"In a culture of affluence, people don't necessarily lose the desire to do good. It's worse than that. They don't even recognize the good anymore. They become spiritually blind. They wouldn't recognize true moral goodness if it were in front of them."(R.Rohr "Radical Grace" p.359)
As I looked at this quote, I tried to remember when he wrote it originally. I believe it was sometime in the 80's. I was a teenager in the 80's and would have to say that it was coming off an era of true self indulgence, the late 70's.
If you've ever seen the VH1 show "I love the 80's" you start to have flashbacks as to the kind of mentality we as a people, yes I know sweeping generalization, had.
It was about being noticed, but not for what you did to improve the world, but what you did to get noticed.
Here in 2010, while we slowly come out of a recession, where we just had an election that showed how afraid we are of our economic future, it is hard to see ourselves as an affluent people, even though we still are comparatively speaking.
But I'm also not sure that anything is really all that different. Was there really a time when people sought the common good, and where charity was a natural response to the world's situations. Or has the human condition always made us look out for #1? If the only good we can see is what's good for me, then Fr. Rohr is regrettably right. If there is however the possibility of knowing that the common good still needs to be paid attention to, then there might be hope.
Blessings,
Ed
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Father Ed. Pastor John also hinted at this in his sermon last weekend and it's got me wondering. Is there such a thing as a volunteer? This election in Wenonah has continued the new legacy of slamming elected volunteers with smear ads, has Wenonah lost it's volunteer culture? More personally, am I a volunteer or am I just trying to make myself feel better. When people ask me why I go to the lengths I do to help others, I often joke that it is to help save my own soul to atone for all the bad crap I do on a daily basis; however I really believe part of that. I know I'm a wretch like most others and I hope that through my actions to assist others, God will look down and say, "the kid ain't half bad." I see the need and wish I could fix it all, but have I lost sight of something? Am I too the guy who just wants to look good in the eyes of the masses?
ReplyDeleteI think the level of volunteerism has shrunk it isn't completely dead. Time has become the precious commodity that we guard very carefully. Personally speaking, I gave my time to coaching and scouting, only because my kids were involved.
ReplyDeleteWe also have made it much harder to volunteer.
In terms of our town's political culture, I think it has more to do with having actual elections. The past mythologized "volunteerism" but you could only "volunteer" for that with the right party credentials. That's what changed. And now our town mirrors politcally the national landscape.
As a Christian, I would say that you should keep doing good works for others, because you want to. Your soul through faith in Christ, is already fine. What you do with that salvation should flow naturally from it.