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| Statue of Joseph Stalin decapitated in Budapest in 1956 |
The recent controversies over the removal or preservation of
Confederate monuments has prompted some exploration of the nature of history.
Some have said that removing these monuments is tantamount to revising and even
erasing history. Others believe that removing them is a necessary act of
contrition in the journey toward healing the divisions in the country. Others
have said that that the monuments should be preserved in a way that teaches
about a dark era in US history so we might do better in the future. Still
others have said that these monuments are important to their personal, family,
and regional history and feel devalued by their removal. Many voices from
divergent perspectives have echoed the refrain that those who are ignorant of
history are doomed to repeat it.
That idea has been invoked identifying any number of
parallels between current trends in the US and the world with totalitarian and dystopian
eras from the past, frequently Nazi Germany. Sometimes these come with “Woe
is us; we are doomed!” complaints. Sometimes they are met with lists of
exceptions that preclude a return to such a past, at least in terms of
specifics. Often these represent contradictory political and social
presuppositions.
On Sundays, I move my lectio divina on the passages from the
Lectionary from one week to the next, so today (August 20, 2017) I read from
Exodus 1-2 about the enslavement of the Hebrews by the Egyptians in the time
between Joseph and Moses. Exodus 1:8-15 suggested to me a different historic
parallel to explore. The new Pharaoh saw that the Israelites were gaining in
numbers and power, and he was afraid they might turn against the Egyptians. The
text doesn’t say they were slaves yet, but it would appear that the Egyptian
economy have benefited and perhaps even become dependent on the Israelites. So
they set taskmasters over them to oppress and enslave them. The more the
Egyptians oppressed the Israelites, the stronger and more numerous the
Israelites became, setting the stage for God to raise up Moses as liberator to
lead them in Exodus.
Demographers have been projecting that “non-Hispanic whites”
will be less than half of the US population sometime around the middle of this
century. In some circles, this is fueling the drive for greater equality and
justice for “non-whites” (many are observing that the US is becoming “browner”
day by day). In other circles, this reality evokes a fear not unlike that of
the Egyptians of Exodus 1-2. “They” are getting too many and too strong,
changing the US in uncomfortable ways, taking “our” jobs, etc. So as in ancient
Egypt, the forces of liberation and oppression are on a collision course.
Before you write off what I am saying by objecting to my use
of the words “liberation and oppression,” know that I understand that these are
complex and convoluted issues, and the voices of “liberation and oppression” are
not all in harmony with themselves, and there are people of good will and evil
intent whose energies and inconsistencies muddle the identification of two
clear sides – “liberation and oppression.” My point, rather, is to prompt the
consideration of how what we are seeing played out in our time reflects human
history that is far more deeply rooted that the era of the Confederacy of the
nineteenth century or European fascist and Marxist despots of the twentieth
century. My hope would be that consideration of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt
will give us greater, more nuanced insight into the struggles of our own time
and situation.
I would suggest that the debates about what to do with
Confederate monuments have become the tangible touchpoint or lightning rod for
the profound issues facing us in our own time. While I know some of my friends (of
both pro and anti-monument persuasions) will object vigorously to this, my
sense is that the Confederate monuments are not the issue, rather they have
become symbolic turf on which the battle is currently being waged. Objecting
that certain Confederate personas represented in the monuments were neither
racist nor pro-slavery but heroic defenders of their homes from the northern aggression,
does not change that many in the white supremacist movements have adopted them
as champions of their causes. Nor does it change the reality of the persistent
injury they perpetuate for the descendants of US slaves. Whether historically precise
or not, these monuments have been endued with the meaning of white racism by
both the most vigorous defenders and attackers of these monuments. This is much the same as Moses’ plea to Pharaoh
to let the Israelites go into the desert to offer sacrifices was indeed a ruse
that set the stage for the Exodus.
I would even go so far as to suggest that by debating how to
handle the Confederate monuments is a diversion from addressing the profound
evils of slavery and racism that are embedded not only in US history but in
present social reality. Similarly, I suspect that the competitive citing of
history documents about the role of slavery as a cause of the Civil War/War Between
the States is not about the accuracy of history but about the persistence of
racism today. I will add very quickly that I am well aware that the US has no
monopoly on the evils of slavery and racism. They are part of the brokenness of
every human society throughout history. But
I would be quick to add that comparing and contrasting their manifestation in
our society with that of other societies, even if others might have actually
been more cruel and worse, does nothing at all to diminish the reality of the evil
of slavery and racism in our history and our current society. Using it to evade
recognizing that “both we and our ancestors have sinned” (Psalm 106:6)
perpetuates the wounds of those evils and inhibits the healing that begins with
contrition.
When we go to a doctor with an ailment that we may not
understand, we report the symptoms and hope the doctor can identify the cause
and prescribe a remedy. The conflicts over the Confederate monuments have
triggered an outburst of violence. That violence is not specific to the
Confederate monuments but is widespread and takes a variety of forms. Many have
complained about how prone politicians can be to using and even promoting
dividing people for their own political ends. This, too, has been a strategy of
despots for many generations. My assessment is that the debates over Confederate
monument, the violence in our society, the divisions along ethnic and economic
lines are all symptoms of deeply disturbing diseases of the soul. I see it in
Psalm 106 again, this time verse 15, God “gave them what they asked, but sent a
wasting disease among them.” (KJV translates it “leanness into their soul”). My
diagnosis is that we have insisted on having what we want at whatever cost to
others, and when we think what we want is threatened, we pursue and defend and
insure that we get it, to the point of bringing the wasting disease of leanness
of soul on ourselves.
My prescription (How dare I speak or write as though I am a
spiritual physician?) is radical repentance and relinquishment of insisting on
my privileges without acknowledging that they have come at great cost to
others. In my work of spiritual direction and as a pastor, I have long taught
that prayer is not about us telling God what needs attention and what to do
about it, rather prayer is about getting in enough congruence with God to hear
from God what needs my attention and what I am to do about it. In this
particular area, I suggest that we be asking how to love our enemies as Jesus
directed in Matthew 5:44, as how to bless those who persecute us, as Paul wrote
in Romans 12:14.
