We were setting the bar high when we Americans declared, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.“
That high bar motivates us to pursue honorable purposes in ethical ways. In recent days, as we have paused to remember with tears the horrors of 9/11, our American president has argued that the war on terror exempts us from some particular requirements of the Geneva Conventions. Many of us find such assertions beyond comprehension, beyond justification, beyond ethical defense. We feel embarrassed, ashamed, and angry.
We were setting the bar high when we Presbyterians declared, “…we are persuaded that there is an inseparable connection between faith and practice, truth and duty. Otherwise, it would be of no consequence either to discover truth or to embrace it” (B/O, G-1.0305). That high bar motivates us to promote truth in all its forms. This past summer, as theatres filled with moving accounts of 9/11, our Presbyterian Publishing House released a book offering its own account. Given its bold title, Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11, we would assume that it reaches that high bar. But when the book tells us “…that members of the Bush administration and the U.S. military orchestrated the attacks of 9/11 and that they did so in order to advance their imperial aims” (p. ix), many find such assertions beyond comprehension, beyond credibility, beyond possibility of accuracy. Those folks feel embarrassed, ashamed and angry.
Now to be fair, both of these subjects deserve further consideration.
The president rightly states that the enemy combatants are not signatories to the Geneva Conventions. They are not soldiers of a foreign national military. Given their reckless abandon in bringing destruction upon civilians, they disqualify themselves from deserving decent treatment. Then again, the love of God is bestowed upon humans not because the recipients deserve it but because the Giver has chosen to give it. God who is love loves. Similarly, the Geneva Conventions define not the respect our enemies inherently deserve but the decency we choose to extend to all. We do not lower the bar due to others’ wretchedness. We keep the bar high, reflecting our own commitment to liberty and justice.
So too, apart from the claims of fact about 9/11 itself, David Ray Griffin’s book uncovers the ethical issues provoked by America having become the world’s lone superpower (see Outlook Forum reviews this issue). The end of the Cold War brought to fruition America’s empire status, and that should cause all of us to shudder with concern and to pray with contrition. Griffin’s theological critique of national behavior, which has been developing under both political parties through several decades, provides a wake-up call for us all to heed.
Then again, the author’s recommendations for action fall short of the most obvious, required response. Such an evil president must be impeached and be tried, along with his co-conspirators, for treason and genocide, that is, if the book is telling, as it claims, the truth. Or is it, maybe, not quite telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? If it comes up short of that high bar, then it ought to be taken out of circulation and refunds given to all who bought it. The author and publisher also ought to issue a public apology to all who have been falsely accused–and to the Presbyterians who have been needlessly embarrassed.
Over lunch a couple weeks ago, Arkansas general presbyter Bill Branch spoke simply about the relationship between ministers and their congregations. “Congregations will forgive their pastors of lots of mistakes and shortcomings. But if the pastor does something that embarrasses them, that’s the end of that pastorate.” So too here. If the American president causes Americans to feel embarrassed, ashamed, and angry to be labeled Americans … and if we Presbyterians feel embarrassed, ashamed, and angry to be labeled Presbyterians, then we are in trouble.
We cannot abide lowering the bar.
