Rodeo Season in America

Although I come from a long time West Texas family I confess that we were not of the horses and cattle sort of Texans. More doctors, educators, and journalists to be honest. But I still love my boots and watching a good rodeo – because the culture of cattle and horses belongs to the deepest essence of not merely Texas, but American civilization from Patagonia to Alberta.

And that means, among many other things, sorting out cattle. Cattle want to  stay in herds and they strongly resist being torn away from their herd. But a skilled cowboy, or gaucho on a skilled horse can do it, peeling away one cow after another or simply dividing the herd in two..

Well it is rodeo season in American politics. As we get ready for another national election, politicians and their supporters are once again seeking out those wedges that can be used to split the electorate and hopefully drive some smaller or larger group into their camp, and ultimately into the voting booth.

Our Christian religious leaders appear to be every bit as anxious as the politicians to make these divisions happen, and are adding their own particular specialty, dividing good and evil. Nothing drives a political wedge more decisively than assuring one group that they are good and that their opponents are evil. And hammering that wedge in the with the specious use of Bible passages is a specialty of many American pastors. It has helped make us a nation that will soon have more denominations than Christians.

The problem is that dividing good from evil is ethically trivial. No culture in the world lacks this knowledge, and any kindergartner knows the basics. If that is all the ethics a pastor learned doing an MDiv she or he ought to ask for a refund from the seminary.

Anyway, driving a wedge between church members is hateful and driving a wedge between citizens is politically destructive. And that is wrong.

Every single wedge issue dividing America and our churches involves not a choice between good and evil, but between good and good. Whether it is abortion, gay marriage, immigration, negotiations with Iran, welfare, religious pluralism, war, or health care, the choices are not between good and evil. Our choices are  are between conflicting goods. They are not between good people and evil people, they are between good people who prioritize their goods differently.

Choosing between two good is ethically challenging, but it is also spiritual rewarding. When we are conscious that we dealing with conflicting goods we can see the whole breadth of God’s providential goodness among humankind. We can see the manifold ways that God is drawing us toward God’s reign rather that just our own narrow paths. And most importantly, we can cultivate the positive virtue of Christian and national unity.

When we Christians actually become involved in, and foster, that positive conversation we might begin to be taken seriously not just by the wedge driving politicians seeking our help in gaining votes, but the growing group of Americans who justifiably find our our divisiveness, and the ugliness of the debates we carry on Christ’s name, repellant.