Fixing America

If you read this post too quickly, you might have thought I was being insensitive. "What's the matter with this guy? Doesn't he care that people are losing their homes? Doesn't he care that people are in financial crisis? Doesn't he care?" If that was what you came away with, I apologize. That was not my intent.

I feel badly for the folks that are experiencing these difficulties. Whether or not it was their own foolishness that got them into difficulty, hard times are hard times. My point was not that short-sighted. My point was expanded upon in the the next post. In an effort to effectually get this across, I'm going to comment further today.

We're currently at the beginning of more than a year of serious political wrangling about who will be our next president. The message of every candidate will be "I can fix the problems we face" to some degree or another. They may not agree on what the problems are and they certainly won't agree on how to fix them, but each one has what he or she thinks is an answer to many of the problems we face. In this scramble for the top, accusations are thrown over the wall in both directions. "The problem is a Republican in the White House." "Oh, no, the problem is a Democratic Congress." "Don't be ridiculous. If President Bush wasn't there, we'd be fine." "Oh, yeah? So why is the economy improving after we replaced Clinton?" And your arguments and responses will vary based on your biases.

My point, however, is that it's all nonsense. The problem is not political. And since the problem is not political, the fix is not political. Allow me to illustrate. Recently two guards were killed and a third was wounded in an armored car heist in Philadelphia. The response of the mayor was to complain bitterly about the lack of gun control. With tens of thousands of people shot to death each year, how is it that this issue is not part of the current issues in presidential politics? I think that the murder and robbery was horrifying. But I question the mayor's idea that if we could just remove guns from the hands of everyone, there would be no more murder or robbery.

We are getting a similar ad campaign here in Arizona. The campaign goes something like this. Kids who ditch school are more likely to become criminals. Therefore, support anti-truancy efforts. The idea is if you can keep kids in class, there won't be any more criminals. Again, I am in favor of kids going to school and against truancy ... but is that the answer to crime?

The problem in Philadelphia is not the existence of guns. The problem in Arizona is not truancy. The problem in the country is not Republican or Democratic control. The problem is much more serious than any of this suggests. The problem is in the character of the individuals who make up America. Yes, I know, it's a broad statement; take it as such. Still, it isn't too broad. Based on Jer. 17:9, the problem is the human heart -- deceitful and desperately wicked.

Unfortunately, this topic is off limits in public discussion. We've decided that people are basically good. Now, ignoring the elephant in the corner, what else might be the problem? Oh, no, don't you dare go back to that "sin" problem. That's a matter of religion, and that has no place in public discourse. It is, however, the problem.

Why is it, do you suppose, that back before gun control when nearly every American owned a gun, there was so little crime? Could it be their basic Christian morality that was superimposed? Why is it that when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the nation rose up as a unit and prosecuted that war to its end despite the massive cost in lives, money, and personal freedoms? Could it be that the character of America was different then?

American democracy (actually a Republic) is built on one key point -- Christian morality. If the people enjoying the freedoms that we enjoy are moral people, it works fine. If they are neighborly and community-minded, it works fine. If they are concerned about others, it works fine. If they don't intend to steal, murder, or rape, it works fine. When the national mores shift, however, to a "me generation", the belief that I am the important one and what I want is what is most important, it breaks down. An "other-centered" society will care for people in need; a self-centered society will expect someone else to do it. An other-centered society obeys laws; a self-centered society operates on the idea that "I will obey laws that assist me and ignore those that don't." And so it goes.

The problem in America isn't an American problem. It's a human problem. It's a heart problem. The fix for the problem in America -- the problem in people -- isn't better laws, more government, less laws, less government, a Republican Congress, a Democratic president, or any such thing. The answer to this problem is Christ, and Christ is being specifically and systematically excluded from the public square. We are saying, in essence, "Here's the medicine that will cure your cancer ... but we won't allow anyone to have it. It's a private issue."

We can debate politics 'til the cows come home. We can argue over global warming and the war in Iraq all we want. We can discuss who is at fault for that shooting or this law or the failure of the same, but it won't fix the problem. We ought to support good candidates. We ought to be concerned about people who are in financial crisis. But more money or more government or better laws are not the answer. Thinking that they are will simply divert us from the real issue at hand -- the deceitful and wicked heart of the human being that can only be remedied by a relationship with Christ.