Listening to the radio the other day I was struck as a reporter described a sign held by an activist at an Occupy Frankfurt rally. Translated from German the sign read “[turn] bankers into plowshares”. The activist was referencing the phrase “swords into plowshares”, the image of swords, as weapons of war, being turned into plowshares, agricultural instruments. This phrase looks forward to a time when we will have no conceivable use for weapons of war. When there is permanent disarmament, and we till the earth in peace.
The activist was trying, I think, to get across the idea that without bankers society would be better – fairer and more just and peaceful. I’ll leave it up to the reader to decide their personal position on bankers and the world financial crisis, that’s not what interests me here. What caught my ear was the use of language.
This phrase comes from the Biblical prophet Isaiah, describing the world after God’s kingdom is established on earth and all things are made right. Here is the phrase in context:
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. (1)
I previously wrote a piece on man’s constant urge for a better world for peace and justice, and the inability to achieve it, which you can read here. I don’t want to repeat myself, but the current wave of protests against the financial systems of the world and reference to the swords into plowshares intrigued me.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say – “Halloween is my favorite holiday”, I would perhaps not be rich, but my student loan balances would be significantly lower. It seems to me, and this is in no way scientific, that for many people Halloween is their favorite time of year; even though most people don’t get a day off work as they do at Christmas.
True, there is candy or sweets to be collected, and children love to dress up, but most of the people I hear express their love for Halloween are adults not children. It is about more than just dressing up and eating too much bad food. Why do people like to dress up in as ghosts, goblins, and zombies?
The fascination with fear drives this celebration. But Halloween is not about normal, everyday fears. We are not reveling in the fear of car accidents, cancer, or terrorism. It is a different kind of fear. The writer C.S. Lewis explained that this type of fear is more of a kind of dread or awe of something unknown:
“Suppose you were told there was a tiger in the next room: you would know you were in danger and would probably feel fear. But if you were told “There is a ghost in the next room”, and believed it, you would feel, indeed, what is often called fear, but of a different kind. It would not be based on the knowledge of danger, for no one is primarily afraid of what a ghost might do to him, but of the mere fact that it is a ghost. It is “uncanny” rather than dangerous, and the special kind of fear it excites may be called Dread.” (1)
It is an insult to the conservative that he or she cannot
fix themselves and an insult to the liberal that he or she cannot fix humanity.
This is why many conservatives reject Jesus in every sphere except religious
ceremony and why liberals reject an interventionalist God in all spheres.
The conservative – I pulled myself up by my bootstraps
model- believes he or she is responsible for his or her ultimate destiny and
achievements. I did it my way, so
why can’t everyone else? This can
be used to justify a reluctance to help others, as that is not my responsibility
but theirs. This ignores the fact that factors such as the family (or lack
thereof) we are born into, the place in which we are born, and (even though it
is not politically correct to say so these days) the varying levels of skill or
talent with which each of us are born, can greatly influence our “progress” in
the world.
Conversely, the liberal worldview presents itself as
altruistic and concerned with fairness and the well being of others. The liberal fondly cherishes the notion
that as a group we can redeem humanity from the various ills and squalors in
which it is embroiled. It aims to
create equality through redistributing resources. Those better off should contribute to those less
fortunate. It’s hard to argue
against this proposition. However,
in my experience, most people think there are others more fortunate than them
who should foot the bill. I’ve
never met anyone who likes to pay taxes – liberal or conservative. So, the idea is not for me to
sacrifice my resources to help those at the bottom, but to take the resources
of others to do so. Again, I am
not responsible for the plight of those less fortunate. It can make you feel good without
paying a personal cost.
The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the
learned; but time and chance happen to them all. – Ecclesiastes 9:11.
Equality
We are told as children that everyone should be treated
equally. Stories of those who
fought to make things equal are celebrated. It is apparent to even the youngest school child that we
don’t live in an equal world – otherwise why would Rev. Martin Luther King have
struggled. So it is not the idea
that equality is the status quo but that it could be the future default mode.
We are taught that because the world is equal hard work and
talent will always rise to the top.
Work hard in school, turn up on time, do your best. So an equal world does not mean that
everyone will be the same – after all there can only be one President of the
United States – but that everyone has a chance of success. It also should mean that those that do
succeed deserve their status because of inherent talent and diligence.
Therefore, according to this theory, while we may not agree
with those in influential positions, we cannot say they don’t deserve to be
there. However, many of us have
experienced people in power over us to be somewhat less than brilliant. I’m not talking about jealousy, but
about the smart and talented being bossed by those less so.
“I think we too often make choices based on the safety of cynicism, and what we're led to is a life not fully lived. Cynicism is fear, and it's worse than fear - it's active disengagement.” - Ken Burns
Standing on the sidelines and making witty commentary is much easier than a full-throated engagement in the fray. It’s easy to ridicule what has not worked, it’s much harder to dream up the solutions. So, for many, cynicism has become the default mode.
Cynicism is created when hope meets experience and experience shows hope up. We leave high school or college with grand ideas of how the world can be a better place. We wonder why our parents seemed jaded. We embark on careers full of hope, believing a little inspiration and perspiration go a long way, until many of us hit the walls of organizational politics, bureaucracy, or most depressing of all, people who can’t or don’t want to be helped. Eventually, most of us settle for making a living and doing good where we can. We smile a little at those who still think they can make a difference, but mostly we entertain ourselves with witty, cynical comments.
It’s embarrassing to admit that our dreams of bettering humanity have failed. It’s not the right thing to admit that society is still plagued with poverty, crime, illiteracy, and poor health. Indeed, it seems these problems are likely getting worse. While we lock our doors at night and look for the best schools for our children there is still a part of us that resents ourselves for fleeing instead of engaging the problems. So what do we do?
We all have a beginning – a start date. There was a time when we were not. This fact is frequently brought back to me as I listen to my children. Young as they are, they are fascinated by their birth stories. They find it hard to think there was a time before them. I find it difficult too. They want to find their place in the story.
Adults too are fascinated by our past, and in particular the past of our ancestors. The story of how we came to be is after all not just our story but the story of those who came before us and, directly or indirectly, caused us to be instead of not.
Why do children love to hear about their beginnings? Why do we as adults desire to learn about not just our personal pasts, but the history of our families? I believe we are fascinated by the journey. We want to see how far we have come from Point A. We may not yet have reached Point B, or even know what Point B is, but we want to see progress.
