Captain America, Crusades against Evil, and the 2006 Elections
Tomorrow we go to the polls. I expect we're in for many a surprise, but the future direction of the country could be determined in large part by what we do tomorrow. For the past 3 years, the current administration has been able to do pretty much what it wants around the world. Congress has proven to be pretty spineless in providing guidance and direction to the administration. The result has been a dangerous war pursued with extreme incompetence. The President has shown no willingness to make changes and continues to blame others for their failures. The problems lie at the tactical level, not strategic level. Let's hope that this changes tomorrow. For a strongly worded perspective on this check out Tom Friedman's views. Friedman has been a supporter of the war, but believes that the nation's ability to win has been compromised by incompetence and stubbornness.
As I contemplate tomorrow's elections, I'm drawn to a book I've been reading. It's not exactly new -- it was published in 2003 -- but it surely speaks to the contemporary issues. Like many Baby Boomers, I grew up watching super hero cartoons, including Captain America. That patriotic protector of the American way. Captain America and the Crusade against Evil: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism, written by Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence (Eerdmans, 2003), speaks is an important analysis of the problems facing America. The contrast here is between zealous nationalism -- a sort of messianic nationalism that sees America as a redemptive agent. It's linked with Manifest Destiny and divine providence. It's an ideology that reads the Biblical text, especially the Deuteronomic History (Deuteronomy, Judges, 1 and 2 Kings) in a prescriptive way. We're God's elect and we are called to battle against the forces of evil. Captain America, a comic book hero born during WW II, exemplifies this ideology that gives credence to redemptive violence. As Jewett and Lawrence point out the word zeal is the "biblical and cultural counterpart of the Islamic term jihad" (p.8). It is an ideology that justifies the means and it leads to stereotyping of enemies, obsessions with victory, and the veneration of national symbols, including the flag.
In contrast to zealous nationalism, Jewett and Shelton pose prophetic realism.
It is prophetic realism that the authors recommend, and its a view of the world that would help us as we try to deal with a world seemingly gone awry. These two ideologies have been intertwined, suggest the authors, but now the time has come when they no longer are compatible. Zealous nationalism must give way to prophetic realism if there is to be peace.
The biblical vision that under girds prophetic realism is found in Isaiah 11:
As I contemplate tomorrow's elections, I'm drawn to a book I've been reading. It's not exactly new -- it was published in 2003 -- but it surely speaks to the contemporary issues. Like many Baby Boomers, I grew up watching super hero cartoons, including Captain America. That patriotic protector of the American way. Captain America and the Crusade against Evil: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism, written by Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence (Eerdmans, 2003), speaks is an important analysis of the problems facing America. The contrast here is between zealous nationalism -- a sort of messianic nationalism that sees America as a redemptive agent. It's linked with Manifest Destiny and divine providence. It's an ideology that reads the Biblical text, especially the Deuteronomic History (Deuteronomy, Judges, 1 and 2 Kings) in a prescriptive way. We're God's elect and we are called to battle against the forces of evil. Captain America, a comic book hero born during WW II, exemplifies this ideology that gives credence to redemptive violence. As Jewett and Lawrence point out the word zeal is the "biblical and cultural counterpart of the Islamic term jihad" (p.8). It is an ideology that justifies the means and it leads to stereotyping of enemies, obsessions with victory, and the veneration of national symbols, including the flag.
In contrast to zealous nationalism, Jewett and Shelton pose prophetic realism.
It avoids taking the stances of complete innocence and selflessness. It
seeks to redeem the world by coexistence by impartial justice that claims no
favored status for individual nations. It also derives from the bible,
though in passages that are quite different from those popular with
zealots. It can be traced through the American experience in movements,
and writings that sometimes criticize aspects of the dominant consensus.
but, more frequently, one encounters prophetic realism uneasily joined to its
opposite. (p. 8).
It is prophetic realism that the authors recommend, and its a view of the world that would help us as we try to deal with a world seemingly gone awry. These two ideologies have been intertwined, suggest the authors, but now the time has come when they no longer are compatible. Zealous nationalism must give way to prophetic realism if there is to be peace.
The biblical vision that under girds prophetic realism is found in Isaiah 11:
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
and a calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall feed,
and their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The suckling child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
(Isaiah 11:6-8).
The vision may seem utopian, but it really is realistic. It offers a way out of the morass of unending war. Once we accept the reality that we may not have all the answers, then perhaps we'll start listening to others. Prophetic Realism, unlike Zealous Nationalism, calls on the nation to work together, to recognize international agreements and live within the laws of nations. It's opposite suggests that we can go it alone. That we alone are righteous. Such a vision promises only disaster. Hopefully tomorrow prophetic realism will begin to put a check on zealous nationalism -- before it's too late.
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