Truth in the Trenches
Raised in the white-bread-middle-class-heartland, I grew up assuming that democracy was akin to godliness and that majority rule, if not always sweet, was fair. As a girl child with three brothers, I knew both the bane and blessing of minority status. Given that our television (remember the days when we had just one?) was dominated by ‘Planet of the Apes’, I should have been more suspicious. Still I trusted that in some cosmic sense the majority would make the reputable choice.
It was not until Lani Guinier was nominated for Attorney General that I really considered the limits of majority rule. Guinier is a brilliant lawyer whom Bill Clinton tapped for Lawyer-in-Chief during his first term. Guinier was not only brilliant she was black and female. All things seemed possible to me as I watched her take the stage. As a black woman, Guinier knew the bitter underbelly of majority rule; as an accomplished attorney, Guinier had once published on the inherent injustice in a simple majority rules style democracy. I was mesmerized, she was right. The injustice she stated so simply was one of many elephants that graced our lives without our notice. The majority of Americans, of course, did not like her thesis and did not want her as Lawyer-in-chief. Her name was withdrawn.
Guinier’s name faded from the headlines, but the lesson was learned and from that point on I began to search for truth around the edges. This might be good practice for private investigators and diagnosticians, but this margin-focus has some liabilities for a theologian.
For the past four Sundays, I preached on various phrases within the Apostle’s Creed, attempting to look at the ancient professions with our post-modern questions.
What does it mean to call God “good” and “Creator” in a post-Tsunami world?
When did Jesus become Christ and why?
Is ‘hell’ a relevant metaphor?
Are we accountable for our nation’s current warring madness?
I have enjoyed working through the creed, much more than I anticipated. Still, when I look at the creed as words on the page I remain frustrated and I long to hear the rest of the story. Creeds, much like history books, are the documents of the victors. When theological tensions erupt, the dominant leader commissions a new creed to reflect the prevailing view. Given that I typically find my historic heroes burned at the stake, the creeds that have survived the witch-hunts are rarely reflective of a theology that I would espouse. The majority may win but it is sometimes tragically misguided.
As I consider the moral landscape of our nation, I am less concerned about percentages than about justice, less interested in the winners than in the voices not yet heard. Frankly, I do not care where public opinion rests in regards to Alberto Gonzales but I would very much like to hear both his understanding of Guinier’s writings and her interpretation of his. Truth does not belong to the margins any more than it belongs to the majority. Truth, for me, becomes evident in the dialogue.
