The eCrozier

There are some men and women who have lived forty or fifty years in the world and have had scarcely one hour’s discourse with their hearts all the while.
– John Flavel in Keeping the Heart

The cure for our current cultural anxiety is often addressed by economists and political scientists with reductionist proposals from their own disciplines (not surprising). An economist might see the answer as being better tax policy or lower debt. The political scientist might view it as ending voter apathy or gerrymandered congressional districts. I’m not suggesting those aren’t worthy issues to address, but they won’t adequately deal with the profound predicament we’re facing. A deeper, collective soul ailment is present, which we’ve left unaddressed. If slavery and its cause (the heresy of white supremacy) is America’s “original sin,” then we might say that our collective lack of self-reflection and self-awareness, “a discourse of the heart,” is America’s “original disease.”

This is what John Flavel was writing about in the above quote…in the 17th Century! So, this is by no means a new phenomenon, but it’s been a lacking part of the American spirit from the beginning. In the American experiment, there’s never been a critical mass of the culture who were willing to engage in a “discourse of the heart” about the behavior and choices we have historically made as Americans. We’ve done what we’ve always done, just plowed ahead like the proverbial bull in the china shop. We worshipped the almighty god of “progress,” which we saw as our “Manifest Destiny,” and we paid whatever cost to achieve it like enslaving the black population and stealing lands from the native peoples who were here first.

We then created the greatest political-economic culture the world has ever known. The wealth, living standards, and scientific innovation unleashed by the American experiment have been phenomenal. That’s something to celebrate as a collective achievement. This has all been, however, a mixed bag since so much has been sacrificed along the way to these achievements. We’ve never finished dealing with our “original sin,” nor addressed our underlying “original disease,” both of which have been masked by our glorious and remarkable achievements.

Is it any wonder that we have a multi-billion dollar “self-help” industry proposing cures for our loneliness and unhappiness? Such “cures” are mere band-aids on soul wounds. Until we risk telling ourselves the truth, moving out from the shadows to the light, our unaddressed soul disease exposed by our historic sins will continue to plague us. Continuing our self-denial leads us only to more self-sabotage. We’ll need courage to move from self-deception to self-awareness without which we’ll continue on the current, unsustainable path. Reflecting deeply on the mixed bag results of the American experiment will cause us discomfort and, to be honest, some embarrassment. Yet, we still must do it. Our collective soul wellness depends upon it. Remember, the Bible reminds us that “the truth will set us free.” Such vulnerability to the truth will heal and liberate us all.

+Scott