Christian Responsibility to Truth in Elections

Nick is not a big fan of the political blogging going about among many bibliobloggers.  I have never had the intention of getting as political as I have been of late.  However, the selection of Sarah Palin after months of hearing how Barack Obama hasn't the experience needed to lead followed by a series of advertisements for the McCain campaign that continually promote obvious factual lies, coupled with the sentiment of not just a few conservative Christians that because of Palin they would be more likely to vote for McCain broke the proverbial camel's back.

To be Christian is to be political as the political bodies of the state that govern and uphold social order and the public good must be held accountable for what they do and how they govern.  When political leaders lie to us, we need to hold them accountable.  When they offer positions that are stripped of the urgency to love one's neighbor as an essential attribute of the obligation we have to ensure our neighbors are able to receive the good and flourish, Christians should be the first in line to hold them accountable.  Indeed one cannot read the Judaeo-Christian Scriptures without taking the role of the state seriously.  To do theology is to engage in a discourse regarding God's activity in the cosmos and the role of human participation in that activity.

One cannot read Bonhoeffer, Weil, R. Niehbuhr, and even Barth without reference to the political sphere.

"Newspapers, [Barth] says, are so important that 'I always pray for the sick, the poor, journalists, authorities of the state and the church – in that order. Journalists form public opinion. They hold terribly important positions. Nevertheless, a theologian should never be formed by the world around him – either East or West. He should make his vocation to show both East and West that they can live without a clash. Where the peace of God is proclaimed, there is peace on earth is implicit. Have we forgotten the Christmas message?'"

Princeton Seminary Library.

Simone Weil's understanding of media focuses on organized lying and distortions of truth which severely undermine the need of the soul to be satiated by the desire for truth that is inherent in all human beings. Her point of reference is Nazi propaganda, but the comparison between that kind of propaganda and the advancement of psychological technique to shape public values and belief structures in our current media environment is exceedingly palpable.

"We all know that when journalism becomes indistinguishable from organized lying, it constitutes a crime. But we think it is a crime impossible to punish."

[...]

"In the case of organs of information, they might have to pronounce judgment concerning not only erroneous assertions, but also intentional and tendentious omissions.

Circles in which ideas are discussed, and which desire to make them known, would only have a right to publish weekly, fortnightly or monthly journals. There is absolutely no need to appear more frequently in print, if one's object is to make people think instead of stupefying them.

The propriety of the methods of persuasion used would be guaranteed, thanks to the control exercised by the above courts, which would be able to supress any publication guilty of too frequent a distortion of the truth; though the editors would be allowed to let it reappear under another name.

Nothing in this would involve the slightest attack on public liberty. It would only mean satisfaction of the human soul's most sacred need – protection against suggestion and falsehood" (Simone Weil, The Need for Roots, p. 36-38).

Falsehood and suggestion are littered about the media sphere masquerading as truth.  This is why Christians have a responsibility to hold their public officials and media outlets accountable for what they do.  You cannot read a news source with the lens of your political party affiliation or political preference.  It is clear that this happens with Fox News and The Huffington Post among many as they compound the problem by marketing their news to their market clusters. But both are prime examples of exactly the kind of media Weil would say is criminal in the level of distortion both reinforce.

Part of being Christian is a love of truth. To be Christian is to be a voice of reason and truth amidst suggestions, lies, and distortions that shape public sentiment around things that frankly do not exist.  Will I tone down the political posts? Surely I will at some point. But at the moment this seems like a moment when Christian currency can be of use in the political gamut.

And that is why I approved this message.

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