Like Salt (Part II): Shame and Shamelessness

Voting is a complex business.  I know of pro-life Democrats, which would seem unthinkable to many Republicans.  I know of pro-choice Republicans, which makes some Democrats say, “Why bother being a Republican at all?”  I know of Republicans who voted Democrat because they considered the former President’s behavior abhorrent.  I know of Democrats who voted Republican because they view their party as increasingly captive to secular elites.

As I said, voting is a complex business.

Still, parties do develop a kind of essential identity, which often changes over time.  The Democratic Party was once the party of the South, the working class, and labor unions.  But no longer.  The Republican Party was once the party of small government, hawkish foreign policy, and “gentlemanly” behavior.  But no longer.

The essential identity of both parties has changed.  In our current circumstances neither is especially healthy, which puts Christians in an awkward position as voters.

Two words capture just how unhealthy both parties have become.  Keep in mind I am talking about parties, not about the people in them.

The Democratic Party has become the party that shames.  This is especially true among its elites, those who consider themselves “woke.”  Their view of the world reflects a kind of secular Puritanism, which shames unenlightened belief and behavior.  They are quick to accuse Republicans of being intolerant and bigoted racists, homophobes, Islamophobes, xenophobes and misogynists.  Republicans desperately need “enlightenment,” as defined of course by progressives.

The Republican Party has become the party of shamelessness.  They dismiss the Democratic Party as “demonic,” which puts an end to all negotiation and compromise.  Why bargain with the devil?  The ideological wing in particular is inclined to charge anything it doesn’t like as “fake news,” believes conspiracy theories, and claims voter fraud when it loses, whether or not there is evidence for it.  It claims the “deep state” is ruining America, even though the deep state includes as many Republicans as it does Democrats.  They care little about the democratic process if it means conceding ground to the Democrats.

Both parties do make good points.  I am not suggesting that our country has overcome racism.  Racism was, and still is, America’s “original sin,” though accusing nearly everyone of racism (as well as misogyny and xenophobia) tends to dilute the significance of the charge.  Nor am I suggesting that a departure from convention, as the former President surely did, is always wrong, though undermining democratic institutions along the way takes it a step too far, as the insurrection so terrifyingly demonstrated.

Shaming is a poor motivator, however shameful our national behavior has been.  The use of shame among Democratic elites has not worked.  If anything, it has driven countless voters into the Republican fold.

But shamelessness is no better.  It elevates “rights” and “freedom” to the status of an absolute good, which gives people license to behave any way they wish.  Chanting “Lock her up!” or “Stolen election!” illustrate my point.  Shamelessness leads to indecency in civic life and makes morality irrelevant.  If right no longer has might; then might alone makes right.

How do we as Christians in America respond to this mess?  If Democrat, we choose humility over enlightenment.  Not that enlightenment is wrong.  But without humility it is easily weaponized, making the “woke” class feel superior to the ignorant masses (i.e., Republicans) who still hold, rightly or wrongly, to conventional values.

If Republican, we refuse to tolerate shamelessness, which undermines the very moral vision Republicans espouse.  The attempt to dismantle standards of human decency leaves nothing left at all.

The use of shame manifests the sin of pride.  The display of shamelessness manifests the sin of envy.  Pride promotes standards that allow one group to feel morally and intellectually superior to another.  Envy destroys those standards altogether.  It leads to lawlessness.

Christians should reject all of it.  Because it is not Christian.

How should Christians behave?  Christians admit when we are wrong, and racism is one of those wrongs.  And we repent of it.  We conduct ourselves with decency.  We pursue truth; we reject conspiracy theories as baseless and manipulative.

Christians also display humility, refusing to assert superiority over others, even when we are in fact right.  We pursue knowledge to serve the common good.  We use “we” more than “you.”  We woo more than condemn.

There is no room for shame in Christianity.  Jesus Christ killed it on the cross.  There is no room for shamelessness either.  Jesus Christ calls us to imitate him.  And Jesus never lied, cheated, exploited, or bullied.

We have come to a crossroads and face a moment of decision.  We as Christians must choose to live like salt.  If we fail, the food of democracy will lose its taste and appeal.  Eventually it will rot.

This is no longer about which party is more Christian.  It is about how Christians behave in both parties.  Unless Christians aim to live as real Christians in both parties, those parties will coopt the church, making it little more than a lapdog.

We should never forget that Nazism won the support of the German Church, which elevated Hitler, race, and nation above Jesus, kingdom, and church.  The consequences were devastating.  We aren’t there yet.  But we could be.

But that was then.  This is now.  We can do better.