By Tess GC Both the Christian Left and the non-religious Left have a moralizing problem, and this new year seems like a good time to talk about it. I’m feeling, and I think many of you are too, exhausted by social media, and exhausted by enraging world events we have little control over.
Thank you for this! I’ve been thinking a lot about the culture of shaming and guilting on the left--the notion that if you aren’t doing x then you aren’t doing “enough.” I understand the frustration. The feeling that these assholes are just sitting around doing nothing while we witness atrocity. And there’s an important value in asking others to act against injustice to build power for the larger movement. But like you’ve said, motivating people from a place of shame and guilt does not germinate seeds of compassion and justice and persistence. We have not developed good tools for processing guilt/shame in American society--when these emotions are invoked, we react hastily and without much thought in whichever manner we think can resolve the discomfort. There is a time for shame and guilt--especially towards those who hold real power and are wielding it irresponsibly. But so many of us are just trying to get through the day. A movement for liberation must connect us, bring people in by saying “i see you in your struggle--join us and let us build a network of community and society that supports us all.” it must light the fire in people that justice IS possible and can be attained when we work together. Liberation will never arrive from a movement that distinguishes the haves from the have nots; the “moral” from the irresponsible/lazy/immoral. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Our society is very inclined towards essentialist thinking--that bad actions make a bad person, that those not already fighting for justice are fundamentally ignorant and against us. Our actions have consequences and we are capable of great harm to one another, but i believe every human being, every real person who’s not presently captured by corporate interests, is capable of change and capable of good. We cannot win this fight by pushing our fellow people away. One needs no greater lesson than Catholic guilt! I still feel its tendrils on my psyche and it only serves to limit my sight, scrape at my sense of self worth and tell me that I, as i am, am not good enough. Every single one of us is worthy of life and love and care because we are here. Nothing more and certainly nothing less.
Jesus was crucified by a Roman governor because he challenged the political and moral authority of Rome. Pontius Pilate was a governor who so viciously oppressed the Jews that the Emperor Caligula recalled him a few years after Jesus' death, if that tells you anything about his character.
Whenever Christians stand up for the poor and the downtrodden, they are my valuable allies. Whenever they support authoritarianism, they lose me.
I guess I'm trying to say, moralize all you want, so long as that moralizing is consistent with Jesus of Nazareth's teachings on how other people should be treated. Jesus is every bit as revolutionary as Marx.
Thank you for this! I’ve been thinking a lot about the culture of shaming and guilting on the left--the notion that if you aren’t doing x then you aren’t doing “enough.” I understand the frustration. The feeling that these assholes are just sitting around doing nothing while we witness atrocity. And there’s an important value in asking others to act against injustice to build power for the larger movement. But like you’ve said, motivating people from a place of shame and guilt does not germinate seeds of compassion and justice and persistence. We have not developed good tools for processing guilt/shame in American society--when these emotions are invoked, we react hastily and without much thought in whichever manner we think can resolve the discomfort. There is a time for shame and guilt--especially towards those who hold real power and are wielding it irresponsibly. But so many of us are just trying to get through the day. A movement for liberation must connect us, bring people in by saying “i see you in your struggle--join us and let us build a network of community and society that supports us all.” it must light the fire in people that justice IS possible and can be attained when we work together. Liberation will never arrive from a movement that distinguishes the haves from the have nots; the “moral” from the irresponsible/lazy/immoral. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Our society is very inclined towards essentialist thinking--that bad actions make a bad person, that those not already fighting for justice are fundamentally ignorant and against us. Our actions have consequences and we are capable of great harm to one another, but i believe every human being, every real person who’s not presently captured by corporate interests, is capable of change and capable of good. We cannot win this fight by pushing our fellow people away. One needs no greater lesson than Catholic guilt! I still feel its tendrils on my psyche and it only serves to limit my sight, scrape at my sense of self worth and tell me that I, as i am, am not good enough. Every single one of us is worthy of life and love and care because we are here. Nothing more and certainly nothing less.
As always, totally nailed it. Thank you.
Jesus was crucified by a Roman governor because he challenged the political and moral authority of Rome. Pontius Pilate was a governor who so viciously oppressed the Jews that the Emperor Caligula recalled him a few years after Jesus' death, if that tells you anything about his character.
Whenever Christians stand up for the poor and the downtrodden, they are my valuable allies. Whenever they support authoritarianism, they lose me.
I guess I'm trying to say, moralize all you want, so long as that moralizing is consistent with Jesus of Nazareth's teachings on how other people should be treated. Jesus is every bit as revolutionary as Marx.