Living in Troubled Times

Everywhere you turn, it seems, we are facing crises. Moreover, we see a polarized society that cannot agree upon how to go forward to address our problems. We have debated political points, economic policies, beginning of life issues, end of life issues, and the threat of climate change yet we remain in a quagmire. With the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, we are confronting a new unsettling threat on top of the many others that we have already proved ourselves to be ineffectual at addressing.

Political Challenges

We live in a time of political turmoil. Our society is more polarized than perhaps we have seen in our lifetime. Last week, David Linker wrote an opinion piece giving a dire assessment of a nation in decline. He points out how our presidential leadership has never been worse, yet the president's approval rating has never been higher.

For my part, by the midterm of Trump's presidency, what was most disheartening, even more than the president’s behaviors, rants, and actions,  was how many Americans were okay with that. When I watch political commentators and listen to some of my friends, there are many who keep hoping for a "wake-up call" and a "blue wave" in November. I can well understand that hope, but nothing that has been predicted by Trump's opponents (or by any hopeful liberals or reasonable voices) has come true.

The only bright spot for me is that, if polls are accurate, a little over half of the population claims a higher ethic and voices opposition to the appalling measures that the Trump Administration is promoting. It may not be enough to turn the tide on Election Day, but as they say, we must still try. And it is our civic responsibility, regardless of political affiliation, to remain engaged in the process and to make informed decisions in the voting booth.

Some Values Still Remain

Whatever happens politically, we must remember that there are still higher values being exhibited by humanity. When I went to the San Francisco Bay Area to go to seminary back in the late 1970s, that was the largest urban setting I had ever lived in. One of my professors, Dr. Francis DuBose, a pioneer in urban missions, told us, “In the city, you will find Man's (sic) greatest good and Man's greatest evil.” There was truth in that, and it may have helped this boy from Alabama come to appreciate the many good things that were to be found in The City.

Four years before that, as a freshman at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, I sat in my Western Civilization class and heard the professor, Dr. Leah Atkins, tell how Christians were so devastated by the collapse of Rome that Augustine wrote The City of God to reassure them that the end of Rome did not mean the end of Christianity. However one feels about Augustine or Christianity, there is a vital lesson to be learned from history. As an 18-year-old, for some reason, that information shifted my perspective and probably altered my worldview. 

I tried to put myself in those 5th century Roman's shoes: how would I feel if my country collapsed? How would it affect my faith? I made a conscious decision to make sure my faith was not oriented around the strength of my country. I nurtured an understanding that the USA could fail and we could still find a way to hold on to what is good and true. 

On the advice of St. Augustine, I purposefully untied the ropes that had lashed the two separate barges of God and Country together. In the event of the unthinkable tragedy of my country’s collapse, I saw the need to keep a sound footing on the ancient faith that I professed.

Understanding the Threat

I still tell myself all these years later that we can continue to champion what is good, even if society collapses and our institutions fail. We will likely see the best of humanity along with the worst, but that has always been true. Our current pandemic is forcing us to recognize our interconnectedness as well as the fragility of our infrastructures.

Like many of you, I have come to realize over the years that climate change is an increasing threat to our environment. I have been dismayed at our society's reluctance to address climate change and I fear that it could lead to our undoing. When I was in grade school, I saw how science alerted the public to the dangers of pollution. I saw news reports of smog in the cities and trees dying in the hills above Los Angeles. By the time I was in high school, I saw many of those effects of pollution reversed. With the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, we saw changes in industry and in automobile manufacturing that cleaned up the environment and allowed trees to grow again in the hills of southern California.

In light of that early success, it baffles me that with the increasing scientific understanding of climate change, we have not been able to bring ourselves to implement the changes needed to protect the environment. In fact, we are resistant to any change and reluctant to buy unto the warnings that science has given us.

We seem to be able to respond only when the threat becomes a catastrophe at our doorstep. Scientists tell us that we are nearing the point of irreversible damage to our environment.  It may be that our only hope is in catastrophe. Let’s hope that it is a survivable catastrophe.

We Have a Heritage of Survival

Earlier this year, at the height of Australia’s brush fire crisis, I read an article that gave me a new perspective of hope. Australian writer, Jackie French, wrote the opinion piece, “From fire evacuation rooms, Diary of a Wombatauthor pens her message to Australia,” in The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia was facing the worst fires in its history. Whole towns were devastated and animal species (including the beloved koala) faced the threat of extinction, yet French offered a surprisingly hopeful word:

This is most Australians’ first taste of climate change. But we are the descendants of those who have faced Ice Ages, plagues, wars, famine. Most humans died. Our ancestors did not. When times are hardest, humans are capable of the greatest kindness and innovation.

Think about that!  “We are the descendants of those who have faced Ice Ages, plagues, wars, famine. Most humans died. Our ancestors did not.” I find it encouraging to realize that even if I do not survive the threats we face, our species has a history of resilience and survival. My own ancestors were able to come back from the brink extinction, and that gives me some solace.

Many of us can think of survival stories even closer to home in our own family histories. Stories of getting through the war, the Depression, enduring tragedies, finding small joys in times of hardship. We all have that in our DNA.  

Hold On to What is Good

Today we face multiple challenges: medical, economic, social, political, and environmental. Though the threats are real, there is no reason to give up. With the COVID-19 pandemic, we may see our economic and political systems pushed to the brink. We may see a series of successes and failures, but we can still hold to those values that are at the core of our humanity. We can carry forward that which is good regardless of the shape that our societal structures take. Jackie French reminds us, “When times are hardest, humans are capable of the greatest kindness and innovation.”

So let's hope for the best, work like it can happen, and champion the good wherever we can find it, even if the worst happens. It's time for some furious dancing.

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