Four events have set me to reflecting on matters spiritual and politics.
- Kathleen Parker recently wrote a column on the death of Senator Ted Kennedy that included the comment that "A Pat Robertson-type, who ...considers universal health care an act of Christian duty...."
- I learned yesterday that the pastor of the wealthiest parish in this diocese wrote in his church bulletin that a conscientions Catholic could not support health care because all the options would fund abortion.
- Two days ago, I encountered a People for Life picketer outside a town meeting. He also said all four bills paid for abortion and that he had read all four. I said I had read the relevant clause in the House bill and tiat its language was unclear but that it did not seem to pay for abortions so long as the Hyde Amendment was in force.
- REcently the Post and the American Spectator revealed that a law firm connected to Liberty University was behind many of the falsehoods being spouted by angry Christians at health care town meetings.
Parker's column contained some useful comments, and she noted that conservatives have a tendency to cite the Old Testament and to be judgmental. I'll return to this later. As for the Pat Robertson-type saying universal health care was a Christian obligation, I believe this possible. Robertson is a savy man, but he would add that in principle it is a Christian duty but that in theis case, the plan is too flawed to support. Parker noted that liberal Christians are more into compassion than conservatives, who are more likely to be judgmental. Probably right.
The People for Life fellow was telling an untruth. Only two of the four bills are out, and the Senate bill clearly does not fund abortions. The texts of the two bills in process are not available. His pamphlet was interesting. It said that no Republicans support universal health care, and the implication was that that was a reason not to support it. This group, which has religious connections, appears to have become an appendage of the Republican Party. Wht impressed me about the man was how angry he was and how closed he was to conversation.
The priest in the wealthy parish was probably expanding upon what his bishop had inaccurately written-- that universal health care would pay for abortions.What bothered me here was how easily these Catholic clergymen were willing to shelve their church's teaching that every human being is created in the image of God and has a basic right to health care. It is as thought they had engaged in no moral calculus at all before reaching the decision to oppose universal health care.
Had they given this some thought, they might have concluded that paying for abortions might result in a few more abortions. But on the other hand, blocking universal health care will deprive almost 50,000,000 human beings of a fundamental right, and it would result in the deaths of some fully developed human beings.
But in the case of these two clergumen, it appears that they engaged in more moral discerenment and did not even take the time to check their facts. They simply relied upon the word of their political allies.
At the town meeting I attended, there was little anger. One fellow was shouting at the end about funding health care for immigrants. And a very gentle man I know surprised me greatly by silencing another ranter. What struck me as so intersting was that these people refused to believe anything Senator Casey said, even when he read them chapter and verse. The good senator on each occasion looked up page numbers and section numbers and urged questioners to read the Dodd Commmittee's bill. It was so clear that were not likely to follow his suggestion.
All this led me to reflect on what "spiritual" really means. Clearly, conservative Christians have involvement with spirits. They believe in God and angels and they think about the meanings of existence. But "spiritual" also involves thinking about our relationships with others and responsibilities to community. It is almost as though, liberal and conseervative Christians have somehow split the meanings of "spirituality."
It helps this writer to borrow meanings from the followers of Hegel, who saw eternal conflicts between spiritual forces. Material forces would include forms of religion that mainly reinforce nationalism and capitalism while encouraging people to see religion mainly as a means of obtain divine help for personal prosperity and welfare. Not all of that is necessarily bad. A purer form of spirituality looks to peace, justice, and compassion toward others. Maybe these notions represent poles on a horizontal scale. In trying to understand all of this, one can borrow from Freud, who thought that humans are basically pretty aggressive and at base want to impose their wills on others, take their goods, and use them sexually against their wills. In my view, positive spirituality prevents us from regression to that basic condition.
Since the 1970s, American culture and politics have moved into a very materialistic phase. One can only guess the the extent to which this change was orchestrated by the conservative think tanks. It is not surprising that progressive Christianity is in sharp decline or that churchmen have had a lot more to say against universal health care than for it. It is difficult to see on the horizon forces that will restore mercy, justice, and compassion to the important places they sometimes have had in American Christianity.
The passing of Edward Kennedy underscored the fact that this great man was inspired by values that seemed no longer paramount to his church or to most other American Christians. If you doubt this, try to count the times lately you have heard churchmen insist that universal health care must be the birthright of every person.