No one in America, or so it seems, can escape the ubiquitous impact of cynicism and distrust, violence and fear, intemperance and injustice, and the isolation and aloneness that ravages so much of our national life. Statistics on homelessness, substance abuse, youth violence, corruption within the family, and the litany of social and economic inequities have long told this tale but only through numbers.
Yet lurking in the shadows lies the specter of the autonomous individual. Anthropological atomism is embedded in American culture, and it acts as the wellspring of a spiritual alienation that rages unabated like a firestorm across the land. Its alluring dynamic fragments and distorts the nation’s institutions. It corrupts the lives of present and future generations. In every respect, its impact constitutes a serious intellectual, moral, and cultural challenge to an integral America.
Faced with this reality, Americans carry a greater burden in their hearts and minds than they do on their backs. Alienation or love, pride or humility, indifference or compassion, judgment or mercy – these disjunctive qualities give form to the decisions we make in all aspects of our lives. Whether rich or poor, socially placed or displaced, educated or uneducated, religious, agnostic, or atheist — whether Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American — each person wrestles with the transcendent nature of decision. At every juncture, we act to incarnate perfecting qualities into our being and relations — or act not to do so.
Yet no matter how we choose, the universality intrinsic to decision offers an enduring reminder that spiritual qualities are the substance of every thought we consider, every action we undertake, every relationship we establish, and every form we make concrete. So it matters greatly whether our thoughts, actions, relations, or creations are suffused with alienation or love, indifference or compassion, judgment or mercy. For it is out of the dialectical clash of these contradictory qualities that decisions are made and outcomes are formed. And no matter how we choose, a force is unleashed by our decision that impacts the quality of our being and the integrity of every person and object we engage.
Thus even the slightest tinge of indifference to another has the potential to sour one’s own life. But it can do much more. It can cause radical and enduring disruptions in the lives of others. Indeed, if the dynamics of spiritual alienation gain sufficient strength its effects can ripple throughout society. When this happens, the collective intensity of its impact can mature to where fragmentation will distort the living dynamics of the individual, the integrity of institutional life, and the moral fabric of the nation. As statistics indicate, spiritual alienation already reflects the heart and soul of our national predicament.
What desperately needs healing in America then is not just this or that individual, or this or that group. Nor is it this or that value, or this or that institution. Nor is it this or that policy, or this or that leader. No, it is the very soul and culture of America itself — a soul and culture whose ethos pours from the autonomous individual and erupts into the dynamics of spiritual alienation — that cries out most loudly to be healed.
But to heal America, it is necessary to realize that an affliction of the spirit can never be alleviated by an institutional reform. Nor can it be substantially lessened by a reaffirmation of traditional values or the cardinal virtues. Even less can it be assuaged by an effort to restore time-honored customs and practices. Such stratagems have been tried and found wanting. Yet in every failure, the impediment to success remained the same: America’s predicament transcends the reach of such perfunctory solutions. Legitimacy in the nation’s social, institutional, and moral life can only be restored by a collective process of healing spiritual alienation. Ultimately, this involves an intellectual, moral, and cultural transformation.
But short of radical change, certain habits can be cultivated that will make some difference. Especially fitting is the building of perfecting relations. Each of us, and all together, can extend the gift of self to others through simple acts of love, compassion, understanding, and mercy, and do so without any condition or expectation whatsoever. The building of such relations would truly honor the work of the Spirit in the hard march of man.
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