A professionally charitable person might say their real enemy was modernity. The West had shut down and the party was over.
– Hackberry Holland in “House of the Rising Son” by James Lee Burke
Texas Ranger Holland was ruminating about the violence in the West at end of the 19th century in Burke’s newest novel. The continuing gun violence on a daily basis may not be about guns or religion per se, or even violence itself, but about people who are not at all comfortable with modern life itself. Western modernism has brought the world to no longer being well-disposed towards religion and a worldview aimed towards a progressive force promising to liberate humankind from ignorance and irrationality.
A complex topic, more on modernity here.
Perhaps the mental health focus has become misdirected. Perhaps we should look less at the diagnosed and more at the disaffected. We can attempt systems to treat the former, but what do we do about the millions who are really, really unhappy with life in the 21st century?
Witnessing
Violence
Weapons are the tools of violence;
all decent men detest them.Weapons are the tools of fear;
a decent man will avoid them
except in the direst necessity
and, if compelled, will use them
only with the utmost restraint.
Peace is his highest value.
If the peace has been shattered,
how can he be content?
His enemies are not demons,
but human beings like himself.
He doesn’t wish them personal harm.
Nor does he rejoice in victory.
How could he rejoice in victory
and delight in the slaughter of men?He enters a battle gravely,
with sorrow and with great compassion,
as if he were attending a funeral.– Lao Tzu (c.604 – 531 B.C.)
So now, another episode of gun violence, this time a Planned Parenthood site. White guy captured alive after killing a cop (and others). We have a fascist white man running for president (with millions of supporters) stoking fear and hatred, with the other candidates his party not far behind in rhetoric.
I played the weapons and violence game a long time ago in a land far, far away. When today’s domestic violence happens, daily it seems, I take a deep breath and go numb for a few minutes. The lack of compassion, mindfulness and logical thinking in the responses is what hurts the most. The rote replies of most politicians is sickening (I almost wrote political leaders, but I’ve stopped using those two words together).
A walk in the woods is needed.
Tribal Thinking & Myths
Our culture is headed in the opposite direction of my own journey toward inclusive belief now. I’m not talking about the small stuff, like the Mariners’ season, but anti-intellectualism, violence and lack of moral compass.
This list is imposing and deserving of more than one post, but now I’m thinking of the symbols, myths and legends that ought to be giving us a shared sense of right and wrong.
“A true religion is precisely one that can teach you how to recognize and honor God everywhere, and not just inside your own group symbols”. – The Perennial Tradition, Richard Rohr.
American culture appears to be getting it’s shared sense of right and wrong in the post modern era from sources unencumbered by the thought process. The foundational myths of the United States have been co-opted by tribes, despite what our president repeats about us all being Americans. The community sense of “We the people” and the belief that our republic would survive only if virtuous individuals came together for the common good have been pushed aside in favor of the rugged individualism and lawlessness of the Wild Wild West.
So where do we get our shared sense of right and wrong? What are the myths that drive our identity today? Seems like the strongest one is the military. “Army strong” has become [fill in the city where a tragedy has occurred] strong. “Boots on the ground” objectifies the reality that those boots are filled with human beings who bleed and die. The US flag has replaced the Constitution as our source of national identity. Saying thank you to those who serve in the military has become attached to every national day and event we have. Those who serve now include many more who wear safety services uniforms. The words honor and hero are so loosely used as to include everyday actions that belong in the category of job descriptions. “Protecting our freedom” is a tagline, but nobody ever asks how exactly that is happening in places like Irag and Afghanistan.
The paragraph above does not mean any lack of respect on my part for members of the armed services, or police and fire departments. This myth began with our government and the media. It instills crisis mentality and black and white; or red, white and blue; thinking.
More American myths include rugged masculine individualism, the gun culture, the Lost Cause movement after the Civil War, the belief that technology (and money) and solve all of our problems, American exceptionalism, the rights listed in the Bill of Rights have no limits or responsibilities, rampant capitalism and companies have the same rights as individuals. Quite a list, and certainly not exhaustive.
Where do thoughtful people look for relief? We remain thoughtful, we vote, we keep the issues in front of our friends and we give to the election campaigns of women and men who understand where these myths are taking us. Perhaps we can reach a point where the shared sense of right and wrong becomes civil and inclusive.
Things Are Not as They Seem 