Friday, September 02, 2005
Why I Hate 'Survivor' -- Lessons From NOLA
I can say with pride that I have never watched a singel episode of "Survivor." When I heard about the show, I found the idea objectionable. See here is the thing, in a genuine survival situation, the key to prosperous survival lies in cooperation, not competition. The events of the last couple of days in New Orleans are all the evidence I need of the truth of that statement
Consider - the AP describes rape and "anarchy" - CNN describes NOLA's mayor as "desparate" - the BBC describes their citizens in the area as "scared" - the WaPo reports on web sites scamming for 'donations.'
Cooperation is clearly not the order of the day in NOLA at the moment. My suspicion is that the cooperative types as rapidly getting out of town leaving only the competitive types who may consider themselves "winners" but all they have "won" is a demolished and flooded city - a shallow victory indeed. Somehow, I cannot help but think that those that get out alive and well will, in the long run, be the real winners.
The fact that we have to send in troops to keep the peace is just sad to me. The fact that we are a nation that needs military force to maintain the veneer of civility makes us less than the America I always thought we were. There will be much written in the weeks, months, and years to come about why this reaction has happened as it has, particularly when compared to the cooperation that marked 9-11 in such chronological vicinity. On the right side of the politcal aisle, much will be written about the excessive welfare rolls in NOLA, the preponderance of hip-hop cultural. On the left side of the aisle, it will no doubt be the the failing of the Bush administration. Some of my ultra far right Christian aquaintances will no doubt claim this God's latest Sodom and Gomarrah judgement.
There will likely be some grain of truth in most of the explanations -- some more than others. But I think my fellow Christian blogger with Southern roots, Gadfly's Muse has hit on a very important reason -- the increasing removal of religious considerations from the public dialogue.
Consider - the AP describes rape and "anarchy" - CNN describes NOLA's mayor as "desparate" - the BBC describes their citizens in the area as "scared" - the WaPo reports on web sites scamming for 'donations.'
Cooperation is clearly not the order of the day in NOLA at the moment. My suspicion is that the cooperative types as rapidly getting out of town leaving only the competitive types who may consider themselves "winners" but all they have "won" is a demolished and flooded city - a shallow victory indeed. Somehow, I cannot help but think that those that get out alive and well will, in the long run, be the real winners.
The fact that we have to send in troops to keep the peace is just sad to me. The fact that we are a nation that needs military force to maintain the veneer of civility makes us less than the America I always thought we were. There will be much written in the weeks, months, and years to come about why this reaction has happened as it has, particularly when compared to the cooperation that marked 9-11 in such chronological vicinity. On the right side of the politcal aisle, much will be written about the excessive welfare rolls in NOLA, the preponderance of hip-hop cultural. On the left side of the aisle, it will no doubt be the the failing of the Bush administration. Some of my ultra far right Christian aquaintances will no doubt claim this God's latest Sodom and Gomarrah judgement.
There will likely be some grain of truth in most of the explanations -- some more than others. But I think my fellow Christian blogger with Southern roots, Gadfly's Muse has hit on a very important reason -- the increasing removal of religious considerations from the public dialogue.
I will readily admit that many non-Christian cultures have had strongly developed senses of community and have been able to develop as civilized people. I also readily admit that "community" alone does not guarantee civilized behavior, especially outside the community. But I know of very few truly civilized cultures which achieved that status apart from religion. For community to exist there has to be shared values and agreements with regard to status. There has to be a coordinated sense of approval and disapproval and a binding sense of heritage and tradition. Religion is emininently capable of achieving these things apart from the immediacy of coercive force. The threat of future punishment has some effect in these matters but surprisingly little when push comes to shove. So even the threat of Hell has never truly been very effective at restraining man's barbaric impulses. But community has. And religion as a basis of community seems, at first blush, to my mind, to be the most effective ground for civilization ever to be shown.Once the immediate stress of simply saving life has passed, I know what one priority needs to be -- introducing the barbarians among us to the Christ of civilization.
Perhaps all of those who today are so intense upon despising religion in all of its forms might at least consider the alternative. On what other basis can community be achieved? And even more importantly, why is it that the human psyche is so disposed toward barbarism apart from community restraints? And is this fundamental disposition and the prevailing need for "community" to offset it, an indicator that it is time for some sobering reassessment of the policies and practices and pseudo-intellectual content of much of the "progressive" agenda being promoted by many of the more strident voices throughout our land.
What is happening in New Orleans lacks only a sufficiently widespread catastrophe to make it a nationwide phenomena. The barbarians are not at the gates, they reside in our midst.
