The Culture War vs. The Common Good
Five media memes in the American struggle between the “common good” and the “culture war.”
+ Common Good: Opening salvo, why the struggle matters, with special bonus common good message at the end.
+++ Culture War: Falwell lives! This week the culture war comes out swinging, led by Alan Keyes and Pastor Rick Scarborough as they launch their “70 weeks to save American crusade.” Anyone who still mixes “America,” Christianity and “crusade” must be channeling Falwell. One negative: Alan Keyes speaks French and “studied Spanish” which might lead to Tancredo creating a rearguard. On the other hand, Scarborough wrote a book entitled: Liberalism kills kids. The culture war turns into another children’s crusade. . .
+++ Common Good: Religious leader Desmond Tutu and land mine activist Jody Williams write about working together for the common good of Darfurians. Both have received the Noble Peace Prize and both are tired of the political rhetoric. They write: “we are dismayed that despite much rhetorical concern in many world capitals, little has been done to end the conflict, now in its fifth year.” Apparently in some places, more than liberalism kills. They note:
“Hundreds of thousands are dead, hundreds of thousands are in refugee camps in Chad, and millions are displaced inside Darfur. Rape, endured by countless thousands of women, continues to be used as a weapon of war. Thousands of villages have been razed, crops and livestock have been stolen or destroyed, and water has been polluted in a scorched-earth policy of ethnic cleansing carried out by Khartoum and its allied janjaweed militia.”
+ Culture War: Ok, cute video, but it misses the point that there are common values that we all want to protect.
+ Common Good. Over at mania411 (pop culture since ’96) Dan Martin relates a story in an attempt to understand the role of the religion for the next national election. “Driving during 2004 I would often pass a gaudy, and perhaps tacky, electronic sign for a mega Church flashed in bright lights a message that helped swing Ohio and the Electoral College into Bush’s column. The message flashed in bright forty foot tall lights “Vote the Bible.” In an interesting short post, Martin analyzes three common good organizations: Sojourners, The Presbyterian Church USA, and Catholics for the Common Good. And he leaves us with this conclusion:
“Splintered would be the best word to describe it. Many left leaning politicians are uneasy about aligning with people of faith, and some are outwardly hostile. Beyond the remnants of the Civil Rights movement very few ordained ministers are present and visible in progressive causes. Jewish Americans have often supported Democratic positions and policies, but the foreign policy situation in the Middle East has muddied those waters. Roman Catholics are historically firm supporters of labor unions, living wages and social advancement via statecraft, but abortion has largely destroyed what was once a cornerstone of the New Deal Coalition.”
While there may be 70 weeks to take back America, there’s also 70 weeks to take back faith, which might just be better for the good of all.