A Wet, Cloudy Holiday Weekend

The long Independence Day weekend has begun – with more rain. While the weather forecast is for a bright, sunny July 4, the cloudy, wet conditions seem more appropriate. As I’ve listened to parishioners talk about the state of the nation, I’ve noticed one emotion overtaking all others. Earlier in the year, sharp anger clashed with a smug triumphalism, and a lot of folks just seemed to be holding their breath and expressing measured hope that “things will work out – they always do.” But now, people on all sides in this very purple part of a mostly red and blue country are just...well...sad.

“What has become of us?” one woman asked rhetorically with tears stinging the back of her eyes. Another said to me, “It just seems like we’ve lost our way. We are so divided.” People who have been cheered by progress toward greater social acceptance now feel a mixture of fear and disappointment. At Thursday night’s summer worship service, during which we sang, “O Beautiful for Spacious Skies,” I didn’t sense a lot of energy for a patriotic celebration. Exhaustion seemed much more in evidence.

As we enter the holiday weekend, the most prominent news stories do not inspire pride. A crude, personally demeaning tweet from the President has drawn bi-partisan outrage. In any other era, such an irresponsible outburst might well have prompted a swift Congressional censure for undermining the dignity of the office. But today, it will likely blow over as another painful example of the new normal. A commission appointed by the president to look for evidence of voter fraud has requested from the states personal information on every voter in the country. The effort has been met with bi-partisan refusal, perhaps best summed up by the Mississippi Secretary of State, who said the commission could “go jump in the Gulf of Mexico.” A hapless Congress limps home for the holiday break after revealing divisions within the majority party that, at least for now, put significant policy legislation beyond anyone’s political grasp.

And with sickening frequency, scenes of violence remind us of how the cloth of the country is tearing apart. Lately, it hasn’t been suicide attacks plotted in faraway places, but shooting sprees by disgruntled Americans fed up with Washington politics, their work environment, or just the presence of people they don’t understand, that have taken the lives of innocents and terrorized survivors.

In truth, we’ve been spiraling downward for at least a half-century. I think an

argument can be made that our current state of cold civil war began with the cultural upheavals of the 1960s, and we have been thrashing back and forth between two opposing visions of America ever since. The pendulum swings have gotten wider with each political shift. Rapid proliferation of cable and social media have nationalized every issue, hardening us into a nation of political tribes loathe to seek common ground. Former opponents with whom to debate are now enemies to be vanquished. Gerrymandering of Congressional districts ensures that this uncompromising style of politics remains deeply ingrained in the system.

So today, rather than celebrate how far we have come as a nation, it seems better to ask, “how much longer before we finally hit bottom?” When will the unsustainability of this current state of affairs become so obvious that the body politic has no choice but to seek a different way? That sounds bleak, but therein lies the hope.

This Independence Day, I choose to recognize how the basic structures of our Constitutional government are, in fact, holding. We still have checks and balances. We still have three co-equal branches of government, and while the balance is often stressed, the system itself has still managed to prevent a complete break. The courts have put limits on executive orders. Congress has put the breaks on ill-considered policy, and states have resisted federal overreach. Even with the rising tide of violence, the ballot box is still regarded as the principle means of effecting change. The meticulous, painstaking work of our founders still illustrates a level of genius unmatched in the history of nations.

This malaise, too, shall pass. I cannot say whether it has to get worse before it gets better. But I am buoyed by the gift of faith that always provides me with a broader view of life and the world. When Job was lamenting his fate in sackcloth and ashes, the whole world looked to him like a bleak injustice. But he was finally thrust out of his despair by the realization that he served a Creator who alone had the entire perspective on creation. One day, this moment in American culture will be chronicled as history – a chapter not as tragic as the Civil War, but another example of the birth pangs of a still relatively young democracy seeking to live out its founding ideals. I probably will not live long enough to read that history, but I take solace in the knowledge that the span of my life is but a drop in the vast ocean of human experience.

In the meantime, I recognize a lot of good that is happening all around me. I serve a vibrant congregation of faithful (and politically diverse) people who represent the presence and grace of God at work in our community. I bear witness to all the hope and love and sheer joy that emanates from our shared life as a faith community. And I do not forget that we are blessed to pursue our faith in a society that recognizes our freedom to worship as we choose, according to the dictates of our conscience rather than parameters defined by a human government.

When the sun finally comes out, do something fun. Celebrate the power of the idea that is the United States of America, and count all the blessings you are free to enjoy, even when the state of the nation makes you want to cry.

©2017 by J. Mark Lawson

Comments

[Michael Salamone]

Great analysis of where our nation is. Having dedicated pastors like you, Mark, keep many of us optimistic. We have MUCH to be thankful for!

[Marcia J Wickert]

A very succint appraisal of where we are as a nation,and as people. I wish I could be as hopeful and forward thinking, and I certainly will work on that in the days ahead.

[Deb Record]

Powerful! Thanks for sharing!