WasabiJane | The blog and portfolio of Lisa Eldred » politics

Of Corrupted Cities

Lisa — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:45:00 +0000

I’ve been playing the most recent Prince of Persia game over the last few days. The basic premise is that the unnamed “Prince” (actually a wandering tomb raider) gets lost and stumbles into an abandoned city. As it was built to imprison the god Ahriman (of Zoroastrianism), its decaying state means that the defenses are weakened, and about 5-10 minutes into the game Ahriman is partially released. The rest of the game is spent fighting the corruption spread by Ahriman and his minions and renewing the fertile grounds that act as his prison walls.

I think it was when Elika, the princess of the city, described the population’s decline from several thousand a few hundred years previously to fewer than 200 that it struck me: Prince of Persia is really a rather apt metaphor for the urban decay of Detroit, Flint, and, well, the rest of Michigan. Detroit in particular fits this mold well. The population declines; the merchants stop coming. Corruption–physical, political, metaphorical–inescapably spreads. The way the auto industry is faltering–it’s like the final seal containing Ahriman is cracking.

What, then, can we do about it? If only the metaphor carried through to the healing of the city! In the game, the Prince and Elika, with the help of Elika’s magic provided by the creator god Ohrmazd, kill Ahriman’s lieutenants and heal the fertile grounds. I suppose there are urban renewal programs and churches to “meet” both counts. But is it enough? And how can more be done? What can be done to bring Detroit out of its ruin?

The Necessity of the Law

Lisa — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 01:31:40 +0000

I’m editing a coworker’s paper, and came across this quote:

“While politics is about power, an ethical framework can be seen as a ‘counterbalance’ to power, or at leat as a way to mitigate some of the potentially negative impacts of power.”

(Source: Cathy Gibson, 2009).

Mostly, I’m throwing this up here for the sake of storing it somewhere, but it really synthesizes some of the vaguely politicky thoughts that have been stewing in the back of my head. Namely, this is why the Right cares about issues like Gay marriage and abortion and the sexual exploits of politicians and whatnot–it represents a decay, perceived or real, in the mitigating force keeping those in power in check. And it’s why presidents like Bush, love him or hate him, could get re-elected: again, real or perceived, as a proclaimed Christian, many who voted for him perceived him as being guided by an internal counterbalance to the power–the human conscience.

It’s the entire purpose of the law: it’s not solely about keeping society in order, but it provides a structure by which leaders can help society maintain this order without losing control or, more frequently, gaining absolute control. Without moral absolutes, what is there to stop those in power from seizing it? Indeed, without moral absolutes, what does it even matter?

Dear Churches of America

Lisa — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:47:11 +0000

Dear Churches of America,

Dear Body of the Living Christ,

My brothers and sisters,

Change has come to America, and we the church had very little to do with it.

I’m not talking about the political landscape, per se, because we had as much to do with that as the rest of the citizens. Some of us voted for Obama. Some voted for McCain. Some even voted for third-party candidates. Those of us who voted made our voices heard. And whomever you voted for, Obama is now our president–has been for almost 48 hours, and will be, by the grace of God, for the next 4-8 years. And he has a lot of worthy things to say–like stepping up and helping each other. Like doing good deeds in service to one another.

President Obama’s not the problem. He merely highlights it.

See, here’s the thing. Half of America thinks that Obama is going to be the greatest president since Lincoln, minimally. They expect him to restore the economy. To rule with justice. To set the (political) prisoners free. To bring peace to the planet.

In short, they expect him to be the Messiah.

Can you see where I’m going with this? They expect him to be the savior because we’ve failed to show the world the real one! We’ve failed to preach the gospel, and when we have, we’ve failed to back it up with compassion. And even when we do show a strong outpouring of love, it’s often not of our own initiative. A bunch of churches in Lansing, for example, teamed up to provide financial support for a food bank, and I believe we supplied three times the amount of money requested–but we came together at the request of the MAYOR–the government’s initiative, not our own.

I’m not saying that we don’t do good works or that we don’t preach the gospel. We’re just not doing it enough. I’m certainly not. And because of our failures, our fellow citizens are looking to the government to save them, to provide the answers to their questions.

Wake up, churches of America! Don’t be like Laodicea, neither not nor cold! Be Smyrna, be Philadelphia! Love your family, your friends, your enemies. Let the unbelievers see our good works, that they might be receptive to the Gospel and glorify the Father in Heaven! There’s only one Savior. We need to make sure the world sees him.

In Christ, who has made us new creations,

Lisa