Home » Opinion » Foreign Views
‘Market’ doesn’t bring greater good for all
Print Edition
HONORABLE Wan Lixin:
I enjoyed your thoughtful piece of April 16 about “Soulless Schooling.” One of the “hot topics” of the current array of culture wars in the United States is the role that “religious education” should play in students’ lives.
This is not the same thing as the Buddhist (or mystic) goal of achieving awareness from which might flow serenity and wisdom. Rather, the discussion grows heated over primarily Christian doctrinal issues, often provoked by those denounced as “humanists” (who are suspected of being atheists) or by those of other faiths requesting “equal time.”
Many years ago, while driving a favorite nephew in his early 20s somewhere in north-central Iowa, I remember him doing me the honor of “opening up” about his own growing doubts about the teachings of Christianity in general, and of Roman Catholicism in particular. I recognized this as part of the necessary growth that humans have to go through, pushing through the “cocoon” of childhood to establish their own parameters of belief and behavior.
As I listened to him, I found that I had little interest in “parrying” his objections, as they were the same kind of questions I myself had confronted years before. I have come to believe that the “dogma” or “doctrine” of any spiritual or religious path can best be understood as the best attempts of our ancestors to declare the truth of things as they saw it, but which had become frozen in time.
Far too many persons who consider themselves “religious” (or “righteous,” “holy,” or just “good citizens”), they are comfortable resettling in that old cocoon and find that repeating the well-known doctrines — without attempting to probe or understand them — is comforting. (They can also be quite quick to criticize the rest of us for not conforming to their expectations.)
When my nephew concluded with, “I am not going to believe anything that silly,” I could not help but smile. Through my studies as an historian, as well as my experiences as a public figure, I know that most of us do, indeed, believe in “something silly.” It is “silly” precisely because it is unexamined!
There seems to be something in human nature that hungers to believe in something. This is the root of the religious impulse. Furthermore, we deeply wish that our ultimate belief system provided us with definitive answers and assurances. We do not take kindly to wisdom teachers who proclaim that all of life is a journey of discovery!
I told my nephew that he was right to resist rigidly righteous as seemed to be the fate of so many who “had religion,” but that he needed to guard against wherever else he decided to place his trust. For some people, this “other place” becomes one’s self, and their life derives meaning from the pursuit of self-achievement and gratification. Others decide, instead, to trust in their superiors, or the ephemeral “state.”
Belief in the market
In the US, it is clear to me that despite our frequent protestations that we are a “faith-based people,” most Americans — especially those in power — believe, rather, in their own power and in the sacred “market.” “The market knows best,” we are constantly assured. (This strikes me as remarkably similar to the warnings of the Old Testament prophets about creating idols of our own making.)
Thus, despite the religious teachings advising care for the poorest and suspicion of the powerful and self-righteous, we glorify wealth-making, bend over backwards to allow the rich to get even wealthier, while also supporting cut-backs in programs designed to support the struggling middle class and provide minimal relief to those in poverty.
I think the Confucian-Buddhist counsel to seek “awareness” would help us immensely. The primary choice each of us must make in life is whether to focus primarily on ourselves, or, rather, to mold our behavior in ways that encompass the needs and wants of others. This is a fundamental choice; I do not believe it is possible to long straddle the two for, inevitably, the tug of “serving myself” is likely to prove the more powerful.
The Christian tradition also counsels daily self-reflection in order to assess “how we are doing,” “whom might we have offended and why,” and “what must I do to get myself back on the right track.” In whichever tradition this is practiced, such inevitably yields honest introspection, true humility, gratitude for the gift of life and for all the special souls we encounter, and a desire to pursue the greater good for all. Our world is desperately in need of such.
I know that the Chinese government sponsors Confucius Institutes in many places around the United States. Hopefully, they will expand their efforts to teach about seeking awareness and greater mindfulness of others in the months and years to come!
The author has been a college teacher of American history and political science, the director of the US National Catholic Rural Life Conference; he served as a member of the Iowa State House of Representatives, and retired from public service in the Iowa executive branch in 2004.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
