Very early in the semester we were faced with the well-known reality of many individuals that come here with a driving ambition to ‘fix’ Washington D.C. To people around the country it appears as if there is something fundamentally broken or evil in this city and its halls of power. Clearly, the immediate conclusion is the following: we need a savior to deliver us from this evil. Sound familiar? It should if you know the story of the New Testament. The following constitutes a rationale of what I have learned of Washington’s flaws, with emphasis on subtle cognitive structures and the hidden myths therein.
It is inherent in human nature to hyperbolize: people we do not know, concepts we do not understand, musical masterpieces that overwhelm us, and places we've heard of, but have not yet visited. The same can be said about Washington, as people assign government and law mythical proportions with immeasurable powers. Out of these general notions weighed down by sheer ignorance comes the defining thought to many across the nation that we must get a particular person elected, at all cost. Some even go as far as to say that if this does not happen the consequences will be apocalyptic, with the entire fate of mankind hinging on our votes—not surprisingly, most such people would identify themselves with the Christian faith. Don’t get me wrong, it is right to support a candidate and you should vote, but how far is too far? Where do these ideas come from, how do they become so defining to these citizens, and what leads them to believe this complete antagonism between political parties? Many would say polarization and vitriolic rhetoric is the fundamental reason, but I would beg to differ, as they have got it backwards. The conflict-ridden atmosphere is in fact the result of what is happening around the country. My presence and interractions throughout D.C. have convinced me that Washington is indeed highly responsive to its voters and constitutes, a mirror of the electorate.
Through all of the rhetoric and ideological prestidigitation one can find on Capitol Hill, I managed to identify a pattern very familiar to an Eastern European. The rise of ideologies in the 20th century revealed to the world what implications messianic thinking can have when secularized. Don’t get too excited, I am in no way going to succumb to a conspiracy theory on how the Antichrist is coming or going or returning, etc. In actuality I am trying to make a point by showing you how we blur the lines between religion and politics, resulting in a politicized religion—complete with its own saviors (for some it’s Glen Beck for others it is Pres. Obama) –a public realm that craves saviors. This becomes clear in any policy debate—one man has the answer (In recent budget debates it was Paul Ryan) but also on the ideational level the ‘silver-bullet’ oversimplification that we assign to all issues under the sun. Indeed, whether we like to admit it or not, the epistemological idea of what political scientists have called ‘immanentizing the eschaton’ is alive and well with us today, a token from an era dominated by ideological warfare. A highly revered Romanian Professor of Government at MDU writes: “Communism and Fascism, in their traditional incarnations, have failed. The same cannot be said about the psycho-ideational structures that made their rise possible.” (V. Tismaneanu On Anti-Americanism: The Resources And Persistence Of A Political Myth) It should be clear, if understood properly in its historical context, what the negative effects can be when succumbing to our own salvific temptations. The answer might lie in extensive politological analyses that I am not yet prepared to carry out, but I can say this: Engaging ‘the other’ will break down many myths assigned to the person otherwise vilified through media snippets.
You might ask: What are you proposing, Robert? What is your silver-bullet, what should we advocate for now? In an attempt not to fall into this trap, I will conclude with thanking you for the intellectual effort in reading to the end, but also in quoting a greater thinker, Albert Einstein: “The World’s problems cannot be solved with the same mindset that has created them.”
-RB
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