Say it ain't so, Mr. President

How is it that we can cut half a trillion dollars from the defense budget and still run the largest deficit ever ($1.3 trillion) if the president's budget is accepted as proposed?  I know the half trillion dollar savings are projected over ten years, but it seems also that much of the "savings" he's projected to keep the deficit at only that level are wishful thinking at best.  I've been sorely disappointed that President Obama, who seemed so thoughtful and articulate, has been so thoroughly assimilated into the machinery of Washington such that his budgeting priorities are concerned only with re-election. Of course to bring the deficits under control, hard choices have to be made.  And hard choices in election years evidently mean fewer votes.  So there is this fairly reasonable conclusion that politicians keep coming to: we have to get elected in order to be able to get our positive proposals enacted.  But it seems to me that there is a problem with such thinking when election cycles have become continuous.  Even when there are term limits on a specific individual (like the president), the party has to keep everyone else elected.  So they keep making promises that keep the electorate happy.  Perhaps it is we the electorate who need to change.  Are we so gullible that the only way we'll vote for people is when they promise two chickens in every pot?  Has anyone been paying attention to the austerity measures in Greece?  Do we really think that the graph above can end in any way but doom and gloom?  The next superpower (a.k.a. China) will not need to conquer anyone through military force.  All she has to do is say that she won't buy any more of our bonds, and we'll all become her indentured servants and be begging for rice.  The economic policies of the last 30 years have pushed a few more middle class people into the upper middle class, made the wealthy into the fabulously wealthy, and mortgaged the future of the country so far into debt that no one knows what to do except keep the foot on the accelerator. 

September 11 Reflections

I preached the morning services at church today.  The topic was the importance of theology and introduction of the new statement of faith adopted by the denomination.  But since it was September 11th, I couldn't help talk about that too.  The following is that section of the sermon.

I’m not unaware of the date today.  I suspect that for most of our generation, September the eleventh will remain etched into our memories for all our lives.  Today, ten years later seems especially poignant, and deserves some comment from the pulpit, even if it is from a substitute preacher.  This picture was taken in July of 2001.  You can faintly see the twin towers in the background as we waited on the Jersey shore to take a ferry to Manhattan.  We had taken a trip to New York to meet some friends, and did the touristy things like going out to the Statue of Liberty, going up in the Empire State Building, and watching a baseball game at Yankee Stadium—even though for me, a huge Boston Red Sox fan, that was walking into enemy territory.  I wore my Red Sox hat that day to the stadium, and the infamous and boisterous fans in the right field bleacher seats let me hear about it, as they collectively pointed at me and chanted things that shouldn’t be repeated in church.  There was a moment there when I feared for our lives.

It was just two months later when some 2000 New Yorkers lost their lives in the terrorist attacks.  That morning I was back in Mishawaka, walking to the departmental office at Bethel to make some copies for my class when a secretary asked if I’d heard that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center.  I immediately thought there was something suspicious about it and started monitoring the news.  I was watching the coverage live when the first tower collapsed.  It was such a surreal experience.  So unexpected, and so difficult to fathom the implications.  So much uncertainty that day as the other planes hit the Pentagon and went down in Pennsylvania. That evening the neighbors on our street spontaneously appeared out on the sidewalks, and we talked with each other in tones that betrayed our fragility and insecurity.  I thought it prudent to go out and fill up the gas tank, for who knew what might happen, and I waited in a long line at the station to pay the exorbitant price that had been hiked up to $1.75 per gallon. 

We were told that September 11 changed everything, that things would never be the same.  And of course that is true in some respects, especially for families and friends of victims.  And yes, gas prices have gone up, and getting through airport security has become unpleasant.  But the neighbors have gone back inside.  The goodwill toward each other that swells up in times of crisis has abated.  I’m afraid that human nature has remained the same.

There is more rhetoric today from politicians who play on our fears by pledging to do more than the last guy did to protect us from our evil enemies, as though we could stop evil by enacting the right policies or by brute force.  Not allowing people to bring a full tube of toothpaste on an airplane might stop one kind of evil, but there are a thousand others we can’t even imagine until they occur.  Sending our predator drones in by remote control to blow up houses might eliminate a few bad guys, but it usually incites even more hatred against us by the survivors.  It was Jesus who said, “If you live by the sword, you’re going to die by the sword.”  I think I’m inclined to trust him on this one.

Does this seem pessimistic?  I’m really an optimistic guy.  It’s just that my optimism, my hope is in a different kingdom, one that is not of this world.

Now don’t get me wrong: we have to be smart, we need to protect ourselves.  We lock our doors at night.  But let’s be realistic: we live in a fallen world.  The United States military is not going to usher in some era of lasting peace and happiness in our world.  Have we Christians bought into this myth?  Perhaps this is what has changed most of all since 9/11: we felt pretty secure and lived in this land of freedom and relative peace.  But the attacks suggested to us that we too are vulnerable.  But rather than accepting that as a fact of life, we’ve held on to the notion that we are somehow a favored nation.  The United States has had about 60 years now of being the top dog on the world stage.  The indications are that we won’t occupy that position for more than another generation.  Read your history books:  nations come and nations go.  I’m glad to live in a nation with the freedoms we have, but this isn’t the Kingdom I’m longing for.  Pastor Craig likes to quote Bob Dylan, but I’m from a different generation, so I’ll quote one of my favorite bands, Switchfoot: “I pledge allegiance to a country without borders and without politicians.”  I will seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness.  To do otherwise is the very definition of idolatry, putting other gods before the one true God.  And I will rest secure in the belief that nothing can deport us from that Kingdom or separate us from the love of God, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers.  No matter what happens -- natural disasters, government shutdowns, and even terrorist attacks -- we are safe, we are free, we are loved by the God of the universe. 

Oh sure, some of us go through tough times—loss of jobs, loss of property and health, even premature loss of life.  We’re not exempt from that in our fallen world.  But we believe in a God who has broken into our world in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Through his life, death, and resurrection the Kingdom of God has come to earth.  And all those who will follow him are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live in the Kingdom here and now. 

 Is that the God we believe in?  That was some pretty dense theology packed into a paragraph or two, theology that helps us makes sense of and respond to the situations we find ourselves in.  And here is the connection back to our main topic for the morning.  What we believe about God has consequences.  

Hate Crimes

I get a little frustrated with the mode of civic engagement of most Christians. This week's Hate Crimes legislation provides a handy case-in-point. The Christian radio crowd mobilized lots of their loyal listeners to take up as a holy crusade the opposition of the democratically introduced bill, HR1592, because purportedly it contains within it the Trojan Horse of muzzling pastors and others from speaking publicly against homosexuality.

As best as I can tell, here is the relevant section of HR1592:"(1) IN GENERAL- At the request of State, local, or Tribal law enforcement agency, the Attorney General may provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or any other form of assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that--
(A) constitutes a crime of violence;
(B) constitutes a felony under the State, local, or Tribal laws; and
(C) is motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim, or is a violation of the State, local, or Tribal hate crime laws." (www.govtrack.us/congress)

So my interpretation of this in plain language is that non-federal agencies can request federal support in prosecuting acts of violence against certain classes of people which have been motivated by prejudice. Period.

Now, I think there are some good reasons for opposing this legislation. For example, why are hate crimes limited to just these classes of people; why not include the elderly and military personnel (a proposed amendment to the bill that was voted down)? Why not protect short people or balding men?! I think there are reasonable responses to such questions, but equally, I think the objections to the legislation are reasonable.

What upsets me about Christians' reactions is that there is absolutely no language in the bill that says anything about prosecuting speech--not even if it was speech that persuaded someone to do violence to one of the protected classes. The way the knee-jerk crowd is making it sound, you'd think the Congress criminalized Christianity.

I'm fully aware that there is a political strategy going on here with respect to homosexual rights and the recognition of them as a protected class. And this may be worth opposing because of future bills that will be coming making it illegal for faith-based organizations to discrimate against homosexuals in employment practices. But please, in the process of engaging in the political process, let's shed light and proclaim truth rather than obfuscating, misrepresenting, and falsifying.