Over three decades ago, a friend visiting from Sweden taught me a valuable lesson on the deeper dimensions of politics, human history, and national identity.
As a part of his visit to the USA, I spent a day showing him major points of interest in Washington D.C. We ascended the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on a beautiful morning, not crowded by the usual swarms of tourists. In the calm and beauty of the setting, we each began to read silently the words of Lincoln’s second inaugural address engraved upon the wall: “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in __.”
As I read Lincoln’s words I found myself seized by their power in a completely unexpected intensity. I looked over at my Swedish friend and could immediately see that he was even more transfixed by the moment. We stood there and talked of the terrible period in history in which Lincoln spoke; of the preceding years of savage conflict claiming over half a million lives, tearing this nation asunder; and of the transcending, enduring power of Lincoln’s words of mutual forgiveness and steadfast love.
Reinhold Niebuhr wrote that systems of justice and mutuality among peoples cannot “maintain themselves without inspiration from a deeper dimension of history.” He believed that the natural historical process could never satisfy the human spirit. We need another resource beyond our historical experience to feed our yearning for meaning that transcends simply survival. Surely to speak of charity for all, the love of neighbor, in the midst of a savage civil war seems, by any rational analysis, the height of foolishness. Lincoln knew better. His words continue to inspire and lift persons across the globe beyond the burdens and travails of the historical moment.
Writing from behind the bars of the Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King stated “that any law that degrades human personality is unjust.” In 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. President Reagan called the Declaration “a standard by which any humble person on Earth can stand in judgment of any government on Earth.” Pope John Paul II said that the Universal Declaration is “one of the highest expressions of the human conscience of our time.” Article 5 of the Declaration proclaims: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Whether motivated by revulsion of the act of torture, pity for the victim, respect for human dignity, compassion for all who suffer, or charity (love) for all; most human beings and most nations regard torture as a moral evil. And yet the torture debate in this nation seems caught in a wilderness of mirrors, a maze of false images and meaningless echoes. Where is the accountability at high levels for the Abu Ghraib prison scandal? Why does it still seem likely that waterboarding is an approved interrogation technique? Why does the Senate Judiciary Committee have to guess what Michael Mukasey, nominee for Attorney General, really means when he calls waterboarding repugnant? Why is almost every policy statement on torture made by our policy leaders so nuanced I am left guessing what it really means? Lincoln knew our nation was better than this. We the people need to insist that our leaders refuse to accept the lowering of our standards as we strive to finish the work we are in.
Please e-mail On Faith if you'd like to receive an email notification when On Faith sends out a new question.
Email Me | Del.icio.us | Digg | Facebook
