ZEITGEIST

In this post I thought I would step back into a more reflective mode in order to ponder the recent events of our time. The Germans have a wonderful word that captures what I'm talking about: Zeitgeist, understood to mean the spirit of the time.

A GREAT READ

I'm writing this post while on vacation with my wife, visiting our youngest daughter who lives in New York City.  What started me thinking about this post is that on our way to the airport we stopped to have lunch at a coffee shop called the Urban Abbey in Omaha, Nebraska - excellent coffee, homemade sandwiches, and other homemade goodies.

It also has a small, interesting bookstore. While looking through the books I ran across and purchased a small book to read on the plane. The book is titled, "The Gardens of Democracy" by Eric Liu and Nick Hanuaer.  I was able to finish reading it the evening we reached our daughter's Harlem apartment. I rarely read a book in one sitting.

This is a book for our time, especially, people living in the United States. It is beautifully written and written to make one think. I will most certainly read it again.

If you haven't read it, consider doing so.

Their book isn't about zeitgeist, per se, but it seems indicative of an emerging one.  It offers new way to look at things. It reminded me of how much like thinking occurs in a massive way at certain times, but I'm not going to talk about this excellent book.  I'll leave it up to you to read it for yourself.

ZEITGEIST MOMENTS OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

2000 through 2012

In this post, I want to spend time looking at zeitgeist moments. Not that zeitgeists can be defined in terms of specific dates since they give way to other such moments and trying to draw line where one ends and one begins is impossible. What marks a zeitgeist moment is an identified flow of ideas and thought that produce action and innovation.  In fact, one zeitgeist moment may lead to its polar opposite  For example, during the first decade of this new century was a move towards social conservatism in both politics and religion. Within a few weeks of 9/11 it seemed the world retracted into a shell as if, in some way, we collectively had gone too far out on a progressive limb and needed to find a way back into the safety of an idealized past. The fact is though this moment wasn't caused by 9/11,  it was more of  the outbreak event of a zeitgeist moment that was already underway. The zeitgeist of the time had a name, fundamentalism.

The irony of that era was that fundamentalism, in the form radicalized Islam, created a like radicalized Christian response in the more free intellectual environments, particularly in the United States.  The goal of fundamentalism, in all of its various forms, is aimed at eliminating freedom of thought. As such, fundamentalism easily lends itself to the irrationality of war as a necessary response or outcome to or of a perceived evil that is believed to have arisen from permissive thought.

While religious fundamentalists may talk about a god of love, their version of a loving God is a belief in conditional god who comes with a lot ifs, ands, and buts. God loves you as long as you think the right way and do what you're told. This usually means to stop thinking and just believe what you're being told. As such, fundamentalism has its own ideological deity that I would identify as the God of Wrath.

A god of wrath is helpful when trying to wipe out intellectual freedom. Interestingly, the God of Wrath is not preferential, as this god is paid homage by all fractious sides.  Human blood, in the form of war, is the preferred sacrifice by this god and fear its liturgy.

And, for a time, the world bowed obsequiously to this god.

So as war took center stage, fundamentalism in various forms strengthened. Politics became polarized and narrow as it maintained a hawkish front.  Religion, for the most part, embraced the certainty of belief rather than the truthfulness of faith. Truth no longer spoke to power.  Power was truth.

And for a moment the fundamental politics of war and the fundamental certainty of religious belief were wedded.

I remember quite distinctly how quiet not only the skies became, but also how hushed any conversation in public became that questioned the direction our nation was taking shortly after the events of 9/11.

As time went on, I could not help but observe the emerging similarities between both Muslim and Christian fundamentalism with regard to social issues. Of course in the USA we did not employ the draconian methods used by the Taliban to enforce their moral codes, but rather made attempts to enforce morality through legal processes as though the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were no longer the main focus of national and international concern. The political irrationality of the Terri Schaivo case and the effort to add an amendment to the U.S. constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman were indicative of this fundamentalist zeitgeist moment.

The Roman Catholic Church is perhaps one of the best places in recent times to observe any zeitgeist currents.  It had its own "fundamental" moment.  As Pope John Paul II's papacy neared its end, the Roman Church retracted from the progressive advances of Vatican II.  With the election of Pope Benedict XVI, the Church of Rome seemed to have stepped back into a theological time warp that resembled Catholicism of the late 19th century, but all of these occurrences had a consistency about them that said Zeitgeist.

The Great Transition

Zeitgeists, like economic markets,  have their bubbles that eventually burst. These are transitional periods between zeitgeist that are poorly defined and marked more by confusion and anticipation.

It appears that we may be exiting a transitional period.  It started with economic bubbles bursting all over the place, and the world experiencing  one of the worst economic recessions to date. At the same time, people in the USA seemingly had their fill of war and their fill of fundamentalism by electing our first black president.

With the market crash came scandal after scandal involving high profile financial moguls who bilked countless investors of their life savings and evangelical preachers and leaders of fundamentalist mega-churches who preached to high heaven on family values and then  found being involved with mostly male prostitutes.

The bastion that is the Roman Catholic Church was rocked by scandal after scandal involving pedophile priests causing a financial and moral crisis that resulted in Pope Benedict "retiring." The Middle East erupted in the Arab Spring with one after another Arab nation experiencing populist revolts that has left the Middle-east in turmoil and uncertainty, but which may emerge a calmer place if and when the dust is allowed to settle.

A new moment?

I believe we are in a new zeitgeist moment; one that hopefully is more caring, humble, patient, and reasoned than in the recent past. One might question my sanity in saying this.  I'm not being idealistic. I realize there is tremendous anxiety and uncertainty where things are going, but what gives me hope and what seems indicative of a zeitgeist moment is the emergence of new ideas, but be it far from me to predict what all this means or what twists and turns will be encountered.

Creativity is in the air as a collective fatigue over repeating the same old patterns and keeping to the same economic, political, and religious agenda set in.  I believe there is a general awareness about the insanity of doing the same unproductive things repeatedly. Zeitgeists are largely marked by massive trends that bubble up from a ground level, with new ideas and language to along with them.

SCOTUS' recent rulings on such political hot topics such as health care and same-sex marriage are indicative of the break-through moments as is the response of South Carolinians to violence inflicted on Emmanuel AME church by removing the Confederate war flag from its capital grounds.  With such break-through moments will come challenges and reaction.  Nothing about a spirit of the times is easy or has a moral value to it.  Rather it is about a thematic flow of thought which results in actions, but one can never predict an outcome to this flow or where it will lead.

Emergence

The election of Barack Obama marked the emergence of a new zeitgeist moment; one that signaled the fatigue this country and world was feeling over the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the economic recession, and the social retraction that had occurred during the eight previous years.  Awarding President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize struck some in the United States as an awkward moment, but it seemed to be more than a mere expression of relief on the part of the western world, rather it was a recognition that the zeitgeist of extreme fundamentalism was over in the West, and, as it turns out, they were right.  Fundamental extremism appears to be waning at the moment.

2013 to the Present

The election of Pope Francis I, is probably the clearest signal that a new zeitgeist moment has arrived in the West.  He put his imprimatur on language that's been around, but never recognized. His use of the word gay, for example, during an impromptu conversation with members of the press did more to break down closet doors than a single act done by anyone else. Even though he does not favor same-sex marriage, he legitimized, on a global scale, that being gay is acceptable and should be accepted. It will take time for many to catch up to this, but the seed has sprouted. Although concerns about global warming and climate change has been around for some time, his "Laudato Si" did more to awaken the world to our common plight that scientists have been warning us of than the valiant efforts of Al Gore and others who undoubtedly influenced his encyclical.

Politics, in the United States, is always fascinating and generally unpredictable. I really wish the majority of its citizens would appreciate how fascinating it is and become engaged.  Two individuals are currently dominating the presidential race. Both were considered a long shot at the start of their campaigns, but both are near leading their respective parties in the polls.

Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, regardless of what one might think of them, have proven to be game changers with regard to parties they represent. No two individuals could be further apart idealistically or politically, but their attraction, at the moment, is signaling exactly what I meant by a collective fatigue that is yearning for new ideas and approaches. Both of these individuals represent the press for plain talk and truth-telling. Whether one likes what  is said or appalled by what is said, these two are shaking their respective parties up in a way that may make this presidential race more focused.

Politics, whether of a national or of a religious nature, do not generate zeitgeist moments, but are indicators of one. Politics are largely responsive to the seismic groundswell of an emerging collective consciousness. The United States and the Roman Catholic Church are two of the best indicators of a global zeitgeist. Primarily, because both are monolithic institutions that embody diverse cultures and intellectual thought one is able to see such seismic shifts of on a grander scale.

The reality is that much smaller nations and religious institutions are far ahead of these monoliths when it comes to creative thought and innovation. I believe in part the reason for this is because they are smaller and more agile and able to make the sort of commitments to social progress and eco-friendly planning than much bulkier nations and institutions.  For example, some small European nations are no longer dependent on fossil fuels for their nations energy needs.  Smaller Christian and Jewish denominations have readily embraced same-sex marriage. Some, like the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ have divested their stock holdings in the fossil fuel industries and reinvesting in clean energy industries.

Zeitgeists, however, do not come out of the blue. They just appear to because a groundswell of thought and activity has reached a breakthrough point in our collective consciousness as witnessed in recent events mentioned earlier.

I remain hopeful that we, in the United States and in other parts of the world, have reached a point where, for the most part, we are poised to bury the evils of a past steeped in discrimination, fear, and segregation to embrace a more just society and fuller humanity. It is clear that not all parts of the world are ready for this, but we in the West and in other more democratic nations are poised to tackle the environmental mess that we've inherited and to create and restore the earth to its natural beauty. We are poised, but as yet not fully committed, to see fruition. Time (hopefully a short time) will tell if we become fully committed to what seems to be the spirit of the time, to this new zeitgeist.


Until next time, stay faithful.