Soccer Mom: Unplugged

Henry G. Brinton, pastor and author merited nearly all of page 13A today with his op-ed Finding spiritual world's middle ground.  He makes some interesting points about American politics and redefines the national political spectrum in a very American, and very spiritual way.  Instead of conservatives and liberals,  he renames the polar ends obligation-keepers and liberation-seekers. 

He links his definitions to Biblical examples in a fascinating and yet faulty manner, even offering modern examples of each category.

"President Bush is a classic obligation-keeper - pro-life and pro-traditional family, with a strong focus on moral clarity.  His approach to strong focus goes back to God's original covenant with Abraham, whom God promised to make fruitful if he will walk before God and be blameless...

Bill Clinton, on the other hand, is a liberation-seeker - determined to help people in need and protect freedoms such as gay rights and abortion rights.  His style of religion can be traced back to Moses and the exodus from Egypt, in which God liberates his people from the oppression of pharoah."

If you've ever actually read the Bible, you know exactly where this analogy breaks down.  Moses did not simply liberate people unconditionally.  He liberated the people who had covenanted with God.  Obedience to specific laws were exacted in order to gain liberation - remember that bit about lamb's blood over the door as an outward display of the convenant.  Obedience to that divine mandate spared the lives of the promise keepers.  Let's not forget that freedom was a benefit of compliance to the covenants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  It was not arbitrary - it was a direct response to keeping "obligations".  Further more,  Moses was the prophet of the Law.  It was he who came down from Mt. Sinai with commandments in hand.

Brinton makes the point that conservatives and liberals often change from obligation-keepers to liberation-seekers and vice versa depending on the political issue and therein lies room for much compromise and understanding.  This is about the closest his assessment comes to making sense.  No group is as homogenous as it seems at first glance - only those who view political issues and people through the short-sighted lens of a camera see things so naively.  These are people who let newspaper headlines and 30 second CNN reports govern their political thought.  The reality of the human condition is infinitely more complex.

As far as the whole idea of obligation-keeper and liberation-seeker goes, these spiritual themes are not extremes on a spectrum of modern American thought.  They are more like polar ends of the same stick.   You cannot have one without the other.  Take for example the analogy of two children taking piano lessons.  There is the one child whose parents demand attentive practice  and there is the other whose parents allow him the freedom to choose whether or not he will dedicate time to his talent.  Both boys hate practicing.  Their liberty is infringed upon by the daily half hour sessions spent plunking out notes and studying melodies.  And yet, in later years, when called upon to demonstrate his skill only one of the boys enjoys the freedom to play.  The child who never practiced, who did not keep up his obligation,  ultimately lost his freedom.  When asked, "Will you play the piano?"  He was left only one response.  The diligent boy, on the other hand had the freedom to respond by either declining or accepting the invitation.  He is now free to choose.

The same principle holds true with every decision we make as individuals and as a society of the free.  We often choose to give up some liberties for the greater good.  We choose to inhibit the freedom of our children,  forcing them (as they often see it) like cruel taskmasters to endure 8 hours of schooling daily.  We exhibit cultural self-abnegation in a myriad of ways, and do so willingly and frequently when we consider the ultimate freedoms guaranteed through a little give and take.  We give up income so that our tax dollars can buy us the greater freedom of a standing military and freedom from criminals and social ills.  We have nationally chosen to be obligation-keepers in countless ways because we realize that keeping obligations allows us to ultimately enjoy greater liberty.  Obligation and libertarianism are not and either-or proposition but and if-then construct. 

Most of the social degradation, corruption and lack of personal morality that afflicts our nation right now is directly caused by the desire to offer liberty without obligation.  The removal of allegiance to social and moral covenants has resulted in a complete absolution of accountability and when we refuse to hold up our obligations,  we find ourselves like the Israelites Moses was sent to liberate.  Enslaved.