“Liberty and justice” create tension in politics and in Christian life
I spent part of each of the last two weekends listening to the Democratic and Republican state conventions on the radio, listening to the rhetoric, puzzling over the divisiveness of American politics. The divisiveness has always been a part of the American political system; the nastiness in the Jefferson-Adams campaigns, or the Jackson-Clay campaigns, are similar to what has gone in recent years. Majoritarian systems of government always seem to have this good-cop, bad-cop flavor to them.
I’ve finally figured out a way to, very simplistically, explain the fundamental differences between Democratic and Republican philosophies (I’ve been working on this for a while, as it’s a confusing subject.) The tool used is the last phrase of our pledge of allegiance: “With liberty and justice for all.” It seems to me that the Republican philosophy espouses “liberty for all,” and the Democratic philosophy comes down on the side of “justice for all.” Both are important to American citizenry, yet the necessary tension between the two is at the core of American political life. Unbridled liberty results in capitalistic excess, the fruits of which we’ve seen in the recent recession; unbridled pursuit of justice has as its natural by-product excessive bureaucracy and policy structures. I can sympathize just as much with the Tea Party sentiments as I can with liberal action groups, simply because I recognize the necessity of holding the two in tension.
These same sorts of tensions exist in Christian life as well. God is a rugged individualist, cherishing each individual soul and the gifts he/she brings to the table of life. Yet God also insists on we humans working things out in community. “Where two or three are gathered, there am I.” said Jesus, which means (among other things) that holy life is meant to be relational. What is missing in the political equation on both sides are the factors of wisdom and trust (maybe because the former is rare and the latter has been battered out of existence?) If we are truly Christian, we seek wise rather than expedient solutions. If we are truly Christians, we behave in a trustworthy manner. Perhaps if our culture were more truly Christian, in fact rather than in label, the tensions between liberty and justice could be lessened.
I’d like to see YOU on Sunday
Bob
