Reversing the Move Toward Empire
The Election is Over: Now What?
This is a talk I gave in November 2004 (right after the presidential elections) to a group of mothers of small children who met once a month to discuss topics of importance to them. In it I identify some of the issues of American Empire and begin to think about how we might find hope.
I feel very privileged to be with you this morning. From what little Katharine has told me about you as a group, I’m humbled by your choices to take time out from careers in order to be better parents yet still keep yourself informed by these meetings regularly. I long for the day when all parents will have the opportunities to make such choices.
I also feel a bit intimidated to speak to you about the topic we’ve chosen. Much of what I say will be depressing and provocative, and I’m uncertain of its propriety here … especially the day before Thanksgiving. I should warn you: I’m not going to tie all of this up on an optimistic note. I would ask only that you try to stay with me and understand what I’m saying (even if you disagree strongly). I expect a lively exchange after I’ve finished my prepared remarks.
The Coming Exile
There are times in history when a society’s blindness to the evil of its choices becomes so complete that later generations can only wonder, “How could so manyhave refused to see?” Apartheid in South Africa, segregation in the United States, and Nazism in Germany are three recent examples. Why didn’t people see what was happening and do something about it?
It’s sobering to remember that during each of those times the Christian Church was right there in the middle—the South African Dutch Reformed Church, the segregated church in the US, the National Socialist Church in Germany—not, unfortunately, as a voice against the evil, not even as a silent bystander looking the other way, but as an active apologist for the sin of the culture.
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