Recycling History

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.