c. 2003 Religion News Service
(Samuel K. Atchison is an ordained minister and has worked as a policy analyst and social worker to the homeless. He currently is a prison chaplain in Trenton, N.J., and a fellow of the George H. Gallup International Institute in Princeton, N.J.)
(UNDATED) Several years ago, I preached at the installation service of a friend who had been called to her first pastorate.
Nestled in the heart of a rural community outside Ann Arbor, Mich., the 160-year-old church and its environs evoked images of covered wagons carrying westward settlers in search of a new home. The area was dotted with century-old log cabins and square dancing remained a favorite pastime on Saturday night.
Yet, amid the cultural artifacts of a simpler time were the inevitable signs of change _ satellite dishes atop executive homes, with sport utility vehicles in the driveways.
It was in observing this juxtaposition of the old and the new that I came to a deeper understanding of some of the cultural dynamics we wrestle with in this nation.
When conservatives speak of “traditional values,” what is implied is much more than a rose-colored vision of the nation’s spiritual roots, of America as a “Christian nation.” Rather, the notion of traditional values carries with it an understanding and appreciation of virtues forged in difficult times.
For all of our current wealth and sophistication _ to say nothing of the historical revisionism that has attended feelings of guilt for our national sins of slavery and Indian genocide _ what is often forgotten is that the land that stretched before the pioneers was often as harsh and difficult as it was vast. Severe weather, rough terrain, unsanitary living conditions and numerous other difficulties made life a living hell for many settlers. In some settlement communities, as many as one person in 40 died as a result of cholera and other diseases.
It is within this context that Christian missions, funded by Eastern churches and missions societies, as was my friend’s church, were established within settlement communities. Working side by side with the other settlers, the missionaries built churches and established congregations that helped to organize community life.
Thus, what many have come to know as traditional values actually reflect the shared experiences of people bound together by a common vision, history and faith. And, as with the children of Israel in the Bible, many of the national observances, celebrations and holidays _ Thanksgiving, for example _ were designed to serve as landmarks to remind the people of God’s sovereignty and faithfulness in difficult times.
Yet there is a tendency to forget what we do not consciously seek to remember, and lessons learned in one generation are not automatically passed on to the next. Thus do old values die and new ones, not born of the same history of sacrifice, emerge.
This is all the more true when the old values are debunked because the traditions that fostered them were imperfect. Thus, for example, the Christian church and its values are often rejected because of the greed and venality of some who carry its message.
Yet to abandon the church and its impact on the culture is to reject the contributions of the many because of the tyranny of the few. Even more, it is to deny what is unique about this nation, because the history of this America is inexorably linked with the church, its message and its God.
And, as broadcaster Edward R. Murrow said, “We can deny our history and our heritage, but we cannot deny responsibility for the result.”
DEA END ATCHISON
