The Activist Streak
I am excited for this weekend, specifically today. I am going to a rally to support the Iranian people in their protest of the current election results. I realize that the situation in Iran is very complex, and that the reform candidate may not be much better for U.S. foreign policy than the current president. I am simply going out in support of the hundreds of thousands of Iranians who are willing to risk their lives to gain a more representative government. I’m not sure about you, but I have always had an activist streak. When I was in Junior High, I wanted more than anything to be a true hippie. I would literally watch the Woodstock footage for hours, and stand in front of the mirror singing Janis Joplin. There was something romantic and exciting to me about that era. To have something to fight for, a cause. During the 80′s and 90′s, as a young person, it didn’t feel like there were any worthy causes out there.
Over the last few years, I have begun to realize more and more the Christian’s responsibility to stand for things that represent the kingdom of God in the earth, and to stand up against things that don’t. I realize that this can open a huge Pandora’s Box of arguments within the Christian Church about what we should actually be protesting. But I believe that the Church is called to stand against anything that represents darkness. I’ve begun to read Bishop Oscar Romero’s book, The Violence of Love, and he states:
“When we struggle for human rights, for freedom, for dignity, when we feel it is a ministry of the church to concern itself for those who are hungry, for those who are deprived, we are not departing from God’s promise. He comes to free us from sin, and the church knows that sin’s consequences are all such injustices and abuses. The church knows it is saving the world when it undertakes also to speak of such things” (24).
He also states:
“When we preach the Lord’s word, we decry not only the injustices of the social order. We decry every sin that is night, that is darkness: drunkenness, gluttony, lust, adultery, abortion, everything that is the reign of iniquity and sin. Let them all disappear from our society” (11).
So it is not a matter of “either/or” for me. Personal issues of morality and societal injustices are all part of the sinful nature of man. It’ not about politics, or national interest. It’s about the kingdom of God and whether it is being manifest. I guess you could say I’ve found my cause.
Hilary,
I had no idea you were interested in the “hippie” days! It
truly was quite a time in history. But do keep in mind that there were levels of “hippie”ness”. Woodstock was the ultimate example. However, there were people like me who would wear only tye-dye shirts and blue jeans, along with shoes of course. I believed in the hippie philosophy which was really what Jesus was all about – peace and love. But their acts of peace and love were enhanced with drugs. Their worst fear was that an undercover “narc” would be around.
It truly was an experience to live on the edge of such a culture and movement, as my “middle-class”roots were too deep for me to completely abandon.I didn’t need to “peace out”, and I did need to take a shower.
Mom
Yeah, I was all about it in junior high! Sounds like you got into the somewhat tamer side of the movement, but still embraced the good things that you saw coming out of it, i.e. peace and love. Those will always be values worth starting a movement for!
For the first time in history, in the 1960′s we were able to watch the explicit horrors of war on the evening news. The Viet Nam war was badly managed and pronounced unwinnable. College age kids wanted love, peace, free sex and no more war. They didn’t really want to be a part of the military/industrial “system” and didn’t want to work for a living. They wanted to create a kind of socialist utopia. The only remaining hippies who ascribe to that world view are teaching in many of our colleges and universities, indoctrinating naive young people to basically hate America and all the good that we stand for. The best thing to come out of the hippie revolution was the music, the exposing of institutionalized racism and a greater awareness of the environment.
Yehuda,
Can’t argue much with that, since I wasn’t there to witness it myself. But I agree that the hippie revolution was certainly flawed, and it had negative extremes that still carry over today. Although that generation was looking for new meaning, they could not find it in drugs and empty sexual endeavors. True liberty and freedom is found only in Christ.
Oh, this is fun.
I love this post a lot. And I think it’s so interesting how people often mention “pot smoking” in the same breath as “hippie.” Funny to me, because while I’m often labeled the latter, I’ve never even touched the former!
Oh, stereotyping.
Have you seen the movie made about Oscar Romero? It’s fabulous! I think since I’m really involved in Catholic social justice circles – I too often take for granted that people know about Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, and other activists like them. They’re so fabulous, though!
Yeah Ash! I haven’t seen the Oscar Romero movie, but it will definitely go at the top of my list. It is sad how many evangelical Christians don’t know anything about these people.