Pandemic Morality

Fear sells and those who market with it to sell their wares have no larger motivator than death to motivate consumers to purchase their goods. A casual perusal of commercials aimed at today’s consumers easily proves the point. Need to buy a car? Pay attention to those safety features! And make sure that insurance policy will take care of your loved ones once you are gone. In advertising it is called “fear appeal” or “fear appraisal” and is one of the recognized strategies used to motivate consumers. Food safety, personal beauty, body order, or just the fear of missing out on the next new shiny object has no competition when it comes to avoiding death.

The contemporary struggle against the Corona Virus pandemic raises fears to a new level. There is not only the fear of getting sick but the fear of dying is very real. The fear of causing someone else to die motivates individuals to stay home to prevent spreading disease and death. Everyday there is a new count of those who have tested positive for having the virus and a death count from complications from being sick with COVID-19. Thereby we are reminded that sickness and death are only around the corner seeking to devour us. Appealing to this fear is used by leaders and authorities to motivate the public to take actions that presumably protects public safety and preserves life saving resources.

The response to the Corona Virus and COVID-19 pushes leaders and the general public to put into place policies that often don’t make sense and even seem comically incongruous. You can walk on the public walking path but you cannot ride a bicycle. You cannot go to your local barber but your local pot shop selling marijuana is open for business. You cannot shop at your favorite independent clothing boutique or shoe store but you can shop all day long in a crowded WalMart or Target store. You cannot continue your construction business or job but you can shop all day long at Lowe’s or Home Depot or pick up items at the local plant nursery to get those home projects done.

Old Church in Sherman, Washington photo by Ron Almberg

Until a vaccine is created or there is a enough public exposure so that most people carry antibodies to the disease, we will continue in some limited freedom of movement and conducting business. Already many economists speak of the negative economic impact from this pandemic as being greater than anything we have experienced in modern history. Only time will tell if their prophesies will come true. What is true at this point is the rate of dying from exposure to this disease will remain constant until one of those things happens.

The public response to this news usually falls somewhere between two extremes. On one end are those who believe that all risk of any kind should be avoided and people should stay home and venture out only for emergencies until the experts find an answer through a vaccine or cure. On the other end are those who are willing to live and conduct business with a certain amount of risk and believe that everyone should conduct their own lives according to their comfort risk level. One set believes that everyone’s fears and vulnerabilities should be everyone else’s concern. The other set believes that everyone should take necessary precautions only as is necessary for their own personal safety. For one set, public health and safety is a communal concern and effort. For the other set, public health and safety is the concern and effort of individual actions and beliefs. On one end: Your health and safety is my responsibility. On the other end: You’re not the boss of me and cannot dictate how I live. Unfortunately, these two extremes only yell and scream at each other on today’s social media platforms and no one appears to be listening to each other.

Wauconda & Toroda Creek Rd, Ferry Co., Washington – photograph by Ron Almberg

Is the choice between paralyzing fear or a cavalier attitude? Or is there a healthy middle ground that provides balance in self-care and community-care? What can be the organizing moral principle that guides our social attitudes and behaviors? Because there does not seem to be any moral principle or belief that binds us together as a society today. In a pluralistic society is it possible to have one? Or are we to settle upon “every person doing what is right in their own eyes” to borrow a phrase of biblical judgment against a culture in moral chaos (Judges 17:6; 21:25).

Without moral clarity we will end up becoming something akin to George Orwell’s 1984 or William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. In times of stress a people’s true morality shines through their actions. Unfortunately for our day, the culture divide and tribalism propagated for the past several years has not helped create a cooperative atmosphere so that we can work together. Instead, we close ourselves into our chosen echo chambers and rail at the voices we cannot hear and will not listen to. So, perhaps, George Orwell got it right when he wrote in his book 1984, “The best books…are those that tell you what you know already.” At least those are the only ones we seem to like to read.

The Christian community, unfortunately, has failed to provide a cohesive voice in how to respond. This is probably just a reflection of its already fractured state as denominations and movements compete for consumers in the religious marketplace. Beyond the occasional call to reasonable and prayerful responses during the pandemic to “love thy neighbor,” the religious sphere seems to have grown silent. Perhaps it is because even the Christian community is hotly divided between left and right political spectrums and clergy persons are unwilling to risk alienating congregants and thus their livelihood. Whatever the case, without someone appealing to our better natures we seem destined to devolve into our most basic animal natures. It is a story as old as the Garden of Eden when the Lord God warned Cain that “If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you, but you must rule over it (Gen. 4:7)”. This is something that William Golding captured in The Lord of the Flies when one of the characters observes, “Maybe there is a beast…What I mean is, maybe it is only us.”

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Silent Fears

Image by Fairfax County Public Library via Flickr

It has become politically incorrect to voice one’s fears and anxieties publicly. Any insecurities one might have around a group of people are a social weakness and must be left unvoiced.  At least this is my take on recent events in the news.  The most glaring example is the firing of Juan Williams from NPR over expressing momentary personal anxieties he experiences when he gets on a plane with others overtly dressed as Muslims.

Keeping our fears and insecurities silent is precisely part of our problem. Where is the public forum to express openly and talk honestly about the experiences that frighten us?  When is there an opportunity to have a civil discussion about what are or are not rational fears public fears?  Dismissing and glossing over them only causes greater paranoia, I believe.

As a parent, when my children express a fear – rational or not – I want to talk with them about it. A healthy discussion with them helps me to address the difference between reality and perception.  Some fears are healthy and some are not, but telling my child they are “phobic” or dismissing them as immature will not help them.  Yet, it seems to me this is precisely the way those in government and media are attempting to treat the American people.

Anyone who expresses an anxiety or fear is labeled “phobic” – islamaphobe, homophobe, xenophobe, etc. This is intended to silence us and make us bury those fears deep within our psyche.  There is no public place to express them.  So, we do not talk about them.  We do not acknowledge our insecurities over those differences.  Instead, like the good stoic Northern Europeans we are, we are expected to get over them, move on and embrace everyone in every place regardless of how we really feel.  Don’t talk about “it.”  Don’t deal with “it.”  Hide “it.”

I do not think this is a long-term workable solution for peace and unity among humankind. Sooner or later, these unspoken fears will come out.  Precisely because they were not dealt with in a suitable manner today, their dormancy will give way to hatred towards those we fear in some tomorrow; especially in times of greater turmoil.  Consider past human actions against one another: Rwanda, European-Jewish history, American treatment of Japanese Americans during WWII, Sunnis and Muslims, Muslims and Hindus in Pakistan-India, South African Apartheid, and the Jim Crow laws of 20th century America.  The list is as endless as human history.

Our silent fears will not lie unspoken for very long. Human history has taught us that when it comes to conflict of any kind, we will bunch into “tribes” that will attack one another.  These “tribes” might not necessarily have their identity around ethnic or social affinities.  Today they are just as likely to form around ideological affinities: conservatives, liberals, socialists, capitalists, religionist, non-religionists and on the list goes into “pro-this” and “pro-that” or “anti-this” and “anti-that.”

Waterfall Above Hyas Lake, Washington State, September 2010 ©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2010)

The greatest idea of founding American democracy was, I believe, the creation of a society where an open market place of ideas can be shared by everyone. This means that we must give voice to our differences and fears as well as our commonalities and passions.  Sure, we may even have to listen to people we disagree with on the most visceral level.  However, allowing their voices to be heard is much better for society overall than demanding it be silenced and relegated to the underground.

Giving air time in a public place for all ideas allows the larger public to determine the cogency and vitality of ideas and arguments. We need not censure the American public from them.  They will do so by themselves with thought and action.  If our ideas and ideals – political or religious – cannot stand on their own two feet in a public debate then perhaps it is time to reconsider our own position.

Vivian Schilling, the CEO of National Public Radio, and the other leaders of PRI (Public Radio International) should be ashamed of the way they handled the firing of Juan Williams. However, even more so, they need to reconsider how they treat sincere expressions of fear, anxieties and social concerns.  It is not enough to dismiss them as Vivian Schilling did with a suggestion that Juan Williams take his issues up with his psychiatrist.  There is a whole nation of people who know that twinge of fear, even if it is only momentary, when they get on a plane with people dressed as Muslims.  It is simply our current reality.

Would Juan Williams, who is himself of African-American descent, have received the similar discipline if he expressed the same fear about going into a poor African-American neighborhood with a history of drug and gang violence? Would he have been expected to not voice any fear if he had gone into a Ku Klux Klan meeting to do a reporting job?  The fact is that reporters, even NPR reporters, have a history of relaying personal impressions and expressions.  So, what makes this any different?  Oh, yeah.  It was on Fox News.  Well, that is another story.

Even in our current negative financial climate, the American people are chided for their fears. We are daily reminded that the problem is “the consumer confidence index.”  It indicates that we are fearful for the future and its uncertainty.  The expectation seems to be to overlook our fears and keep on buying and going into debt.  Until our own fears are conquered and we gain a positive consumer financial index, the economy is our fault.  Right.

Let us take the mute off of our fears and openly express them. We must not give in to our silent fears.  Instead, we are more apt to find solutions, overcome our fears and move confidently into our future side-by-side if we work together to address them.  Franklin D. Roosevelt expressed to the American people after the dark days of the beginning of The Great Depression that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  By going on to acknowledging America’s fears he dis-empowered those fears.  Maybe he was only partially correct.  Maybe what we have to fear is our silent fears.

©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2010)

Related Articles

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• Juan Williams: NPR Acted Too Rashly (businesspundit.com)
• NPR’s Firing of Juan Williams (oup.com)

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The State of Fear and Ignorance

Most of us do more out of fear and ignorance than we do out of courage and wisdom.  I know that my personal track record in that arena is not that good anyway.  Why is it that fear is such a greater motivator than courage or bravery?  Why are we so susceptible to acting in our ignorance before seeking wisdom and understanding concerning our circumstances?  Even the best of us can be taken down by these two imps of degenerate humanity.

I am constantly reminded of this in our current world affairs in the Middle East.  The West’s attempt to conquer the enemy of freedom and democracy as it appears in Al Qaeda and Taliban groups underscores this problem.  Instead of addressing the human equation, Western nations think that they are simply dealing with something that requires a military solution.  As history has showed us in all of our wars, it is never that simple.  There are many reasons why people go to war to protect their land or to force out a perceived invader.  Sometimes it is as raw and simple as “It pays the bills.”  Thus, it is another career choice and creates and military economy.

I just recently finished a book by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin entitled, “Three Cups of Tea:  One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time” (Penguin Books, 2006).  It is so good that I purchases the follow-up book, “Stones into Schools:  Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs in Afghanistan and Pakistan” by Greg Mortenson.  It is a remarkable book about how one man is changing the world through building schools for children, especially girls.  His personal story is so remarkable and well known among the Muslims of Afghanistan and Pakistan that he is accepted in some of the most hostile places to any other American.  It only begs the question: “How come more people are not doing this?  How come our American government is not taking more of this approach to defeating the Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership in this part of the world?

Greg Mortenson’s story in Three Cups of Tea is not a tale of unbroken successes.  It includes many failures as well as starts-and-stops.  Nevertheless, Mortenson’s persistence and willingness to be humble and learn the ways of others wins the day.  The key is relationships; by willing to take the time to build relationships, which takes time and patience, Greg Mortenson gained permission to have influence to help tribal groups better the lives of their children.  Thus, the work of Central Asia Institute was born and given life.  This is the idea of the three cups of tea Greg Mortenson had to experience in every village with every leader:  “The first cup of tea, you are a stranger.  The second cup of tea, you are a guest.  The third cup of tea, you are family and we will die for our family.”

California Poppies, Spring 2009 ©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2010)

What is discovered vicariously through Mortenson’s experiences in Pakistan and Afghanistan is that the Muslim people there want the same thing that everyone in the world wants for themselves and their families: jobs, peace, and a secure future.  Poverty, warfare and instability drive even the most peace loving people to desperate actions for a different life.  We have witnessed that as Americans in our own history during and immediately following the industrial revolution of the late 19th and early 20th century.

Mortenson’s conviction is that education is a key to freedom from poverty, constant war and government instability.  The early results from his successes at building schools in the hinterlands of Pakistan and Afghanistan seem to confirm this proposal.  The local people are willing to fight for themselves against the Al Qaeda and Taliban if they are given the right tools, starting with an education, then with clean water and finally economic development.  Groups like Pennies for Peace help advance this very simple premise.

The saddest part of the book, “Three Cups of Tea,” was the reaction of some Americans to Greg Mortenson’s efforts.  It would appear that fear and ignorance on the American side of the equation is just as dangerous as it is on the Muslim side.  There is still a state of fear and ignorance that many Americans hold to all Muslims; just witness the recent reaction of so many Americans to the idea of a mosque being built near the ground zero of the World Trade Center.  The assumption is that most or all Muslims are terrorists who want to kill, maim, and destroy anyone from the west.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

The largest single effort to defeat radical, extremist Islamic Fundamentalists can only be through building relationships that bring about mutual understanding and respect.  By taking time to build relationships that binds the hearts and minds of people together, the world can change.  We must face the fact that there will always be haters and destroyers in the world.  We may not be able to change them.  However, we can change the state of fear and ignorance in which they hold everyone.  Let’s pray more Greg Mortenson’s arrive to help us get there.

©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2010)

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Nothing But Trouble an Act of God

Have you ever experienced a period of time where nothing goes right for you? We all probably have at some point, or will.  I have had a rash of bad circumstances.  My car breaks down and it’s not a minor fix.  Then my computer crashes and it is not a minor fix either.  It takes a couple of overhauls to finally get my computer running right.

My car?  Let’s not talk about that. One of my friends at church told me that he and his buddies knew what to get to help me out.  A mountain bike and a note pad!  Health problems.  Relationship problems.  Child raising problems.  Broken cars and broken computers.  Did I mention an appliance to repair or replace?

When this happens, do you ask, “Why?” I do!  I want to stop it and fix it to get out of the pain as soon as possible.  I want to find the cause for the effects I’m suffering.

Unfortunately, there are no simple answers to that simple question. Sometimes its just life.  Life can be harsh.  People I don’t know, circumstances I cannot foresee or control, can change my life forever.  I can only draw strength from God and others and move on.

At other times, I have to honestly look myself in the mirror and say, “It’s your own fault.” Whether lack of experience, wisdom, or just plain stupidity, I sometimes cause my own greatest pain.  I can only learn from them and go on.

Purple Flowers on Mountain Hike, Full Color, July 2003 ©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2009)

Frequently, I hear people blaming God for their troubles. They think he is paying them back.   They are left wondering what “sin” it was this time that angered God.  As a result of this faulty faith, many live with an unhealthy fear and loathing of God.

I also see many people today loaded down with shame and guilt. Our society seems to thrive on it.  Some individuals relationship with God are based upon a constant sense of shame and guilt.  They think God is always waiting to strike them if they don’t get it right.  They picture him as the great umpire in heaving waiting to call strikes against us – and ultimately to call us, “Out!”

Yes, sometimes we do suffer the consequences of our own sinful actions. But that is not God hammering us.  It is reaping what we sowed.  Just like the laws of physics, there are laws of the human spirit, laws of human relationships, and laws of behavior.  We all violate them at our own risk.

For a reason beyond my understanding, he mostly chooses to not shield us from the effects of our own sinful behavior or sin-filled effects raging in the world.  Instead, he walks us through them and gives us strength in the midst of our troubles.

I do not know about you, but I would much rather have an escape route. However, life does not work that way.  And God chooses not to accommodate me with an escape.  Instead, he promises his presence and power in the middle of it all.   Frankly, I will take that rather than self-reliance or nothing at all.

Many of our insurance policies make allowances for “An Act of God.” Do you see bad circumstances as an act of God?  When bad things fall upon you are you apt to look to heaven and ask, “What did I do?”  You are in good company.  Most people do.  However, that is not how God works with us.

The good news proclaimed in Jesus the Messiah and Savior is that he did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. The world is already under judgment and condemned.  He did not come to add to it.  He came to remove people out from underneath the heavy load of fear, guilt, and shame.

So, when trouble strikes, it’s not an act of God. In our own doing, or just because we live in an imperfect world, things happen to us.  When they do happen, even at our own doing, we no longer need to look for guilt and shame from God but for help and power to overcome.  After all, he is on our side now.

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Code of Persistence

Harold Sherman quite awhile ago wrote a book entitled How To Turn Failure Into Success.  In it he gives a “Code of Persistence.”  If you have a tendency to give up too easily, write this down and read it daily.

1.  I will never give up so long as I know I am right.

2.  I will believe that all things will work out for me if I hang on until the end.

3.  I will be courageous and undismayed in the face of odds.

4.  I will not permit anyone to intimidate me or deter me from my goals.

5.  I will fight to overcome all physical handicaps and setbacks.

6.  I will try again and again and yet again to accomplish what I desire.

7.  I will take a new faith and resolution from the knowledge that all successful men and women had to fight defeat and adversity.

8.  I will never surrender to discouragement or despair no matter what seeming obstacles may confront me.

These are great maxims to live by. They can help a person to reach wonderful goals.  These personal declarations can help a person overcome all obstacles in order to be successful in life.  And success is good.  It can be not only personally rewarding but also God-honoring and God-glorifying.

Fall Rosehips In Turtle River State Park, North Dakota 2005 ©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2009)

Yet, for the Christian, there is another maxim for success that must not be forgotten in regards to persistence.  It is more important than any of these in Harold Sherman’s list.  We find it over and over again lived out in the lives of people portrayed for us in Scripture.

For example, Joshua was reminded of it when he had to take over the leadership position vacated by Moses and lead Israel into the Promise Land.  The maxim that Joshua needed to take with him to be successful was that the strength to be persistent until success lies in the knowledge that God is with you.  As long as Joshua acted upon that truth and led others by it, he could not fail.

God’s promise to Joshua was very simple, “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  This is a powerful truth to take to heart and live by everyday as we seek to accomplish great things.  God has promised His presence wherever his people go in service to him.  Every believer in Jesus can draw strength and take courage in the knowledge that the Lord God is with us and will help us.  So, don’t give up too easily!

Jesus gave his closest followers a similar promise that is passed down to us.  After commanding them to make disciples for him in the entire world, he promised, “I will always be with you, even to the end of time!”  As they went out into the world to do their work and live their lives, they were to take strength and comfort from Jesus’ promise that he would always be with them wherever they went.

Jesus’ promise to his obedient followers did not come with an expiration date.  It is a promise that continues down to our time and place.  We also are to take the same strength and courage from Jesus’ promise.  His presence encourages us and strengthens us to be persistent in our daily battles.

When we give up, we are essentially saying back to God, “I don’t believe your promise.  I don’t believe that you are really present with me in this situation.  I don’t believe that you want me to succeed.”  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  God does not fail in the promises he makes.

We win in the end because he will see us through until we are successful.  This does not mean the absence of temporary failures or set backs.  It does not mean we will not face obstacles and trials.  There will be challenges.  We will have to fight some battles.  Nevertheless, if we remain persistent like Harold Sherman suggests and never let go of our confidence in God’s promise to always be with us and lead us, we will finish successfully.

So, whatever you are faced with, hang in there.  Do not give up.  Remain persistent at what you know you need to do and you will be successful.  Remind yourself daily that God is present in your life and leading you as you trust and follow him.  You will win your battles and be victorious.

©Weatherstone/Ron Almberg, Jr. (2009)

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