“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” –Voltaire
(Photo credit: Brad W Sutton)
Tag Archives: social order
Endurance, Resourcefulness and Faith
The severity of a deepening crisis raises unavoidable questions. Will the country be torn apart by anger and frustration? Will the nation survive as the Republic created by its founders? Or, will the American people have the vision, fortitude, and grit to learn the lessons and reaffirm the vision and principles that will lead to a genuine renewal?
If the Republic is to prevail, how will we pull it off? Do we have the patience and wisdom to give priority first to the stability that makes problem-solving possible, to rebuild a national unity that transcends the very real differences that divide us?
Early in 2008 Peggy Noonan, a widely read conservative commentator and one-time aide to President Ronald Reagan, addressed this question eloquently in a collection of essays, Patriotic Grace, What It Is and Why We Need It Now. She wrote during a season of bitter political back-biting, and, as we all know, things soon became very much worse:
“I believe we have to assume that something bad is going to happen, someday, to us. Maybe it will be ten years from now, but maybe not, maybe sooner, much sooner. We have to assume, I think, that it will be a 9/11 times ten, or a hundred, or more, and that it will have a deeply destabilizing effect on our country; that it will test our unity and our endurance, our resourcefulness and faith.
“We all know this, I think, deep down. I don’t know a major political figure in America to whom all this has not occurred, and often…. And yet in some deep way our politics do not reflect our knowledge. It’s odd. Stunning, actually. We keep going through the same old motions in the bitter old ways. Even our cynics are not being realistic!
“…Will the banks fail, is the system built on anything but faith, and will the faith hold? Will we keep our coherence as a country, will we hold together, can we continue as a sovereign nation at peace with itself?”
Peggy Noonan’s little book radiates a much needed spirit. I recommend it. Most of us never expected to see the United States in the condition in which we find it today. Many of us never expected to face the personal hardship in which we increasingly find ourselves.
Ultimately we face a uniquely American crisis, yet one that is unfolding in the midst of an extraordinary global turning point. I will attempt to cut through the emotions and complexity of a monumental moment in history to argue that we must unite to regenerate and rebuild the United States as a living model for a free, stable, and prosperous world.
This nation has progressed gradually toward maturity for 200 years, dedicated to the cause of responsible liberty and built upon the foundation of unity within diversity – diversity of nationality, religion, ethnicity, and, most of all, political philosophy. We possess wide ranging distinctions and differences, but together we share an essential inviolable common ground.
We are all Americans. The promise we all hold dear can only prevail if we have the courage and forbearance to rise above our differences, to address our problems shoulder to shoulder, and to do what must be done to make our children safe and our communities secure.
We have the inherent capacity to move forward despite the mistakes and tragedies of the past – and the mysteries of the future.
Our future hangs in the balance. Let’s pull together, reassert our common ground in the vision with which the nation was built, and step forward to forge a future shaped by fairness, trustworthiness, and moral responsibility.
I submit to you that something far better, far nobler, something perhaps beyond our present ability to imagine, will emerge from the present turmoil.
If, however, we cannot work effectively to build safe communities with people we are not in complete agreement with, then we will be condemned to the only possible alternative: a collapsing civilization defined by fear and violence, a nightmare for our children, and a land where no principles, no values, no stable order can be realized.
Tom
Next post: Cooperation or collapse?
A note to regular readers: As I announced in late June, I have shifted to a new schedule and will now post every two weeks. This will allow me more time for completing the book. I will continue to post on Fridays and hope to publish the next blog entry on or about July 22.
A Severe Choice
The extraordinary depth and breadth of the many crises confronting the American people today represent a critical turning point and test of America’s place in history.
For more than two hundred years the United States has stood before the world as a beacon of hope and an unparalleled model of political freedom, social diversity, and economic vitality. People from throughout the world have been attracted to the vision it represents.
In the midst of upheaval it can be easy to forget the unique stature of the United States and the role it has played and will continue to play in the progress of an ever-advancing civilization. Yet, our confidence in its’ social coherence, its’ economic well-being and generosity of spirit has faltered.
This blog, and the forthcoming book it represents, is addressed to those who are interested in understanding lessons from the past, and who recognize that failures of responsibility and foresight have led us to the brink of disaster.
Do we possess the resolve to join with one another in rebuilding the United States based on its core values and ultimate meaning?
In redirecting our attention and redoubling our commitment, it might be wise to consider those aspects of the American character and cultural attitude that have influenced the downward slide from responsibility to turmoil.
A self-indulgent materialism and thoughtless disregard for the consequences of our actions has placed the future in jeopardy.
The fragmented way we have perceived the world and led our lives may have origins in our immigrant past, but it will not serve us well in reconstructing a stable, coherent, and economically viable future.
There is much to think about.
However, my message is brief. It will be short on analysis and will forego blame. There is more than enough blame to go around and we all know about it. Rather, I will focus on the essentials of mind and attitude, of human character, and of our relationships to one another that will be required if we are to turn despair into courage and failure into triumph.
We will address areas of concern that I believe to be central to realistic solutions. Most importantly, we will consider the manner in which we relate to one another as individuals when we have very great personal differences.
I submit that the safety and security of our families and communities can only be assured if we unite around the structural order provided by the Constitution, which has anchored the American Republic from its inception, and to the principles of mutual respect and moral responsibility that give strength and resiliency to all civilized societies.
The United States has entered the fiery test of a crucible in which the forces of crisis will burn away the self-centeredness and sloppy thinking of the past to forge an American identity we can respect and feel good about.
If we fail to rise to our calling, however, the social violence generated by failing institutions and human suffering will threaten to incinerate our children’s future and turn a great vision to hopelessness and anguish.
At a time of extraordinary existential threat we are confronted with a severe choice.
Will we return to the founding ideals and principles of these United States as the bedrock on which to build a free and ethical future? Will we defend and protect two hundred years of commitment, hard work, and sacrifice by generations of Americans who have given their lives to this unprecedented vision?
Or, will we give way to the emotions of uncompromising partisanship – and allow a great trust to shatter and vanish?
Infrastructure, systems, and services we have long depended upon are going to fail in the coming years. Problems will have to be solved without many of the tools and supports to which we are accustomed. We will need to depend on one another in our local communities.
So, let’s set aside partisanship and sectarian differences when it becomes necessary in the interest of stabilizing and rebuilding the nation. Panic neither serves nor becomes us.
Tom
A note to regular readers: Starting in July, I intend to post on alternate weeks. This will allow me more time for completing the book. I hope to post the next blog entry on or about July 8. Have a good summer!
Someplace else…
“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”
–Yogi Berra
Ends and Means…
“The principle that the ends justify the means is in individualist ethics regarded as the denial of all morals”
–F. A. Hayek
“He who chooses the beginning of the road chooses the place it leads to. It is the means that determine the end.”
–Harry Emerson Fosdick
“An attempt to achieve the good by force is like an attempt to provide a man with a picture gallery at the price of cutting out his eyes.”
–Ayn Rand
“They say ‘means are after all means’. I would say ‘means are after all everything’. As the means, so the end.”
–Mohandas Gandhi
“The first sign of corruption in a society that is still alive is that the end justifies the means.”
–Georges Bernanos
Sorrow and suffering enough…
“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”
–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
To build or destroy…
“To build may have to be the slow and laborious task of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day.”
–Winston Churchill
Security and the Use of Force
I will address two considerations involving the potential use of force in defending ourselves. The first is related to the security of our families and communities, the topic of recent blog posts. The second relates to our ultimate purpose, the effective means by which the foundations of the American Republic can be secured and strengthened.
I will consider the first in this post and the second in the coming weeks.
I have mentioned several security issues that will concern us if the current deterioration of the economy and social order continues. While food security may be the most likely serious threat to a community, the most unpredictable danger will be the unstable individual or group approaching from outside.
Whether unexpected visitors might be psychopathic, motivated by religious or political ideology, or simply in a state of desperate need, may not be immediately apparent.
We would do well to deal with visitors in a respectful and humane manner, while remaining cautious and defensive. The potential danger is real. We must respond judiciously and communicate clearly, while summoning fellow community members for assistance.
In my view, we would also do well to remain sensitive to any positive value that might be presenting itself. New faces will sometimes come to us with good character and valuable skills.
Graceful hospitality will always set the right tone, even if a visit needs to be kept brief. Some of us have better verbal skills than others, or possess more disarming personalities. Others may have weapons training or know martial arts.
An effective set of tools is offered by Target Focus Training (TFT), which includes physical skills for personal defense against lethal weapons.
If we keep weapons in the home we must manage them with utmost care. Any weapon is an ever-present liability when kept in close proximity to our families. Emotions can run high when we experience hardship. As we all know, a gun can easily kill a loved one, even without an external threat.
In addition to first aid training, which is essential, each of us can gain conflict management and other defensive skills, both verbal and combative. We would be well-advised to prepare ourselves well in advance. A list of self-determined guidelines and personal thresholds for action can be memorized in preparation for the unexpected.
To the extent possible, our conscious purpose should not only include safety and survival, but also the ultimate concern for which we are living.
Courage is a priceless virtue. Not the courage to fight, but the courage to care. It takes a brave heart to make peace, but compassion must be buttressed by backbone.
Women sometimes embrace this balance with natural equanimity, but the presence of danger must never be forgotten.
Approaching difficult encounters with a positive attitude is an ability that can save lives. This can make the difference between friendship and enmity, between collaboration and catastrophe.
We have entered a long crisis. People are coming unhinged. We will often encounter the walking-wounded, and danger will not always be obvious.
We will meet good people who have lost hope or are grieving deeply. They may appear abrupt or angry at first. We may not be sure who or what they are, but will soon come to realize that we need not fear them.
Each of us is wounded in some way.
I think most of us understand that this is not about being nice or even socially responsible. This is about treating one another with mutual respect as Americans. It is about reconstructing the United States as the kind of country we want to live in – one soul at a time.
It all comes down to purpose: Security requires preparedness; rebuilding the foundations requires grace.
We cannot afford to live in a state of siege behind walls that isolate us and appear hostile to others. To give in to fear and retreat into defensive enclaves of survivalists would be to admit defeat.
Let us rather win over the confused, heal the wounded, and welcome the returning prodigal friend. This is the true path to security.
Mature leadership greets each day with an open heart and an inclusive vision.
Tom
Next week: A Severe Choice
Liberty and the American Idea 