The Politics and Ecclesiology of Nonsense

The Politics and Ecclesiology of Nonsense

Rev. Douglas Olds

“Modern Foolishness is not ignorance. Modern Foolishness is the absence of doubt about convention.” --Gustave Flaubert

"Truly, whoever is able to make you absurd is able to make you unjust."  -Voltaire

The Observer Effect in physics notes that there is no closed system that can be studied without involving the observer of that system.  Both the system and the observer are changed and involved once the relationship is established. I wonder if, as an implication of the "Observer Effect" in physical systems, we stop paying attention to political theatrics and stop participating in the immediate polling measurements of those theatrics (whether by Gallup or by "likes" on Facebook), then the farce of our current governance would revert to some semblance of historical and deliberative sanity.  By posing this question, I'm not advocating citizens become ignorant to what matters, but that we avert our eyes from the nonsense so that narcissists no longer run for elective office, and serious people are free to take a longer-term view of our nation's common good and future. We turn nonsense into a black hole. No longer would we respond to grandstanding, publicity seeking, electoral handicapping and horse races, trial balloons from "highly placed sources," and celebrity-obsessed media profiles of the hobbies, habits, and haberdashery of officials.  We would instead focus solely on the substance of policy deliberations, like here, devoid of personalities, so that the mere fact of our observation of policy would change that policy in the direction of the majority of the observers' intentions. If government has any claim to be a rational system, substantive Observational Politics would serve both seriousness in solving real problems and democracy.

Now Observational Politics is not sufficient, but it is necessary, to humanizing national life.  It is a foundation for both community organizing for political reform and for individual petitioning the courts and government agencies to restore Constitutionality when rights are transgressed.  Observational Politics such as I propose requires an informed citizenry so that education supports citizenship beyond indoctrination into marketplace consumerism.  Education for citizenship would promote seriousness of public action and reflection and would give citizens the tools to engage the substance of policy alternatives (not the personality or leadership qualities of policy sponsors) and make confident choices among them.

In a real sense, this call to education and Observational seriousness is identical to a call by pastors for their congregations to read the Bible.  Serious pastors, as opposed to narcissistic posturers, know that Bible interpretation is too important to the salvation of sinner and society to be left in the hands of one authoritarian claimant who rules the pulpit.  It is those churches that accept without reflection or fact-checking the claims of their pastor that he or she is the bearer of proper interpretation and authority that seem to me to lead their followers toward theological nonsense. Some theological nonsense: that our Lord wants a military showdown in some area of the globe in order to launch Armageddon, and that we in the church ought to not only pray for such a showdown, we should promote it by supporting and enabling militarists in society. (Or that the Gospel is get rich scheme.)  I am confident that if churchgoers read the Bible, most of us will understand that the Sermon on the Mount has not been superseded by the Two Swords Doctrine of the Constantinian Papal Church. More simply stated, I believe that the more churchgoers read the substance of the Bible, the more they will be convinced of the peacefulness of Jesus's teaching and will better be able to reform or ignore the authoritarian pastor's assurance that Jesus wants an authoritarian dominion on Earth (or North America) won by force of military or police arms. Such a dominion was tried in the Middle Ages in Europe, with the consequence of oppressive politics enacting simony, purchasing your loved ones out of Hell, and barbaric and homicidal penance.

Through a study of history and my theological tradition, I believe nonsense and authority have been inextricably linked.  A role player in an authoritarian system cannot allow himself to be seen as fallible, and thus rare is the question  from below that is met with the humility of "I don't Know, " or "It's a mystery to me and mine, what do you think?," or "I commit to get back to you," or "More study clearly is needed," but rather the authority resolves to elevate his person, office, and produce above the free and critical thought of others. Nonsense results. When nonsense fails tactically, I'm afraid that punitive retribution and violence is the alternative of quick resort.  So that when nonsense is present, there is underneath rarely if ever the humility of a vanquished inerrancy, but rather the narcissist-authority's need to remain on top heedless of the costs to peace and justice. Nonsense thus should not in every case be laughed at or ridiculed. It masks and precedes something more sinister.

My theological tradition grasps this in its teaching about the demonic force opposed to the Goodness and Rationality of the Creation.  The Satanic Adversary is a trickster, accuser, and a death-dealing rapist by turns, veering among the tactics of authoritarian domination. From my study of it, war is engaged by many of its truthful participants and diarists as an intensive mix of these demonic features. The testimony of PTSD and Guilty Survivor syndromes suggest that the hyperviolence of the battlefield is characterized by a nonsensical pattern of who lives and who dies.  The outcome of battle is impossible to predict regardless of the resources applied, and it is germane to this chaotic nature of war that history's most economically and technologically advanced (and nominally Christianized) military has failed to vanquish a national enemy since 1945 (save Grenada and Panama in the 1980s).

War is demonic and  all-too-rapidly evolves into total war, which is completely demonic.  Our current American society is haunted by war; it has become a massively militarized society and economy beyond historical precedent (I include homeland security, surveillance, contractor, and debt on present and past wars to the economies of direct corporate purveyors of militarism).  U.S. wars have recently been long-lived, pre-emptive and aggressive in contradiction to U.N. Charter and thus violate global standards of humanity, and have involved the targeting and torture of non-combatants, both violations of the Geneva Convention ratified by the U.S. and under Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution illegal.  These situations can cause existential distress and even dysfunction in all but the most ignorant or spiritless of citizens and civil society.

Added are the implications of pervasive lying by the militarized and surveilling authorities regarding the rationale for constant war-- the nonsense, authoritarianism, secrecy, punitive incarceration and harsh prosecution of misdemeanors,  Truth appears to be the first casualty of war, followed inevitably by war fatigue that causes Observational Seriousness, oversight, and accountability to wane. Yet it is during war that we must be most serious and vigilant, most committed to the written, sworn, and non-alterable records and requirements of multiply sourced, reliable hard evidence.  The features of the demonic are linked, and their rapid escalation in society since 9/11 suggests that nonsense, authoritarianism, lying, and punitive violence come together when a society is in danger of rapid decline or outright failing--when the demonic has gained a tactical victory and critical toehold in society.  As Conservatives often claim, the U.S. may indeed be under God's judgement.  We can argue original causes.  I will say I personally shudder for the fates of the architects of preemptive war, torture and domination based on lies who hypocritically hurl the accusation of personal irresponsibility at those honest folk made jobless,impoverished, limbless, orphaned, childless, mentally disabled or ill by the ravages and the structural adjustment of the debt- and derivative-financed war economy. Compared to this, any putative sin attested to (homo)sexuality bringing forth God's judgment on America seems to me trivial and insulting (more nonsense!) to human suffering and to God's righteous name and glorious love.

Yet if our society is in a fitful or rapid decline brought on by these forces, the demonic has a meaningless victory, like Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. For the peace has already been settled. Peace will prevail.  God has so mandated from the Cross of Christ. The meek shall see it.  Opposite of authoritarian narcissist, the meek know the power and the promises of God.  The meek have no truck with the demonic, and thus are serious, without nonsense (though not without levity), without insincerity and without death-dealing weapons.  They do not punish, but they forgive and turn the other cheek.  By these, you shall know them. And by their opposite you shall know the dead.

Avert your eyes from nonsense. Observing it sucks you into its black hole.  No good can come from nonsense.  There are no tactics to learn from it. Walk on the other side of the street from insincerity.  Demand a higher burden of proof from those justifying aggression than from peace workers.  Become educated into the substance of policy and less focused on honors, medals, and testimonials attributed to celebrities. Don't be afraid to come out of oppressive institutions, to start telling the truth if you've been captive to lies. Jesus has proclaimed release to those captives. It's not too late to come forth from their prison.  Dream of what you can gain--treasure and an integrity of character that survives death. While it's often been said that the only thing certain about life is death and taxes, I believe to that we should add truth.  The liars cannot win.  That's certain.