Gorging On Politics
Related Audio/Video Downloads
http://breakpoint.org/media/dkContent/6756/071807_BP.mp3
Does Every Problem Have a Political Solution?
If you're not already weary of the 2008 presidential election
campaign-some 18 months before we vote-you must be living in a cave
without cable or Internet access.
The 2008 campaign began the day after the 2006 election, making this the
first non-stop presidential campaign in history. The media, desperate to
sustain interest in it, is reduced to pursuing such earth-shattering
stories as: Which candidate owns the most pets? The answer: John McCain
with three turtles, three parakeets, two dogs, and a ferret.
Even Christians, this early, seem frantic over who's going to be
nominated. Have we finally succumbed to what Jacques Ellul, the eccentric
French reformed thinker, prophesied in the '60s? Ellul foresaw the
Information Age and the need of the media for a steady flow of information
to feed the populace. It would therefore gravitate, he said, to covering
centers of power. Politicians would be willing accomplices because they'd
gain fame and clout.
All of this has created what Ellul titled his prophetic book, The
Political Illusion, the idea that every problem has a political solution.
He warned that this would lead to increasing dependence on the state by
ordinary citizens and decreasing citizen control of government.
This has proven prophetic. From Kennedy's New Frontier to LBJ's Great
Society to President Bush's No Child Left Behind initiative, the
challenger promises new programs, and, when elected, has to deliver. The
result is that program piles upon program, agency upon agency; the whole
structure of government becomes so unwieldy it can hardly function. We saw
this happen in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I fear we might see it again
during another terrorist attack.
While a political obsession might be good for keeping the talking heads
busy on television, citizens are the ultimate losers. Virtually everybody
has to deal with government, whether obtaining a driver's license or
opening a business. We often end up locked in bureaucratic gridlock, even
over minor issues-just what Ellul predicted.
But the real evil of the illusion is that it distracts us from other
aspects of life. Politics are important, of course: Christians have a duty
to be the best of citizens, bringing concerns of justice and righteousness
into public life. But we have to keep political activity in perspective,
seeing that it fills the proper role in what Protestant reformers labeled
"sphere sovereignty."
Each sphere-family, church, and government-must carry out its own
responsibility before God. This means we must guard against government
encroachment on other spheres. And we must not let the political illusion
blind us to what makes life rich and meaningful: family, church, and
community. In short, culture.
Politics is, after all, only an expression of culture. It can never be the
ultimate source of meaning and influence in any society if people wish to
remain free.
Perhaps, after this endless and exhausting presidential campaign,
Americans may be so gorged on politics that we'll finally say "enough!"
I'm already saying it, and I refuse to speculate about the campaign. And
then maybe we will reject the promises of political messiahs in favor of
building up crumbling cultural infrastructure-our families, our churches,
and communities. And Christians who understand the balance between
politics and culture can help open our neighbors' eyes to the fact that
there is more to life than non-stop politics.
By Chuck Colson
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chuck Colson, God & Government (Zondervan, 2007).
For Further Reading and Information
"2008 Campaign: Little Changed After 6 Months, But Get Ready For a Long,
Hot Summer," Austin-American Statesmen, 3 June 2007.
"Presidential Race Off to an Early Start," Online News Hour, 12 February
2007.
"In Campaign 2008, Candidates Starting Earlier, Spending More," Washington
Post, 7 February 2007.
David Wayne, "Politics and the Problems in Our World," Blogcritics
Magazine, 6 June 2005.
Ann Morse, "Sphere Sovereignity and Girly Drinks," The Point, 12 May 2007.
Breakpoint Commentary No. 070606, "Mudslinging and Dirty Politics: Should
Christians go into Politics?"
Breakpoint Commentary No. 061101, "Is It a Sin not to Vote: Christians in
the Public Square."
.
|
