Posted by Benjamin on: 11.23.2007 /
Obery Hendricks wrote a provocative article at Jim Wallis’ God’s Politics Blog this week. He talks about the how in the time around the Thanksgiving holiday, many American churches will be condoning and even promoting a mixture of equal parts commitment to Jesus and patriotism. He says
In many pulpits during this Thanksgiving season, love of our country and pride in our citizenship will be pronounced in the same breath - and often with the same intensity - as declarations of love for our God. But we must be careful, for patriotism can be destructive as well as constructive. Worse, it can become idolatrous.
I remember I used to be very wrapped up in this strange American Christian story. I know exactly what Obery is talking about. Growing up in a conservative Baptist church, every thanksgiving there would be declarations of our love for our country, of how great America is, of how thankful we are that God has blessed us. The story was that God protected and provided for the pilgrims, and they thanked him that first thanksgiving celebration. And because we as a nation have loved and honored God, he has made us the richest, most powerful nation on earth–so we should continue to give him thanks–thanks that we are American, thanks that we are wealthy, and thanks that we don’t have to live in fear of war and persecution on our own soil.
Obery differentiates patriotism into two types: destructive and constructive
Constructive patriotism, or what James Forbes, pastor emeritus of the Riverside Church in New York City calls “prophetic patriotism,” is the willingness to strive in word and deed to ensure that this nation is healthy, whole, secure, and conducting its affairs at home and abroad according to the political doctrines we claim to hold dear.
Destructive patriotism, however, is primarily focused on discrediting or destroying those it perceives as opponents of America. The purview of destructive patriotism is “us” against “them” - “them” being not only foreigners, but also any American who openly disagrees with the official actions of the leaders of the United States, no matter if their policies contradict our Constitution, harm the public good, or violate the most basic ethics of the biblical faith they claim to hold dear.
Obery goes on to say
if we are to be true patriots and true followers of the biblical imperative of justice on earth as in heaven, then each day before we pledge allegiance to the flag and the republic for which it stands, we must first recommit our allegiance to the gospel of Jesus, the justice of God, and the love of our neighbors it commands. We must never forget that the flag does not supersede the cross.
I love this. I’ve learned that America has done and is doing lots of really *awful* things with all the power and wealth which we possess. Did you know that, according the Biblical narrative, the reason God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was not about homosexuality (as I learned growing up) but rather because they didn’t seek justice for the poor and needy? I love it that Obery is pointing out that Christians are required to follow Christ first, and that means that when Christ’s way of thinking/acting is at odds with America’s way of thinking/acting (read: killing one’s enemies) then the true Christian patriot realizes that calling one’s nation toward Christian justice is of paramount importance. For me, Obery’s article is a call to give up my escapist ideas of disengaging from the nation, geographically or identity-wise, in order to avoid the guilt of America’s evil. Instead, he seduces me with the hope that America could, indeed, be a “Christian” nation–in the best senses of that term. And that I could be part of the process of seeing her become so. For me, that’s a dizzying and nearly impossible hope. Obery offers a patriotism than I can embrace–something I had begun to think would never happen.
What are your thoughts regarding patriotism and the story of America around the time of this quintessentially American holiday?
Leave a Reply
Comment by: maria
1 11/24/07 9:25 AM | Comment Link |Ben,
more and more you are sounding like a prophet : )
we are all complicit. Just living here makes us complicit. Should we all leave the country? Should we all give up everything we have and live on the street? How can we not be entirely complicit in the empire? Do you think Jesus would want people to abandon America and move somewhere else?
I agree with your analysis, I just don’t know how to NOT be complicit in some way. I totally reject the blending of patriotism and Christianity as rarely anything but dangerous and usually more in the line of justification for criminal acts committed by our government.
Comment by: Benjamin ady
2 11/24/07 12:24 PM | Comment Link |Maria,
wish I could find a way to make the salary of a good prophet =)
You ask tough questions. RE: Jesus and America. I guess to answer that we’d have to look at Jesus’ take re: Israel–since Israel was in a sense to him as America is to we Americans. Now what *was* Jesus take re: Israel? See–you ask tough questions. I’m too intellectually lazy to try to figure this out right now. You have any ideas?
“Just living here makes us complicit”
I know! That’s been the problem for me. We can’t all leave the country, I guess. But how to swim in this pond, drinking the water and eating the local (imported) food, and not *be* or *become* sold out to empire? Alas.
Ideas for how not to be complicit? Or be decreasingly implicit? anyone?
Comment by: David H
3 11/24/07 1:05 PM | Comment Link |I’m not sure how I feel about patriotism. I have rarely seen it used in a positive way and, when combined with religion in any country, it becomes more potent than the most deadly toxins. Nation’s throughout history have used the combination of God and country to guide people into terrible acts. Both the Germans and Japanese tapped into it to drive their particular programs during WWII, but we only remember the American version today because a) we were worshiping the proper God properly and b) history gets written by the victor.
The etymology of the word seems to indicate it has gone through multiple changes. First meaning simply countryman (a compliment), then flag-waving fool (insult), resistance fighter (compliment), then back to flag-waving fool. However, today in this country many believe it a compliment to be called a flag-waving fool.
I’m not sure how to explain it, but it would seem that faith and feelings about country shouldn’t be related directly. My Christianity can inform aspects of my patriotism, perhaps, but not vice versa. If I truly follow the teachings of Christ it should cause me to focus on treating others fairly, taking care of the weak and downtrodden, and the like. But love of country and love of God seems most like trying to love two spouses. It would be difficult and, maybe, not even proper to try and love them both the same. But if you don’t, jealousy will certainly develop.
Still, it would seem wrong not to appreciate America for what I have received from the relationship. Perhaps I haven’t had enough coffee to have clear thoughts on this today. But patriotism seems largely a political device. In that sense it may be like a seesaw with everyone gathered at one end. My natural inclination is that balance is needed and that becomes far more difficult when Patriotism is involved.
I like the thoughts of people like Martin Luther King, Jr., who believed the role of Christians is from outside the power structure. Climbing onto the seesaw holds out, at best, the hope of achieving a teetering balance. What is more likely is a constant up and down as those seeking power cut deals and switch ends. People of conscience shouldn’t waste time and effort on that. They should concentrate consistently on issues of peace and justice.
As for being complicit, one can’t blame oneself for the family one is born into. Such relationships are at least a matter of chance and, if one leans a different direction, a choice made by God. One can’t discard such heritage anymore than one can disown the genetic material around which they are formed. I must own who I am. The trick is to not allow who I am to own me.
Complicity carries with it, in my mind, a sense of entitlement. It means I don’t think or act contrary to societal expectations. It carries the sense of silently drinking and eating everything I can get my hands on — if someone else wants some they better have sharper elbows than mine.
The answer isn’t to abandon home, country and kin. It isn’t necessarily to throw away all that I have or have been given. It is to be aware, informed and willing to act (word and deed) based on that awareness and information. In short, complicit is to hoard. What Christians are called to is willingness to spend on things that don’t serve them. That may require spending everything (family, home, life). But that is only the possibility of the end and certainly not the beginning.
Comment by: Benjamin ady
4 11/24/07 3:46 PM | Comment Link |;
David
thankyou. It seems somewhat more doable when you put it like this. that is, the beginning part anyway. And if the beginning leads to the possibility of the end which describe, well, I can think of many far worse endings, and not many better ones.
Comment by: maria
5 11/24/07 4:33 PM | Comment Link |Thank you David for your words.
Comment by: Rachel
6 11/26/07 10:00 PM | Comment Link |I was raised with the same messages, Benjamin. It was quite painful and disillusioning to realize that much of America’s prosperity was not a blessing from God, but rather a result of our domination and greed. We don’t have more because God gave it to us. We have more because we took it.
Comment by: Benjamin
7 11/27/07 12:48 AM | Comment Link |Rachel,
ouch.
Thank you for empathizing. Hopefully there will be millions more like us who come to this realization, out of the insular blindness of the systems in which we grew up, and together we can make a real difference in the way this nation behaves in the future.
You said it more succinctly (er, that is, better) than I did. thank you.
Comment by: Elaine
8 12/2/07 10:53 AM | Comment Link |I agree - we “took it” - if our education system (assuming teachers are allowed) - called us to take a closer look at what this country took from slaves, indentured servants, Indians, women, etc. - would this knowledge in our young change the future? (when I went to school - in the dark ages of the 50s/60s - it was only mentioned in passing)
Considering most people never read a book again once they leave high school - and that their reading levels drop - the last stat I saw says the average person reads at a 7th grade level - it is more challenging to influence adults.
What is my part - to be a more engaged citizen - volunteer, speak up, read more, stay informed, invite others to participate, have conversations with my children and grandchildren…
What do our students learn today about the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm…all things I lived through - have these been crafted to show the best of America vs. the reality?
okay - I’ll stop, I can see I could go down a rabbit hole with this one :)