Subvert the Dominant Paradigm
In some of our society’s most powerful assumptions – such as “more (money) is better,” “time is money” and “economic growth is an unquestioned societal good” – we need to experience the power, strength, anger and call to repent (to turn around) reminiscent of [a Hebrew Scriptures] prophet.
Facing great inequities and ecological degradation, we need purposeful guidance to lead to actions, decisions and policies that will help create a world with enough for all. (Michael Schut, Money and Faith: The Search for Enough, 2009)
The start of 2011 has brought changes to our world that – like Berlin 1989, Soviet Union 1987-91, and South Africa 1989-94 – many people never expected to see in our lifetimes. And in overthrowing corrupt, autocratic governments, the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt were nonviolently organized and enacted – countering all “expert” political opinion.
We can draw on other inspiring examples of resistance to prevailing assumptions, too. For instance, we live in an era of heightened religious conflict; but recent months have offered powerful expressions of interfaith solidarity. Amidst the protests in Egypt, as some forces sought to exploit long-simmering tensions between Coptic Christian and Muslim communities, Muslims provided physical protection to Christian prayer services, and vice versa. The front cover of this issue of Fellowship displays Muslims and Christians celebrating together in Tahrir Square upon the stunning resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.
I am reminded of a somewhat-tongue-in-cheek bumper sticker from years ago: “Subvert the dominant paradigm.” We are experiencing a revolutionary moment that is testing people’s basic assumptions about political and societal structures.
We should not limit ourselves to thinking this is just a geopolitical conversation – much less one that’s only taking place “over there” (read: the so-called Arab World) – as we envision a new future.
Obviously, those who are suffering under other dictatorial regimes (particularly in the Middle East) have been emboldened that positive political change can, and will with their efforts, come to their homelands. But here in the United States, we must remind ourselves that the election of President Barack Obama – yes, he who since then has often let down progressives – upended beliefs in our own power to upend the political process.
Similarly, in a religious context, local U.S. alliances are working to support and protect Muslims to counter a rising tide of Islamophobia. In Florida, the Gainesville Interfaith Peace Coalition (led by Fellowship of Reconciliation members) mobilized in 2009 to counter the hateful rhetoric of the Dove World Outreach Center and its leader, Terry Jones. In Corvallis, Oregon, the community responded quickly when a mosque was firebombed in November 2010. FOR’s Laurie Childers reports (page 6) that two local religious leaders, an imam and a minister, held one another while being interviewed by local media. When friends in his native Libya saw YouTube videos of the imam linking arms with a Christian, they contacted him to ask whether such a public display of friendship was possible.
But, indeed, there are other paradigms we must be willing to question.
This issue of Fellowship takes up that challenge by considering one of our most basic tenets: our financial system. Money provides the very framework through which we navigate our lives. It is not simply iconic, but the mechanism used to obtain our basic needs – food, lodging, clothing, transportation – and the method of compensation for our work. Money is often the source of our stress, and obtaining more of it is a life goal. Is this normal?
Mark Johnson helps us “rethink money” – first by testing our personal relationship with it as a core value, and second – through a profile of the courageous work of Common Cause – by outlining how dramatically, at an institutional level, money drives our nation’s current political conversation. The signatures of capitalism today are much different than even 20-30 years ago, he reminds us.
Articles by Ray Foss, Tom Greco, and Scott Mooney offer additional commentary on the corruption of present-day banking, debt, and financial systems, and focus on why faith communities in particular should lead a movement to confront, strategically and theologically, this epidemic of economic injustice.
This issue’s other feature articles come from Camilo Mejia, Iraq war veteran, and Rabbi Philip Bentley, outspoken Jewish peace activist. Mejia and Bentley counter prevailing norms about policy decisions in Washington, and each offers suggestions of how our communities can re-imagine the creation of a peaceful and just world.
This is a time for revolutionary ideas and ideals. As political orders are overthrown and religious boundaries reconsidered, let us work to break free of other assumptions. Perhaps in our future, the phrase “more is better” will no longer apply to money, but to our human relationships and spiritual connections.
