POLITICS JULY 28, 2011
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Joel is one of the so-called minor prophets in the Bible. He appears to have been active in the late sixth- or early fifth-century BCE, in the aftermath of the destruction of the kingdom of Judah. A careful reading of his short and furious oration shows that it may have been also an interpretation of a second catastrophe. A plague seems to have decimated the land—locusts, cankerworms, caterpillars. “The field is wasted.” First the Babylonians, then the bugs: Joel is a morose man, an angry peddler of apocalypse. “The day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.” The miseries of the people and the land notwithstanding, Joel is pitiless. Destruction will be succeeded by destruction. Gloom will follow gloom. Unless, of course, the people repent. Catastrophe, in this ancient but still flourishing view, is understood punitively, as an effect of sin. So “turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning,” the prophet exhorts. “Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly.” Only “then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people.”
There is a man half-running for president in the United States who has adopted Joel’s plan. He is Rick Perry, the suave and shallow governor of Texas. He has issued “a call to prayer for a nation in crisis,” which he calls The Response. He proposes to fill a stadium in Houston—Reliant Stadium, it is charmingly called—with contrite Americans, and thereby change the course of our country. “Some problems are beyond our power to solve,” he explains, “and according to the Book of Joel, Chapter 2, this historic hour demands a historic response. ... We want to see real change across our nation that only our God can perform. Will you join us in Houston? Will you pray, fast, and believe with us for a mighty move of God in our nation again?”
In religious life, there is almost no more vexing matter than the efficacy of prayer—I mean its efficacy not upon the individual, who will certainly be affected by the intensity of the experience, but upon the world, which is notoriously unmoved by our feelings and our needs; but Rick Perry is not, to put it mildly, a philosophically stimulating occasion, and so I will put aside my reasoned opinion that thousands of sobbing and hungry Texans at the forty-yard line will not alter America. There are other elements of The Response that alienate me. It is, for a start, sectarian, which is to say, Christian. In a pluralistic society, after all, even a majority is a sect. “Our future demands a historic response from the church,” Perry writes. “As a nation, we must come together, call upon Jesus to guide us through unprecedented struggles. ... We want the presence, power, and person of Christ to fill our nation.” Who is we? Surely the fate of America will not be determined without the collaboration of the masses of citizens who are contentedly uninterested in the presence, power, and person of Christ. Perry’s faith is a nasty doctrine of exclusion: in 2006, when he heard Reverend Hagee teach that those who deny “the authority of Christ and his blood” will go “straight to hell with a nonstop ticket,” Perry assented. “I’m a believer of that,” he eloquently testified.
In his statement about The Response, Perry adduces a number of historical prooftexts for his proposal. One of them is John Tyler’s declaration, on April 13, 1841, of a national fast after the death of William Henry Harrison: “When a Christian people feel themselves to be overtaken by a great public calamity ... .” I expect that Perry is not familiar with John Tyler’s letter of July 10, 1843—it is one of the most stirring documents of nineteenth-century America—in which he expounds upon his belief that “the United States has adventured upon a great and noble experiment, which is believed to have been hazarded in the absence of all previous precedent—that of total separation of Church and State.” Perry also cites the national day of “solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer” established by John Adams for May 9, 1798, which in its day was denounced as a political stunt. (It is, for that reason, a fine precedent for Perry’s rally.) And he cites a prayer written by George Washington in 1783, which includes the supplication that “Thou wilt incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government.” Oops.
"There is hope for America,” Perry preaches. “It lies in heaven, and we will find it on our knees.” He likes the sentence so much that he gives it twice. I dislike it hugely. This country was not built by people on their knees. It was built by people on their feet, with their hands as they were guided by their minds. They acted as if hope for America lay in themselves. There was nothing insolent about this. They were not godless people, except for some in our recent history; but their religion was compatible with, or even inclined them to, the modern concept of historical agency. The United States of America is a monument to that concept. It represents a revolution in human affairs not least because of its faith in the power of human action. There is nothing humble about the idea of America. It was conceived in Self-Reliant Stadium. But here is Perry, quoting Joel on behalf of a pious abjection: “Only God had the power to solve both the internal moral decline and the external economic and military threats. All three were unsolvable by human means and human solutions.” He reminds me of the old joke about one religious Jew castigating another religious Jew for inaction in a crisis: “Don’t just stand there! Recite some psalms!”
The most repellent aspect of The Response is its hypocritical notion of repentance. What, precisely, is Perry sorry for? He and his lot hardly believe that they are the cause of the moral decline that they deplore. They wish to rid the country of the sins of other people, of the sins of people unlike themselves. The Response is not an exercise in self-examination. It is an exercise in self-congratulation. If it were anything else, then Perry might have pondered, say, the reverence for the rich and the indifference to the poor, the contemporary Republican project of pushing a camel through the eye of a needle, and been rattled in the manner of the penitent. He might have worried, if only for a moment in the Austin night, that he is himself the cankerworm.
Leon Wieseltier is the literary editor of The New Republic. This article originally ran in the August 18, 2011, issue of the magazine.
33 comments
Mr. Editor-in-Chief, Richard Just: My humble recommendation is that anytime Marty is whining for one of his rantings be front and center on his former web site, please put something from Mr. Wieseltier there instead. Well done, Leon. Indeed, kudos to you for pointing out that our country was "built by people on their feet, with their hands as they were guided by their minds.. they were not godless people." ...and putting forth Perry's, and another TX governor's, belief that our problems are "unsolvable by human means and human solutions." Hmm... maybe Perry used to go to AA too. Regardless, we've tried that doctrine once. I doubt the country will go for it again. I sure hope Perry gets the nomination!
- RJSampson1
July 28, 2011 at 12:29am
Great. Hope for America is in heaven? We need this like a hole in the head.
- Sophia
July 28, 2011 at 1:09am
PS. On the other hand, maybe we could pray for da Cubs. Just sayin. :)
- Sophia
July 28, 2011 at 1:11am
I wish I had the gift to write an article that is both an annihilation of a nation’s ignorance and an uplifting reminder of her greatness. Christ, Mr. Wieseltier, I mean. . . Christ, that was brutal. And perfect. Oh, and the overt Emersonian touch, while appropriate and organic to the flow & diction of the essay, did not go unnoticed. Nicely done. I wish the message of this brief essay could have been spurred by something more positive and less ridiculous than a retrograde governor engaging in a mix of public prayer & national politics in the year 20bloody11, but, regardless, this is one of the strongest pieces I’ve read in a long while. I have Republican friends residing in Texas. I’ll show them this piece, and I know they won’t accept it. They probably won’t understand it. But my camel is my atheism and my needle’s eye is their faith, and so I must be guided by mind to try to correct that which is guided by the false & supernatural. And when Perry’s run for Commander-in-Chief falls short, I’ll look back on this piece, admittedly with a tinge of smugness perhaps, and I’ll remember how to articulate properly that which is right in [R]esponse to that which is wrong.
- Konstantin
July 28, 2011 at 3:01am
^Cubs fan^ lol Go Yankees!
- Konstantin
July 28, 2011 at 3:02am
Excellent essay. America is in trouble.
- AaronW
July 28, 2011 at 6:34am
We are totally fucked but at least Project Runway is returning to the air tonight. Thank you Jesus!
- paskunac
July 28, 2011 at 6:47am
I reside in the Bible belt, where piety is more prevalent than the mosquito. Today's version of the self-identified evangelical Christian is the religion of exclusion. It is no accident that Paul and his letters supersede the canonical Gospels as their guide, for it's their supposed revelation and the exclusion of all but themselves in the "elect", not what He teaches us, that is the source, the only source, of their "failth". As a Christian, I implore others not to blame Jesus for the false prophesy preached by people like Reverend Hagee, a despicable small man in a glutton's body. But heed LW's warning, that the combination of a religion of exclusion and a politics of resentment is a lethal combination.
- rayward
July 28, 2011 at 7:50am
It's quite obvious where America went wrong and the deed for what it must repent: The election of that Negro Democrat Socliast Muslim. That and gay rights. We can only elect God's Elect - Republicans; that is why the years 2001 - 2009 were a time of joy and prosperity. BTW, how did Goodhair Perry's day of prayer for rain in Texas go? Were the crops saved?
- dubyadoubte
July 28, 2011 at 9:38am
“a call to prayer for a nation in crisis,” why not? I have no faith, but this IS a nation in crisis. Maybe the power of large group prayer will help. Who does it hurt? As to Perry? http://www.texasmonthly.com/2011-08-01/btl.php "Dear Yankee: Eight things you ought to know before you start writing stories about Rick Perry. You’re welcome." by Paul Burka August 2011 [Am having a hard time with "the suave and shallow governor of Texas" label since reading more about Perry in Texas Monthly. Anyone who grew up on a tenant farm that did not get an indoor toilet until 1958 can NEVER be shallow. ]
- K2K
July 28, 2011 at 10:26am
Someday Perry will get around to reading the Sermon on the Mount. He should purchase some sturdy knee-pads before he does.
- GeoffG
July 28, 2011 at 11:08am
I do not see how showing hate toward Rick Perry solves anything. He is a Christian, so what. He believes that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior, so what. What should he do: pray to Darwin? You disagree with Rick Perry: that is what America is about. America will solve its problems when Americans can talk rationally and reasonably toward one another. The column by Leon Wiseltier sprints in the opposite direction.
- john336
July 28, 2011 at 11:49am
K2K, just growing up poor doesn't guarantee depth, especially not intellectual depth. As LW pointed out so brilliantly, beyond not being especially deep, indeed, it is reactionary - the current incarnation of "Christianity" is dangerous. It's dangerous to a free and civil society, it is dangerous to our ability to function and actually work the problem, it is exclusionary, it is anti-science - (see, problem, working thereof) - you really need to read more about what's going on in states where this form of "Christianity" has taken over. They are doing real damage. They are hurting poor people, women, unions, the environment, working to teach "Creationism" in public schools. On a personal note, I, who used to think this stuff was funny, got a lecture one time from an Evangelical about how to do Pesach. That's right! From this "Christian" I was informed, along with an apologia for personal wealth, that the Haggadah is not to be used since it isn't what Jesus used at the last supper. Well I still thought it was funny and absurd but my Orthodox cousin was deeply hurt and offended and rightly so. Maybe you haven't actually met some of these folks. It never occurred to me this would grow beyond a goofy sect and become a widespread and powerful political movement. But since it has, I think it's bad, it's extremist, and it somehow manages to combine laissez-faire capitalism and a love of wealth with anti-democratic, anti-liberty, anti-Enlightenment bs. I'm telling you, when people go to Mexico on missions to convert OTHER CHRISTIANS things have gone to far. Tell me the difference between this and the Taliban? What - they don't blow stuff up? Yet? How about our economy the TP have by the throat? How long before they start putting people in jail for not being just like them? As it is, some of these "Christians" think it's ok to murder doctors who perform abortions, in the name of saving lives of course (fetuses that is; they aren't too strong on saving lives after you are actually born, unless of course you believe in the hereafter.) How about that "marriage pledge" that claimed people were better off under slavery than under Obama's administration? This SCREWED UP. So please.
- Sophia
July 28, 2011 at 11:53am
Konstantin, last I check the D*** Yankees don't need prayers:) In fact, they might even be in league with the D****. Whereas the poor Cubbies are seriously in need and have been cursed by a goat.
- Sophia
July 28, 2011 at 11:54am
Perry's involvement is not appropriate, and a number of the major participants are clearly intolerant, but this article is an ugly, vicious attack on exceedingly common religious practices and beliefs (prayer, repentance, and an exclusive relationship to God).
- polcereal
July 28, 2011 at 12:09pm
**"We want to see real change across our nation that only our God can perform. Will you join us in Houston? Will you pray, fast, and believe with us for a mighty move of God in our nation again?”** First of all, they already have Andre Johnson in a Texans uniform, so I don't know what else they need to pray for. Secondly, Americans' idea of fasting is what, only using one ketchup packet on your hash browns? Who fasts in this nation, seriously? Hypocrisy reigns. Third, this is subtly scary and wrong for many reasons. Deflecting or abdicating the work of government, of society, of humanity to improve itself by stating that "only our God can" make "real change across our nation" is a sign of weakness, of a perverse form of reverse idolatry at best, and a mark of staggering intellectual vacancy at worst. (I'll not comment on the actively harmful, violent aspects of adherence to this absurd belief system, because my atheism accommodates the concession that a violent disposition is not intrinsic or visible in probably 99.8% of even the hardcore evangelicals who love guns & Marine Corps uniforms almost as much as Jesus HisSelf. Some of the uber-right Christ crusaders may indirectly have blood on their hands, due to dangerously bad legislation and child-rearing approaches, but they truly know not what they do. And I won't pretend I'm in a position to judge them, much less to absolve them.) From a practical standpoint, I'm troubled by having a sitting governor take time out of his professional schedule to organize, promote, & lead this nonsense. From a Constitutional viewpoint, I'm genuinely troubled by having a sitting governor preside over this thing, featuring his official photo & title on a Christian website & advertisements, and making room in his schedule to advance a purely religious agenda literally in between professional governmental duties. How would I be expected to react if POTUS gave a press conference announcing what hymns and special prayers he planned to recite this Sunday at church? If he made it a point to make a roster of bigoted pastors & controversial spiritual leaders more prominent than the leaders of his Cabinet? If he invited everyone to pray for change in our nation, since our puny manmade efforts are futile? I'd be outraged, disgusted, disappointed -- Hell, I'd shortly be a card-carrying Mexican, and gladly. If I offend the faithful, perhaps it is because I am not as eloquent as John Cameron Mitchell, the brilliant mind responsible for one of my favorite productions, HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH: "Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior?" "No, but I love his work." If I offend Sophia, it's because the ghost of Steve Bartman haunts my keyboard.
- Konstantin
July 28, 2011 at 1:20pm
John and Polc - Perry is the governor of my state. And basically, he's saying that I will go to hell. And now he wants (probably) to be my president. Tell me why I should not have a problem with what he's doing. I don't think I need to go into tired analogies that illustrate my point.
- NR409654
July 28, 2011 at 1:40pm
The founders, whatever their individual, personal faith, or lack of faith, in God, were all motivated by a faith that was and has continued to be much more important to the creation and the continuing success of this nation and its polity; faith in themselves. It was and is that confidence in the ability of ordinary men to govern themselves that provides the very foundation of our system of government and our society. With out that confidence, we are a different country. What the Christian Right is attempting to do is to overthrow our government -- a government based in the rule of law and dependent on political institutions that encourage negotiation and agreement among men -- and replace it with the old, discredited idea of nations ruled by the supposedly divinely appointed and inspired few.
- esmense
July 28, 2011 at 1:48pm
Steve Bartman - his name shall forever live in infamy! In fact, it should not be mentioned! At all! Beyond that - the Constitutional issues are profound.
- Sophia
July 28, 2011 at 2:25pm
Oh, I think it is a Beautiful, viscous attack on an exceedingly common Political practice, to associate one's own kind and one's own arguments with God and to exclude all who differ from the community whose opinions need to be considered. I thought that, being ostensibly Jewish, Leon might escape the castigation regularly visited upon secular persons who object to Christians presuming to disqualify all non-Christians from contributing their ideas and energies toward solving our nations problems. I guess not! Perry just confirms himself as one more Republican candidate whose theological certainty prohibits me from ever considering voting for him. There is no real surprise there.
- aduncanson
July 28, 2011 at 2:48pm
GeoffG: don't hold your breath. The particular ilk of evangelical exemplified by Perry has well mastered the art of reading whole chunks of the gospels, very piously at that, without being affected in the least by what Christ actually says in those gospels. I have no doubt that Perry has read said Sermon on the Mount more times than you and I combined, maybe even "preached" it (I would expect he's done his share of sermonizing in his own fashion), and remains entirely convinced that he and "his type" live out the Sermon on the Mount in most exemplary fashion. Listening but hearing, reading but not comprehending, read it however you like, but short of a Damascus Road experience Perry won't have the epiphany for which you're hoping.
- cspencef
July 28, 2011 at 2:52pm
Meanwhile, I had no idea that Christians feel all alone on Christmas; really we should look into this terrible situation: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-july-27-2011/gop---special-victims-unit
- Sophia
July 28, 2011 at 3:01pm
It seems to me, as a Canadian who only knows a little about Rick Perry, that Wiesletier's diarist piece makes a good, if high falutin, argument for the obvious--the necessity for clear dissociation between church and state, a staple of any conception of liberal democracy. But what *may be* alarming is that a potentially strong candidate for your presidency can begin on such a defiant and insular note of triumphant Christian piety. Mind you, is there is a difference in degree or in quality between Perry's revival like beginning and Obama's nods to Rick Warren and his making clear reference to his acceptance of Christ? Is Perry a further remove along a continuum exemplified by Obama's politically charged affirmation of his Christianity or is Perry he something else altogether? To better understand that, one would need, I'd think, to observe Perry's record as governor in Texas, apparently the longest serving record of state governance extant in your country, to see where if at all his Christianity informed his policies. Finally, I wonder whether that kind of analysis would bear more illuminating fruit than Wieseltier's exhortation, eloquent though it is, of the obvious.
- basman
July 28, 2011 at 3:54pm
It seems to me, as a Canadian who only knows a little about Rick Perry, that Wiesletier's diarist piece makes a good, if high falutin, argument for the obvious--the necessity for clear dissociation between church and state, a staple of any conception of liberal democracy. But what *may be* alarming is that a potentially strong candidate for your presidency can begin on such a defiant and insular note of triumphant Christian piety. Mind you, is there is a difference in degree or in quality between Perry's revival like beginning and Obama's nods to Rick Warren and his making clear reference to his acceptance of Christ? Is Perry a further remove along a continuum exemplified by Obama's politically charged affirmation of his Christianity or is Perry he something else altogether? To better understand that, one would need, I'd think, to observe Perry's record as governor in Texas, apparently the longest serving record of state governance extant in your country, to see where if at all his Christianity informed his policies. Finally, I wonder whether that kind of analysis would bear more illuminating fruit than Wieseltier's exhortation, eloquent though it is, of the obvious.
- basman
July 28, 2011 at 3:54pm
Sorry for the double click.
- basman
July 28, 2011 at 3:55pm
Very fine article. I hope he's repenting for having killed Cameron Todd Willingham. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/opinion/23coates.html
- JakeH
July 28, 2011 at 4:15pm
This is very scary indeed. We are living in perilous times. Is Perry the new "Huey Long?" Hard times are a coming. In fact, they are here. Whenever hard times appear, one of the common things human beings do (vicious creatures that we are) is look for scapegoats. http://www.americanliterature.com/Jackson/SS/TheLottery.html
- skahn
July 28, 2011 at 4:48pm
Sophia: I stopped riding the NYC subway because I got tired of being proselytized by the Evangelical Protestants who live in The Bronx. I have never understood the concept of faith in G-d, which is why I have never been an observant Jew except for that part about not writing his name, just in case he really is that powerful. I just do not see why Wieseltier had to attack Rick Perry so nastily in this piece. I do not consider Perry "suave" or "shallow" although he certainly is no intellectual (and neither am I). He seems like a very grounded man with a life experience more like Harry S. Truman than any recent possible president. I got curious about Perry when I read his 2007 statement on Israel after hearing Natan Sharansky on a trip to Israel (and Jordan). http://governor.state.tx.us/news/editorial/10319/ Then I wondered if he was part of the US air re-supply to Israel in 1973 when Perry was flying C-130s for the US Air Force. All I could find was this post (and I assume this is a right-wing blog from the comments), but I was very struck by two of the photos attached by commenters 1) Perry with Texas Marines in Afghanistan, and 2) White House handout from Ft Hood Shooting memorial. Perry at right of the Obamas. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2740508/posts As basman notes, looking at Perry's record as governor of Texas would seem more worthy than focussing on this one event. The GOP is going to nominate someone, and I would prefer Perry to any of the others except Huntsman, who has already been written off by the pundits. I am old-fashioned and believe Commander-in-Chief of the USA should have military service and/or serious foreign experience.
- K2K
July 28, 2011 at 8:00pm
While you all are debating the intents of The Framers and the possibility of The Good Lord bestowing his Grace upon our Country if we only demonstrate genuine Piousness and Repentance, I’m going to dive – once again – into a bottle of Wild Turkey, reacquainting myself with The Bartman Game. But seriously folks (chug), nice piece by Leon.
- OkiSaru
July 28, 2011 at 8:19pm
I object to Perry's initiative for many reasons but foremost, because it is just one more instance of Republicans appropriating God and The Flag as uniquely GOP brands. Recall that a born again Southern Baptist,, Jimmy Carter, made a similiar plea to turn to spriritual guidance in troubled times, the so-called "malaise" speech. 30 years plus, he is still castigated for it by conservatives and on these pages in a special 30 year anniversary piece by one Marty Peretz as a sniveling fool.
- dubyadoubte
July 28, 2011 at 8:23pm
Perhaps Leon's best-written piece ever. A powerful defense of Americanism. We can do, and if we get God's blessing in the process, that's fine. But we have a spiritual core, with or without Christianity. We are by nature not extremists, at least in the long run. Our Founding Fathers were not openly Christian for a reason (most of them were Deists). Many of them were one or two generations removed from the bloody religious wars--between in-power Christians and out-of-power Christians--in England. They separated church from state for a reason. And now we are threatened with the specter of another Bible-thumping Governor from Texas becoming God in the White House. The first one brought America to its economic, not its spiritual, knees. The next one will have us flat on our faces. Will the human race ever learn? Stay tuned.
- magboy47.
August 9, 2011 at 9:15pm
Is Jesus the fourth branch of our government? I never knew that to be the case, but if President Perry says that it is so, well, amen to that! But what happens if Jesus is found unconstitutional?
- nr156876
August 15, 2011 at 4:30pm
Great piece, Leon W.
- scrubby
August 16, 2011 at 10:12pm