Another Government is Good Note

One of the minor themes I've been pursuing in RPK is that government is a necessary and generally good thing (see the first posting on this subject here).  The response of local, state, and federal government agencies—up to and including the once mightily despised FEMA—to Hurricane cum Tropical Storm Irene affords an opportunity to beat the government is good drum again.  According to a CNN news report (here), "...authorities at all levels of government are winning praise for their handling of Hurricane Irene." Those who "hate bureaucracy" and think of it as being only riddled with waste and fraud really need to step back and think again. In the last week, tens of millions of Americans have benefitted from government in a time of crisis when only government could do all the things necessary to cope with a major natural disaster. Churches couldn't have coped. Big business wouldn't have coped. There are many things that only government can do in the name of the people, and some folks in Washington are throwing the baby out with the bathwater in their ideological drive to cripple government by cutting spending. End of rant.

Zero Sum Dialogue

Politics as it is being played in our nation today has become what in theological terms we can only call "zero sum dialogue," which is the worst kind of dialogue there is.  Dialogue in religious circles is an exercise in listening and reflection in which individuals share their faith with those of another faith.  The goal is deeper understanding of both the other's faith and our own faith.  It is a peacemaking exercise.

On issue after issue, what we see happening in Washington and in the state caiptals is a forced dialogue concerning the very nature of government.  Small Government Conservatives are battling it out with Big Government Liberals in what Charles Krauthammer calls, "a once-in-a-generation debate about the nature of the welfare state." (here)  We've seen this forced dialogue at its most intense in the debate over the debt ceiling.  Because a decision had to be made given the potential economic (and political) risks, the two sides had to engage each other.  Each side had to moderate its expectations, demands, and ideology to accommodate the other side.  They had to listen and understand each other—at least, do a degree.  But the result has left the country more divided, angrier, and less peaceful rather than more.  It was and remains dialogue at gunpoint.

Zero sum dialogue frustrates the movement of the Holy Spirit.  It is thus profoundly uninspired and uninspiring.  It bruises egos.  It leaves a bad taste in the mouth.  It does not heal.  When we compromise In The Spirit everyone wins.  Conflict is dampened if not resolved.  When we compromise Without The Spirit everyone involved ultimately loses, and we lurch on to the next fight and the one after that and the one after that.  Conflict without end.