Reconciling the races in postmodernity
Friday, 12 January 2001 14:55 (ET)
Reconciling the races in postmodernity
By J.C. WATTS, JR.
(Editor's note: This is the seventh installment of the UPI series,
"Christ and postmodernity, where authors propose theological solutions for
this era's most daunting problem: the profusion of subjective "truths." This
article has been written with the upcoming Martin Luther King Day in mind.)
WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- We are in the midst of an awesome
counterrevolution to the liberal upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s that
radically changed the way the world views and treats the family and
traditional values. It is a fascinating period to be a part of, as we are
witnessing a resurgence of love of country, humanity and most importantly,
God.
This counterrevolution takes place in an era we call postmodernity. On one
hand this is a chaotic epoch marked by millions of homemade, subjective
"truths" and values. They can change at an instant at everybody's whim. On
the other hand, postmodernity has turned against the cold, rational thinking
of the scientific age, an attitude that prevailed for most of the last 200
years since the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution.
Postmodernity no longer dismisses the transcendent, and this is one aspect
of our time I applaud. It has brought us a renewed devotion to Jesus Christ.
There is certainly much more to be accomplished. Even in this postmodern
age, society is far from wholesome. The struggle continues for racial
healing, especially in the United States, and the agenda for healing a
fragmented world is quite heavy. But faith in God, I believe, will get us
through this complex predicament.
In America, we recently experienced an election that became polarizing and
divisive. Even with such occurrences as Cabinet appointments, there is a
massive movement from those who constantly seek to divide rather than unite
mankind. The rhetoric, much of it hate-filled, even stems from those who
profess to be ministers of the Lord.
But the only way we can truly bring peace and reconciliation to such
turbulence is faith in God and a return to traditional values, starting with
the family.
The family is the core unit of society. If we denigrate the family, we
rebel against what is natural and what is holy. We should instead focus on
the most revered family of all, the Holy Family, and imitate the roles of
Jesus, Mary and Joseph -- child, mother and father most perfect.
If we could emulate their devotion even a fraction of the way, the world
would be a much better place in which to live. Jesus Christ has shown us the
way, truth and light. It is up to us to live up to what He gave His life for
in order to offer salvation to those who follow His ways.
Having said what I believe we should accomplish, let us examine what we
already have done. We have seen communism eliminated almost in its entirety.
The God-less government is becoming an institution for only the history
books, as the twentieth century experiment has failed miserably.
For years, the Soviet Union persecuted religious people in the cruelest of
forms. Eastern Europe was a hotbed of brutish atheism. The world, led by the
United States, fought the Cold War and brought down the Berlin Wall.
Christianity is beginning to thrive yet again for people who until a few
years ago never knew what freedom was about.
China and Cuba are countries we should continue to pray for. In the
postmodern era that many of us enjoy, these two countries are still fighting
anti-Christian forces in their governments.
Although progress has been made in each country, there lacks an uncensored
freedom of religious devotion. But they will join us, I am sure, in this new
era. Their faith ultimately controls their lives. They are guided by a
direction to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and will prevail over the
forces of evil.
Another area apparent in this postmodern age is the return of traditional
values in art and music. It is so refreshing to see young painters, singers
and other artisans returning to religious and classical themes in their
work.
The 1960s and 70s brought avant-garde tastes that questioned whether or
not talent was involved, or if the public subsidies for the works had merely
eliminated the capitalist forces that control supply and demand.
But the younger generation, at least in America, are noticeably more. This
is rooted in religion, politics and other personal beliefs that shape the
output of their work and the direction in which we are headed. I thank God
to be alive in such an awesome time!
Let us now focus on a subject of great importance to me personally, that
is, of race. Blacks are overwhelmingly Christian people who work to love and
serve Christ on a daily basis. We have endured much suffering and
persecution.
But we, at least in America, are free and equal in the eyes of the ruling
authorities. Not all nations can profess to this important premise, and I
pray that injustices such as slavery in the Sudan will come to a grinding
halt in the new millennium.
Reconciliation through Christ is the recipe for blacks as we seek to enjoy
the prosperity of the world. Only through Him may we have the guidance and
stamina to fight discrimination, poverty and injustice.
Only through Him can we reclaim our neighborhoods from crime, rebuild our
families from breakups and reclaim our Christ-based respect for the
right-to-life. Postmodernity is about ending chaos and upheaval, which
blacks are certainly in favor of accomplishing.
As a lawmaker and member of leadership in the United States House of
Representatives, I have stressed a goal of not just containing liberalism,
but transcending it. We should not just reduce the costs of government, but
change its very nature. And we ought not just urge people toward reduced
expectations, but toward greater and bolder dreams.
If we are to continue the trend of restoring society, we must strive to
restore the original meaning of Martin Luther King Jr.'s words when he urged
all Americans to judge people by the content of their character rather than
the color of their skin.
To do so, we must recognize that the struggle for civil rights today is
not strictly about legal rights but about expanding the reach of economic
opportunity and restoring respect for traditional values.
Someone once commented to me that America does not have a race problem; we
have a grace problem. It is going to take a lot of grace to create the
American Dream for all people - red, brown, yellow, black and white.
Grace signifies good will and benevolence. It designates every favor,
which proceeds from this benevolence and, consequently, every gratuitous
gift. Grace stands for charm and attractiveness. And it represents
thanksgiving. This is exhibited, for instance, when we say "grace" before
and after meals.
The world would be a lot better off if we exhibited much more grace and
graciousness. Combined with faith, hope and charity, we can make a
difference as this new era brings new opportunities. Jesus Christ must be
our guide.
Our Savior must be our leader. We must follow His teachings, not the
distortions of man, and obey the commandments and traditions handed down to
us.
If Christ is our light, we can reconstruct postmodern chaos into peace and
heal our ethnically fragmented society.
(Congressman J.C. Watts, Jr., (R-Okla.) is chairman of the House
Republican Conference and an ordained Southern Baptist minister) |
