, have told us there was no fraud and the votes have been counted and recounted as required by law. We know because Trump loyalists one after another have marched into courts of law from the state level to Supreme Court of the United States and in over five dozen court rulings have universally been told they have no evidence and therefore no case. This has not stopped Donald Trump – for whom lying is his chief skill set – from repeating these lies over and over for three months now. Trump is shameless in his lying and, perversely, this gets people to believe him because they would never lie so guilt-free and so can’t imagine anyone would.

Trump even pre-lied about the election outcome by casting doubt on its integrity before it happened. This was to groom his base to accept the lie when it became necessary and it appears to have worked. Last week an angry mob invaded the Capitol building with the stated purpose to “Stop the Steal’ even though there was no steal. Thus, their true purpose was to overturn a valid election. It was a Trump-inspired coup attempt but, even with the death and destruction, they felt their actions were morally righteous and politically patriotic. This does not excuse their actions; it simply notes that the responsibility does not start, nor should it end, with them. Prosecute them for their bad behavior, but they had help.  

Recall Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and the 145 other Republicans who voted to overturn the U.S. 2020 presidential election. Joe Biden won by over 7 million popular votes and 74 electoral college votes. Nonetheless, these members of Congress voted to invalidate the election because of the “concerns” of those who lost. Those concerns existed only because Trump and company, bolstered by vast media networks – FOX, OAN, Breitbart, and certain members of Congress – worked to sell the lie and keep raising the level of concern. By stirring up doubt on the election outcome, they hoped to provide cover for their representatives to undo a valid election. And rather than stand up to tell the people they represented there was no evidence of fraud, these Senators and Congressional Representatives chose to perpetuate the lies and the social unrest they generate. They don’t actually believe the lies. But it serves their own personal careers and political agendas to validate them. This makes them not only liars, but craven liars. It’s unfortunate to believe and act on an untruth; it is a whole new level of betrayal to support a known lie for personal interests. Their vote may have been the cruelest cut to American Democracy because – despite their best efforts – Trump will be gone but they, their lies, and the unrest they generate will continue.

So, to the Republican Party and their followers: If you want healing, the ball is in your court. Quit repeating convenient lies. Trump is a passing problem. Trumpism’s commitment to lying is an infection in the body politic and it might be deadly. There is only one cure for this infection and that is the truth spoken by those these disgruntled citizens have reason to believe. We can be certain Trump will never do it; it is not in his nature to be honest. It must fall to others in the Republican Party to now stand up and say this was a tough but fair election and Joe Biden won it by proper Constitutional processes. Until the balm of truth is spread on this festering lie, the body will continue in dis-ease. What say you GOP? Will you stop being the party of Trump and once again become an American party? Will you heal our nation with an anti-inflammatory honesty? The cure is in your hands. What will you do?

Tikkun Olam

AB

On Spirituality, Part 2 – A Measure of Religion

“You can tell you have created God in your own image when it turns out that he or she hates all the same people you do.” — Anne Lamott

"You can tell you have created God in your own image when it turns out that he or she hates all the same people you do." -- Anne Lamott

When they came to the “New World” the Puritans had a mission. They were educated, adventurous, pious, intellectually curious, ambitious, and sought freedom to practice their religion. Nonetheless, they visited upon early America the Salem Witch Trials in which over 160 men, women, clergy, and even young children were accused of being witches – a crime punishable by death. This was in two settlements with a population of about 600 people. Many lost their standing in the community, their property, their freedom, and some, ultimately, their lives. Nineteen people were hanged, and another died by torture. In their religiously shaped world view they were under constant threat of assault from the devil who took the form of the French, Catholics, Quakers, native peoples, disgruntled or unpleasant neighbors, dark-skinned people, and the poor. Their religion said these “others” made deals with the devil to thwart their Puritan mission. The Salem Witch Trials ended the Puritan experiment, which was America’s first and – so far – last theocracy. In my view it failed because it abandoned spirituality in its quest for religious purity.

In my last post, I noted “spirituality” exists only in relationships. How I relate to and interact with others is how my spirituality lives or dies. I didn’t address either God or religion because they can be apart from spirituality. Although many people practice their spirituality via their religion, today, a commonly heard phrase is “I’m spiritual but not religious.” I embrace this, but find it overly vague, needing defining by illustration. Let’s look to the role of religion in another historical case – American slavery.

The permanent, generational subjugation of an entire race was supported by large parts of early American religions and their sub-sects, bringing their theology to support it. People of African descent were deemed only quasi-human and so, theologically it was morally permissible for European [white] people to own and treat them as livestock. It was practiced in the nation’s North and South; Sojourner Truth was born into slavery in upstate New York. This was not only considered normal, but “American.” Arriving white immigrants conformed to belong in their new country. Puritans, Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Quakers; they all supported the institution and many kept slaves.

But religion also fueled the pre-Civil War Abolition Movement. Among many others, Christian preachers such as  Sojourner Truth, John G. Fee, Lucretia Mott, and  Jermain Wesley Loguen, and Jewish teachers such as Rabbi David Einhorn and Ernestine Rose pricked the conscience of the nation. They challenged slavery as a systemic evil to be erased. For speaking out, many were threatened and ostracized from their own religious communities. While abolition was initially viewed as irreligious and unAmerican, their spiritually courageous, moral voices prevailed.

Thus, history illustrates religion can be a blessing or curse in spiritual development. Some religions are frankly toxic; building walls, defining “others” as dangerous, or useful only as tools to serve me and mine, promoting fear, and excusing or absolving from blame the ongoing use or abuse of these others. Such religion obstructs spiritual development. What joins the Puritans to the later religious slaveholders was their classifying of whole groups of people – apart from any personal behavior – as beneath and possibly dangerous to them. Today, whole sections of Christianity preach–as a Christian friend stated it a few years ago–“the politics of hatred and division disguised as the gospel.”

Conversely, a spiritual religion offers an inclusive, embracing view of humanity, promoting the worthiness of the other, including racial, ethnic, political, sexual, or social status groups outside of its own. It embraces the value of other species of life and the whole planet’s ecosystems.

The religious concept that most resonates with my personal spirituality is “tikkun olam,” a Hebrew term that roughly translates as “heal the world.” In Talmudic Judaism, the world is seen as broken and needing our labors to mend it. This concept motivates me to improve my personal relationships and social actions to heal the broken world. It requires my practice in my workplace, my home, my friendships, and my family. It focuses me on my deepest personal values, including such intangibles as honesty, kindness, fairness, discipline, and compassion to name only a few.

Do I practice any of this perfectly? Oh, hell no! I’m a volatile, passionate person and I sometimes offend others in my zeal to be “right.”  But to quote Robert Browning “Ah, a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for.” My spirituality draws, and sometimes goads, me toward my better self. Should I fall short – and I will – I’m still beyond where I am now. At times my spirituality feels rewarding, like when I volunteer at the local food bank, and other times it sticks me like a needle driving me to “eat crow” after I’ve shot off my mouth without thought and wounded others.

Evil does exist and I’m perfectly willing to call out evil behavior and individuals who have given themselves to it. Sexual predators, greedy corporatism, corrupt politicians – these are true evils to me because they damage others, and build systems for damaging others, for their own personal benefit. They are the opposite of tikkun olam, wounding and killing rather than healing. Will those doing such things end up in hell? I can see they’re acting like hell, but what happens afterward is not my business. As I told people in my clergy days, “I’m in sales, not management.” I attempt to promote a healing presence in the world; what happens to people afterward is not my decision or business.

For many people religion is a source of comfort, but it may not be a source of spirituality. Only when it promotes compassion and world-healing behavior would I consider it spiritual. At its best, a spiritual religion should comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Should it promote subjugation, control, denigration, greed, fear of, or hatred toward others, it has lost its way. Spirituality can transform religion into a living, fruitful form. The loss of spirituality can make whole religions a withered branch, keeping the form of spirituality but having lost the substance. I don’t worry about being religious. I do aspire to be spiritually better.

 Thanks for your time. Tikkun olam. AB

On Spirituality, Part 1 : The Once & Future Me

This Fall, while hiking along Bent Creek here in the North Carolina mountains, I paused to watch the water running over the river smoothed rocks. The clear water rippled the sunlight and that, mixed with the smell of fresh mountain air and the sounds of the stream, carried me back to my childhood. I was the curious boy wading  the creek below our house. The light filtered through green trees and the creek held treasures both natural and man-made  — smooth rocks, sand-scrubbed glass, the occasional fossil, discarded debris –were all sources of endless fascination. When I stepped on a moss-slicked rock and fell in, well… that was just part of the experience to explain to my mother’s horrified look when I got home wet and muddy. Life was good.

The creek was a playground where I could pit boyish ambition against the forces of nature; piling rocks to slow the water and create a deeper pool for wading or soaking. It was also good for problem-solving. Where’s the water getting through? What’s the perfect stone, stick, or tree limb that might block that hole? But the unintended and ultimate lesson was this, the creek was always going to win. Sooner or later, work as I might—block this hole, move that rock, wedge in a stick there—the water would find its way around, over, ever forward. Nature would have its way – always.

In mere seconds staring into Bent Creek, all this flashed through my memory from years gone and here I am in this later stage of my life where time flows on and ages my body. I search out various fixes – personal habits of how I eat, exercise, or use medical interventions from pharmaceuticals to physical therapy. All are attempts to slow or offset the effects of time flowing by; to create a calmer spot in the stream where I might labor, relax, visit, laugh or play for a while longer. But I also know, in the end, nothing stops the stream. Nature will win, my body will fail, and I will be gone. I’m okay with that.

I’m not in any hurry; I have a lot to live for. Nor are these premonitions but, at my age, I know that – even if should I live to the highly improbable age of 110 – more of my life is now behind me than ahead. And I’m happy to be settled about that. Fifty, thirty, even twenty years ago, I was uncomfortable with my own mortality. Today, I am not because I accepted death as part of life. As for what happens next, well… in the words of a folk song, I decided to “let the mystery be.”

These days I give little thought to heaven or hell. Certainly, as a gay man I’ve been told on numerous occasions I’m going to hell, but such rude opinions don’t trouble me anymore. If something of “me” exists after my body dies – a highly dubious hypothesis, but still a possibility – it will be whatever is me. This suggests that I shouldn’t worry about afterward, I should tend to things here and now. I don’t worry about going to hell, I work here to not be hell, a potential existing in anyone. To become hell is easy; just be consumed with myself. Make it all about me. Fail to acknowledge the humanity or value of others. And what a sad person that would make me. If only I and my little circle matter to me, that is a small little life unworthy of the investment of time I’ve given it. I don’t know what happens when we die and, say whatever they believe, neither does anyone else, but if I exist afterward, what I am is what I carry with me when I go.  If I have an ugly soul here, it won’t look any prettier over there.

Spirituality for me, then, is deeply connected to how I relate to and interact with others. I believe much of the pain and suffering in the world is made by us when we’re hell-bent on getting or keeping power, money, prestige, or other things that buttress our own sense of self. We all need a sense of self and I want mine to arise out of compassion, caring, honesty, justice, fairness, and a concern for those who follow after me. There is nothing wrong with power or money or prestige. But I take a broader truth from John Wesley’s caution about money, of which he said, “Money is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.” When my pursuit of that begins to erode my commitment to those other selves, I’m losing my way.

Many things in our lives are useful servants and that makes them seductive. They are useful or even necessary, but when they become the yardstick of my success as a human being, my reason for being in the world, I begin to lose my spirituality, my connections to others. Opioids are a useful analogy. No medicine has more potential to relieve pain and suffering like opioid drugs. That’s why we persist in using them as pain medications. They are wonderful servants. But when they become the master in someone’s life, all hell breaks loose. Or consider Purdue Pharma and the now infamous Sackler family who made billions while deceiving patients, doctors and the public as they pushed their opioids. Money had quit being their servant and was now the master. Indeed, the “profit motive” in end-stage capitalism is the problem where the supposed servant – profit – has become the master. When profits consistently matter more than people, whole systems and the people running them lose their souls.

I would be embarrassed if anyone thinks I am making any claims here to sainthood or superiority. Despite the above examples, I don’t write to admonish you, but myself. I’ve had my hellish moments and, sadly, probably will again. The times I recall sit as cringe-worthy events in my memory. I’m certain there were other times when I didn’t even notice, so I work to reduce the frequency of such moments. I write today to remind myself I can be a better version of me, someone who does not treat other people or the rest of world as existing for my use or convenience. And I write to share a vision of how I measure my own spirituality in hopes of finding kindred spirits. It’s a large subject, so this is Part 1 of my exploration of spirituality. I will say more in future posts.

Tikkun olam – heal the world. AB

Evangelicals – A Pyrrhic Victory?

Was this win worth it?

Congratulations, evangelicals! Your decades-long effort to secure a Supreme Court packed with judges who will overturn Roe vs. Wade is about to happen. You might also succeed in overturning Obergefell vs. Hodges and banish legally recognized same-sex marriage. So, you win. But I wonder if you have counted the cost of this victory. A Pyrrhic victory is one where you win a battle at a cost so high you lose the larger war.  If your mission is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His saving grace – as “Evangelical” suggests – I suspect you’ve paid more than you intended.

You’re fond of Bible study so let’s explore Jesus time in the desert fasting and the devil’s three temptations (Matthew 4:1-11). The last temptation was when the “tempter” offered Jesus “the Kingdoms of the World” – a quick route to power and control that did not involve crucifixion. Jesus rejected the offer. To a lot of us out here, it looks like you took it. Let me explain.

For the past 40 years, evangelical Christianity has been sharply focused on two social issues – abortion and homosexuality. Many of you are so young you likely do not know that prior to 1978, abortion was a non-issue among Protestants; it was viewed as a Catholic issue. Protestants viewed abortion as a private matter between a family, a doctor, and God. Following the Roe vs. Wade ruling, the Southern Baptist Convention actually passed resolutions in 1974 and 1976 affirming that women should have the right to access abortion. Yet, this was also a time when the conservative churches felt they were losing a culture “war.” Churches were shrinking, social mores were changing, and the country was in chaos over Vietnam and Watergate. This was the church’s moment in the desert and the tempter appeared.     

To create a political movement that would move Evangelical voters into the Republican Party, a GOP strategist named Paul Weyrich proposed the anti-abortion issue as a cause. He succeeded by joining with Jerry Falwell to form  the “Moral Majority” movement, and the Christian Right was born. This was in 1978 – hardly ancient doctrine. Understand this was not a discussion of ethics or doctrine within the church, it was a political strategy to strengthen the Republican Party. All of the Scriptural justifications were given after the fact, when the decision to play that game had already been made. Protestantism interpreted all those same scriptures quite differently before that time. But this movement was successful and the most vocal and visible part of American Christianity became over time a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Republican Party. It was a stunning victory for the GOP, but less so for Jesus. This group settled on two issues Jesus himself never addressed – abortion and homosexuality, selected because they were emotional issues useful to generate outrage and motivate “the faithful” to vote for a particular party. Falwell and his kind were offered the secular “keys to the kingdom” and they eagerly accepted them. To this day their successors seek to use the levers of state power in an attempt to enforce their beliefs, rather than the conventional tools of doctrine, service, witness or moral persuasion. Church leaders have become the handmaidens and water-carriers of politicians, leading their flocks not to the Kingdom, but to the polls.

What has been the fallout of this deal with devil? The GOP’s institutional capture of white, conservative American Christianity is almost complete. Compared to white evangelicals who in 2016 were motivated to vote for Trump because they disliked his opponent Hillary Clinton (45%), this year increasing numbers of evangelicals say they are voting for Trump because they like him and his policies (57%). Only 20% say they are voting for Trump because they dislike Biden. This is an astonishing moral collapse. Why?

Here is your problem:

Recall that in living memory abortion was a non-issue but today ending it is the justification for abandoning Jesus’ own spirituality. You have alienated a lot of people not just from you or the church, but from Christianity in general. Across every single age group, but especially among the young, the number of those who identify as “nones” with no affiliation to any religion has grown. For example, in 2007, 25% of Americans born in the 1980’s said they were “nones.” A scant 7 years later in 2014, 34% embraced being “nones.” A survey published in the evangelical publication Christianity Today reported that, among young adults leaving churches, 25% did so because they disagreed with their churches political stances and an additional 32% did so because they felt the church was being hypocritical.  Moreover, those “nones” increasingly identify as agnostic and atheist rather than simply unaffiliated; that is to say, their anti-religious positions are hardening. From an evangelistic point of view, this is a disaster.

If Trump is your exemplary leader, you have lost credibility because you have mistaken your mission. It was and is to spread the good news of God’s love and saving grace. You’ve decided instead to play God and try to fix the world using secular tools. That’s not your job and you’ve trashed your ability to do the real one given you. Your ability to witness to the love of God is gone. Who can possibly trust your spiritual judgment when this man is your example? Many of my friends are non-Christians and I listen to them talk. I tell you, now more than ever, you will never be a credible messenger to them. Not ever.

Was it worth it?

Can’t You Just Be Quiet?

October 11 is National Coming Out Day, but why do we need it?

Let me start by saying I’m  not proud to be gay, nor am I ashamed of it. Being a gay man is natural to me. I am no more – or less – proud of being gay than I am of being right-handed or going gray-haired. All of them are simple biological aspects of who I am. “Ok, you say, I get it, but do you have to go on about it? Why talk about it?”

For starters, I celebrate myself. Despite spending my childhood, adolescence and much of my adult life being told who I am as a gay man was bad, wrong, immoral, unchristian, diseased, perverted and above all shameful, I was finally able to face that instilled fear. I threw off untruths I was fed my whole life. On National Coming Out Day I am glad I’m honest about myself, that I knew who I was. It wasn’t easy and I nearly died. I finally realized, despite being told otherwise, that my moral character is NOT defined by my sexual orientation. Heterosexuals fall all along the moral spectrum irrespective of their romantic attractions. So do lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender, and gender queer (LGBTQ) people. Nothing inherent in anyone’s sexual orientation indicates their morality or character.

When I first came out in 1993 I did it for me, because I was suffocating under other people’s expectations that I conform to their heteronormative expectations. I spent the first 40 years of my life “in the closet” doing everything I could to meet my own and other people’s expectations. This ignores the fact that nature doesn’t give any of us much choice. Oh, I tried to choose otherwise. I spent thousands of dollars in therapy both secular and spiritual, spent thousands of hours seeking spiritual awakenings and in prayer– sometimes with tears of frustration and despair. I tried the ex-gay thing which was useless. And I tell you neither change nor choice is an option, so no one belongs in that closet.  Worse, hiding one’s sexual identity is a dark, depressing, frustrating and self-defeating way to live. You are living against reality itself, as if you are bird trying to live like a fish. I’m proud that the stink-eye directed to me by the ignorant, the homophobic slurs shouted at me by the intolerant, nor even the one incident of (mild) physical assault I experienced failed to chase me into the shadows or silence my voice. I’m proud to stand with my brave LGBTQ sisters and brothers, many of whom have suffered far more than I, to say “This is us.”

The closet is chosen based on mistaken beliefs;  that what you are is shameful, or from a fear that people you care for will reject you if you speak your truth. To be fair, some have been and will be punished. I can tell you multiple, factual stories of people who literally had guns held to their heads by family members for speaking a simple truth. A story of a trans teen whose father literally beat the shit out of her because she appeared in women’s clothes in her own home. There are untold stories of teens thrown onto the streets for revealing who they are. In fact, such stories are so well-known they would be trite to report if their horror didn’t live on. Lives were lost because everyone was taught being LGBTQ was something no one should ever be. To overcome that is a reason to speak out.

Today I recognize and celebrate LGBTQ Pride and National Coming Out Day not only for myself; but also for two other groups of people. The first are those still in their closets. Despite all the progress we have made, somewhere today there is a child contemplating killing himself because he lives in terror being discovered as gay, or for realizing that her girl-crush is more, or that their gender doesn’t match their anatomy. There are also those who aren’t LGBTQ at all, but who will kill themselves because others believe they are and shame them for it. Such judgments are not simply immoral; they are sickening, and they make me angry. I celebrate visibly, proudly, because there are people out there who need hope there is a satisfying, productive life filled with loving relationships, meaningful experiences, and happiness outside of that closet door. Our visibility as people living openly, free of shame, with love and joy is a literal lifeline.

And I celebrate to tell some other people if they dislike with who I am, that is their  problem, not mine, nor will I tolerate efforts to make it my problem via policy, law, or moral sanction. Once, while campaigning for legal recognition of same-sex marriage, a woman said to me “You’re degrading my marriage to my husband.” I pointed out that such “degradation” existed only in her mind. Nothing in the real world changed. Nothing of what I do in my marriage—or in my bedroom—affects hers. Over and over people build these justifications for discrimination based upon nothing but their own perceptions and want me and my community to fix it for them. No.

We are worthy, we are equal to you, you have nothing to fear from us. Unless you attempt to make us second class citizens in our own country. Then you and me – we’re going to have a quarrel. Just this past week two sitting Supreme Court Justices announced they would like to revisit and overturn the Obergefell decision that legalized same-sex marriage for the nation. And so we also celebrate these days to rally the troops. We will not go back into those closets and we will oppose you at every step if you try to force us there. That is how Pride began in the Stonewall uprising, with an assertion of equality. That is what it still means and I’m proud to own it.

Come out, come out wherever you are.

Tikkun Olam

AB

Truth Will Set You Free, But…

I learned a lot working with people in recovery from various substance addictions. One friend was leading a Court-ordered group session with people convicted of drunken driving.  No one was happy to be there. After several weeks of meetings, my friend asked them to each write a personal timeline from when they began drinking and what happened in their life along the way up to the present day. As they worked, a man in the group who had been angry about being there looked up in shocked surprise and blurted out, “Oh my god, it’s the alcohol.” He told how he had given up drinking about 5 years earlier and all his legal problems resolved and his family relationships improved. Three years after that he began drinking again and now family and legal problems were back. He said, “I thought I had a criminal personality, but it’s the alcohol. I’ve got to quit drinking!” He had resented being sentenced to the group, but now he realized he wasn’t a bad person; he was someone drinking too much. He could change that. Others had told him before, of course, about this drinking ut he had dismissed it and them. Now, he learned what you will hear said only somewhat tongue-in-cheek in the rooms of recovery:

“The truth will set you free… but first, it will really piss you off.”

For a great many people heavy drinking brings good things into their lives or they wouldn’t do it. For many people, heavy drinking or drug using is their hobby; what they do for fun and relaxation, either alone or with friends. It doesn’t just go with their fun; it is the fun. For others, it is a release from anxiety, stress, and painful memories or feelings. For some, it’s both. Then it starts to cause trouble – emotional, relational, legal and financial problems start to happen. To stop the trouble, the person must realize this valued substance they think of as a friend—or even a lover—is no longer helping them, Indeed, it is now running and ruining their lives.

Admitting this is painful. Imagine being told our best friend—someone we’ve known and trusted for years—is actively destroying our lives, costing us friends, hurting our family members, destroying our reputations, and leading us into betraying even our own values. No one wants to believe that about a friend. If cautioned about it, we become defensive of our friend and angry at his “accuser”. To those around us the issue is very clear, but from the inside of that damaging relationship, we can’t see it or we can’t see a way out. It doesn’t matter if it’s true, we don’t want to believe it and we won’t.

If we’re lucky, one day something happens as it did for the gentleman above. While we’ve resisted the uncomfortable truth, when we let it in it reveals this “friendship” is actively destroying us, our health,  our well-being, and damaging the lives of others, too. Disentangling from this “friend” can be complicated and emotionally painful. But the truth that first pisses us off  will set us free when we accept it. Then we can rebuild and restore ourselves.

And here, my Trump-supporting friend is where I must raise your relationship with Donald Trump. Does that piss you off? Pay attention to that; it’s a sign. I don’t speak from anger or judgment. People believe and do the things they do for reasons that seem good to them at the time, often from pain or fear. I don’t think you’re a bad, stupid or racist person.  I’ve worked with you and valued your friendship. You know he’s not a good person. You know, in fact, he is a human moral wasteland. Unless you are a billionaire, and apart from your 401K, I can’t think what he does for you, but apparently, it’s something so valuable you overlook his appalling behaviors and their disastrous outcomes. Maybe he makes you feel better or takes away your anxiety. Maybe he makes you feel part of a “tribe.” It is painful to watch your mental gymnastic twists in thinking to continue your support. It is distressing to see you going back to Fox News, or Breitbart, or InfoWars which are Trump’s pushers and your enablers. I and others want you to know we’re concerned for you, but also for where you’re taking us as a nation. Please, look around at our country after three and half years. Millions are out of work, people are being evicted from their homes, hundreds of thousands of  your fellow citizens are dead, and all due to Trump’s incompetence and surreal inability to deal with actual facts. It is due to his monstrous ego that makes him unable to admit he is wrong, and due to his narcissism he cannot feel the pain or suffering of others. We wish you could. Our democratic institutions are in tatters because nothing and no one matters to him but him. We have armed thugs in the streets killing people and it doesn’t matter which side you believe is right, Trump pours fuel on those flames and bellows them up into a fury of firearms and bloodshed.

I worry for you, because whatever he’s doing for you, it blinds you to what he’s doing to you and to us.

What makes me saddest, is knowing from my background, none of these words will have any effect. Like the drug addict whose family members beg them to see what is happening, you will dismiss it all as “you don’t understand.” In fact, we do. Only you can persuade you. All I can say is, he’s not taking you anywhere you or we want to be. One day, if you’re lucky, you will look up and say, “Oh my god, it’s Trump. He’s the one doing this.” And it will be a relief to us all. Because that will begin to set you, and us, free.  

Two Hypotheticals and All the Little Lies

A Hypothetical Message From Your President 

“Dear Citizens of the United States. I want you to understand why I concealed from you all that I knew about this vicious new virus back in February 2020. Yes, it’s true as the taped interviews reveal that I knew it was deadly – far deadlier than “the flu.” Yes, I knew it was airborne, could spread easily. Yes, I knew how to get that word out to you and have had medical experts who assured me that all of this was correct. However, I knew something else you might not know. You see, I knew I had to conceal the truth and tell you comfortable lies because of the massive bunch of bozos you are. My superior genius mind knew I couldn’t trust you with the truth or factual information about the risks facing you or you would lose your minds and run amok. Had I told you the truth you would have panicked and hurt the economy. You might have rioted. You could have accused your government of failing you. You might not have voted for me in November. So,  I’m sorry it didn’t work out like we hoped, but I’m sure you understand that a panic would have been bad for everyone, especially me, and this was only way I could think to not have one. Plus, this gave me an opportunity to lie and–let’s face it–that is my wheelhouse; one of my best skills. Yes, I know the death toll is nearing 200,000 people, but you know I never talk about that. It’s almost like it never happened. Thank you for your time. Oh! And thanks for your vote in the upcoming election. I think we can all agree I’ve done a great job of reducing panic and I deserve your support. And God Bless the USA. (Not that I really believe in God or the USA either, but you know, it’s traditional!)

Brilliantly yours,

Donald J Trump, President of the Untied States of America (In case you forgot.)

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A Hypothetical Message from Virtually Any Other Sensible American (Yes, including even a bozo like me who isn’t qualified to be President, but does believe in my nation, its people and science.)  Dated: February 17, 2020.

“My fellow citizens, as you are becoming aware, what we have long feared is happening; a deadly new virus called SARS-Cov-2 is spreading across the globe. This virus creates an illness known as COVID-19 which is lethal for some who get it and puts massive strain on healthcare systems. Already other countries have seen significant consequences both in their health and economic outcomes, so we must act now to prevent as much harm as possible here.

Let me say clearly that, while this situation is serious, there is no reason for panic. We are Americans who have faced many trials in our nation’s past and we will face, endure, and prevail over this one. We have the world’s leading medical and epidemiological experts and they are going to tell us all what we need to do to protect ourselves and those we love from infection and possible death. Please be aware that because this is a new virus, our knowledge and understanding of it will evolve over time, and recommendations may change accordingly, but for now, here is what we do know and need to do.

First of all, the current data suggests this virus is already in the United States and it is potentially more lethal than the flu. Besides treating those who are already ill, stopping the spread of this virus is crucial. This is important not only to protect our own health, but the health of others. Early data from China suggests that, just as with the flu, people who are elderly or immune compromised have greater risk for infection and higher mortality rates. However, everyone is at risk.

Second, early reports suggest that, once a person is infected, they do not immediately become ill, but may be able to infect others before they begin to show symptoms. This is known as “asymptomatic spread” and is a serious challenge.

Finally, all current evidence suggests this virus is airborne which means you do not have to touch something or someone to become infected. It can pass through the air from another person to you if they carry the virus and, as already noted, even before they show symptoms. This is yet another reason why we must take swift action now to stop the spread.

To accomplish this will mean all Americans working together to halt the virus from further in-roads into our nation, and here is what we all need to do. Begin by keeping at least six feet of social distancing when around others. Stay in as much as possible and if you must go out, wear a mask when you are in public, as you see me and those around me doing now.  This will protect you and others. You or anyone around you could be carrying the virus and not know it.

I call upon Congress – both the Democratically-led House and the Republican-led Senate to bring me a funding bill for massive testing and contact tracing of those who test positive for the corona virus. I call upon state and local governments to immediately begin coordinating with the CDC and Health and Human Services to accomplish this massive testing. Details will follow soon. In doing so, we can identify those who are infected, direct them to medical treatment, and limit the danger to others. We can also limit the harm to our economy. If necessary, I will enact the National Defense Production Act to get medical protective gear, ventilators and other crucial materials to those needing them. The CDC is already in conversations with pharmaceutical companies and the World Health Organization to begin work on a vaccine, but that is a long-term solution and will need months of development time, at least. We must anticipate, as we have seen in other countries, that we may need to quarantine, which will impact businesses and employees. We will need funding to meet those needs as well and I expect Congress to address these pressing issues.

This is a challenge. But I know the heart of the American people. You will rise to this occasion, you will make these necessary adjustments and sacrifices and your government will work with you to stop this virus, mitigate its harm, and help you medically and financially to continue your lives. A calm determination to overcome this trial is our best attitude to adopt now.

I now turn the podium over to leading experts to give you more information and answer questions.  We are all in this together and we will prevail. We are going to honor the heritage of those gave us this nation, and protect our children who will inherit it. We will make them proud of how we manage this trying time. God Bless the United States of America and God bless and keep each of you.”

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This latter is the hypothetical message the President—or any honest, intelligent, compassionate person—could and should have delivered to the U.S. early on, followed with regular updates on policy and public health needs guided by science. Instead we were lied to and the risks downplayed because Trump says he wanted to “avoid panic.” Instead, it all fell apart from sheer incompetence. All evidence suggests he wanted to protect his re-election. He has no other agenda. One day, his followers will see that.

Carry On – AB