I am not sure about democracy anymore

An odd title, I guess. Let me explain. My wife and I spent a couple hours today participating in the political process. Actually she did this for a few more hours yesterday, but together we walked the streets of our neighborhood and handed out leaflets for a city council candidate. We have no problem supporting this candidate, and I want to believe in this system, but the day's work left me a little cold.

I guess I am becoming less and less enamored by the democratic system. Consider my local community. Local politics appears to be dominated by people with money. Land developers and rental property owners seem to get their way most often. In fact, besides the hard core participants on the left--most of the people who participate have a financial stake. They participate because it is in their financial best interest to. That strikes me as problematic. Not to say that that isn't part of it, but it appears to be all of it. and that depresses me. So, here I walk, putting leaflets in the door, wondering if there is anything to be gained.

That feeling was enhanced by a couple of events lately. Yesterday, while talking to a neighbor, we disagreed over a local councilman. She and I have more in common politically than in difference, and there are numerous reasons that she might have problems with this man, yet I found the exchange frustrating and disturbing. Here we had completely divergent views on our political system and I found myself wondering if there was anyway that the political system can work without dividing us.

The other event was the entire hubbub over the Passion film. I have written much about it here and elsewhere and was probably approaching the obsession point. Certainly, there is much range of reasonable disagreement over this film. Those who defend it as a limited view of an important event, and who don't see it as anti-semetic are reasonable people. They find great meaning in the reminder of the Lord's sacrifice. I am ok with that. I am also struck by the few who have noted how compassionate the film made them toward others--toward those killed in the Holocaust, or the African slaves who suffered greatly to build America. If that is the result, then the film will have accomplished something besides make a rich star even richer.

But it is that other story that bothers me. The evangelicals who respond to their critics with "they are just afraid of the truth," or "Jesus said we would be persecuted." That level of arrogance--just dismissing their critics is so devoid of the grace of their faith. If they cannot muster compassion for those who find the film frightening or disturbing, then they are pretty poor christians in my book.

So how did a discussion of politics and democracy become one about the passion and evangelicals? I am not sure, but I know that as I was going through all this, the connection was clear in my mind. Politics, religion, capitalism--they have all merged in a way that makes me very unsettled. Religious people are completely unbothered by the selling of Passion related crap--making money off this doesn't bother them. And why should it, I guess? If they are not bothered by a McDonalds in a church, or a Starbucks in a church, why blink at this? Jesus kicked the moneychangers out of the temple, but our current religious institution would only do that if those selling were selling porn or drugs. The nature of religious language is just that way. We are all taught about the Phillistines, and warned of the modern day versions, but no one actually sees themselves in that role. The moneychangers, therefore, are elsewhere--not in our church or faith.

That is what bothers me the most. If you use the language of religion, you can gloss over just about anything. What might be crass consumerism is now selling a religious artifact. What would just be shopping, becomes an expression of a deeper faith--albeit at $12.95. Faith, it appears, is just as much for sale as anything else. And that faith, therefore is easily bought and manipulated by political agents. And don't tell me that doesn't happen. While writing this, I flipped through some channels and watched a Texas evangelist endorse the movie, endorse GWB--all from the pulpit, and all with an open Bible in one hand.

It all bothers me, and I am also aware that none of it is new. Americans have had a messy democracy for their entire history. And, as my recent readings tell me, our lack of a theological foundation is also not new. It still bothers me.