“Keep
these words I am commanding you in your hearts.
Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home
and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as
an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your homes and
on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NRSV
The so-called “fourth estate” of the press is arguably
the most powerful of the estates, the other three attributed to branches of government. The term can be traced back to 18th-century
England and speaks of the power of the press in reporting government
actions. A government can command
virtually anything but is often stayed in going too far by the power of a free
press to make citizens aware of what could be an unpopular and morally
questionable policy.
That power occurs to me as I read the reports of the
Republican presidential contenders who had once pledged to support the
Republican nominee, whomever it may be.
Things being as they are, nasty and unfiltered as school yard fights
often are, each of the remaining contenders has backed off the pledge to
support the Republican nominee. The
reason such a thing has come to be is because of the vile words and actions especially
between Trump and Cruz. More to the
point, Gov. Kasich has not allowed himself to be drawn into this spitting match
and, as a result, does not get nearly as much press coverage.
In speaking of the power of the press, however, it has
occurred to me – especially in comparing this election to that of a school yard
or street fight in this age – that just as kids provoke others in getting a
fight started and keeping it going, so also is the press by continuing to “report”
on every nasty thing spoken. Then, of
course, we have children recording these fights with cell phones and posting
them on social media. The “reporters”,
of course, are pretty pleased with themselves as are those who report every
nasty thing spoken by these “adults” who aspire to the highest elected office
in the land.
When Moses spoke his words to the Israelites prior to
their moving into the Promised Land, he also issued a standard by which the
people of Israel must conduct themselves; assuring them that the measure of
their success in their new homeland will be directly proportional to their
faithfulness to their God and His Law.
Their willing faithfulness, however, was not restricted only to the
contemporary generation.
Moses was adamant that this Law should not be only an
afterthought or only something to consider during their worship times; this Law
must become a part of their being and their doing and their relating to one
another. Only in this way will the
children begin to understand the Law and how it works in daily living, in “real
life” beyond what is theoretical.
Electoral politics is ideally a time in which ideas
and policy proposals are exchanged in public debates. Voters, through the “fourth estate”, get to
hear about these proposals and ideas and then decide for themselves how they
should vote.
Unfortunately, the “fourth estate” is giving us little
more than an exchange of insults, and maybe this is all there is to report. Finger-pointing and name-calling between
grown men and women have always been an unfortunate part of this electoral
process, but this time around it seems to have gotten much worse – especially when
it has become a contest between who has the more attractive wife.
Make no mistake.
The anti-Trump PAC (not affiliated with Cruz) which released the
nearly-nude photo of Mrs. Trump before the Utah primary crossed a line which
should not have been crossed and opened this door which should never have been
opened. Trump accused Cruz of being
behind the profoundly inappropriate ad and threatened to “spill the beans” on
Mrs. Cruz. Not long after this, Trump
released a comparative photo of his wife alongside an unflattering photo of
Mrs. Cruz. The “fourth estate” ran with
it, the electorate has been hungrily eating it up, and the children continue to
provoke and record even nastier school yard fights. We as a nation, as a people, are the poorer
for it, for the children are only a reflection of the culture in which they are
raised.
It is often said the press can only report what is, that
who we are and what we do is only exposed
by the press. Perhaps this much is true;
but I cannot help but to wonder if we are in some measure being defined, at least in part, by what the
press chooses to report rather than that we are being merely exposed.
At this point it is not at all about whom we may elect
to serve as president, for it will be far from over come November. Our children and the future of this nation
are at risk. From the time of Moses, a
people – the whole people – are responsible for teaching our children well; and
when we poison the well from which everyone drinks, we will one day be called
to account for how we have lived and what we taught. Call it “karma” if this is the preferred term
of an agnostic society, but Divine Retribution is near at hand; and the
judgment may already be upon us.
Yet Moses also called it. The people will forget themselves and their
God and will go and act in accordance with what seems best for the time. They will forget the Law which governs and
the God who set the standard for His people.
Even still, there is always a way back. A change of behavior, a determination of
exactly where we went wrong, and a determination to make it right means we have
a chance to make things right once again.
And when we do, as Moses told the people of Israel: “When you … return to The Lord
your God … then The Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have
compassion on you …” (Deuteronomy
30:1-3).
It is a standard which demands mutual respect. When we refuse to engage in our own brand of
retribution, when we refuse to “return evil for evil”, the evil will be
slowed. Can we not see it only gets
worse when we engage evil on its
terms, become evil ourselves, and that our children become the “collateral
damage”?
There is hope for this nation, but that hope will not
come by any one person. It will come
only when we stand for what is truly right and live according to that standard
of righteousness; for this is the true strength of a people … a whole people.
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