Changing Emperors?
Why do folk vote for an obviously sick person who so transparently cares only for themself.
What that one has done for years, is absolve people of shame. In a Nero's world there is no shame in being bigoted, racist, a misogynist, a serial sexual offender, or a crook. A Nero gives people permission to avoid repentance, and normalises the idolatry of the self over compassion and decency and responsibility for others, even if it is making the biosphere which supports us unlivable. Essentially, they have said "You can be like me without consequence."
But why vote for someone who will clearly do nothing about your impoverishment, and will likely make it worse? Do people not understand this? I suspect they do. I suspect many clearly understand that American federal politics is a a bickering among the elites over who will hold power. It is increasingly so in Australia. Voters who understand this know that unless they are among the elite, whoever is elected to power will not much matter to them… as long as they can avoid being among the scapegoated minorities. In fact, being rabidly pro-Nero will assist in not being chosen as the scapegoat of the day and, perhaps, just this one time, Nero really will do something to help them. Why not try it—noone else does anything to help!
In the meantime, those who channel their fears and resentments at the evil scapegoats of the day, are therefore able to be mostly peaceable with those with whom they agree, and so convince themselves they are good person despite everything else that is going on. As Lyndon Johnson said after
he spotted some ugly racial epithets scrawled on signs. ... "I'll tell you what's at the bottom of it … If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
It works for misogyny and transphobia, too. The real question here is whether I do this in some fashion.
It is delusional to hope that just this one time the incoming president will "do something to help." They desire only to hold power without moral responsibility, whilst holding other people morally responsible. How will we live as some around us, emboldened by this new Nero and their electors, double down on their efforts to accelerate the same political trajectory here?
Two recent posts by Richard Beck are instructive here. The first reminds us of Jeremiah 29:1-9. Beck says
Seek the welfare of the city, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. Crucially, the Israelites remain in Babylon as a marginalized, disenfranchised, exilic people. They do not control Babylon, nor will they ever control Babylon. Political power is not in their hands. And yet, there is work to do! Seek the welfare of the city.
If Jesus truly is Lord, then we Christians have always been exiles. It's just that for a small moment in history, we in Australia have been among the more privileged vassal states. I have relaxed in my fortunate status, forgotten my complicity with those in power, and have been seduced by my privilege to feel as though it is somehow owed me, rather than being a moment of good fortune which is now fading.
How do we seek the welfare of our city? By following the Christ. By constant prayer which above all affirms the humanity of those whom empire scapegoats. Such prayer is a rehearsal of who we are called to be. It reminds us of what the Christ asks of us. And if such prayer is not mere pious posturing, it must shape the way in which we strive to be congregations which actively welcome all people who come near to them, and which mourn their inevitable failures to do so. We cannot resist empire by overthrowing it. We can only subvert it by refusing to be a part of its violence and scapegoating, and by embracing the scapegoats of others. And in modelling that, we provide welfare for our city: We show a different way of being, giving without agenda, caring indiscriminately, being a safe place to be.
In his following post, Beck makes a crucial diagnosis of western society, which I will quote more fully:
… as our culture becomes increasingly post-Christian our politics has become the repository of our most deeply held values and commitments. Evangelical Christians, for example, are more interested in following Donald Trump than Jesus Christ. The same dynamic happens on the Christian left where being a social justice warrior comes to eclipse the faith. Religious identity has become, on both right and left, a political identity. Consequently, politics has become for us the arena of heroic moral performance. Politics is the hero game we play to achieve a sense of purpose, meaning, and significance.
This, of course, raises the psychological and existential stakes of politics. Politics is no longer a pragmatic tool used to solve social problems. Politics has become an expression of identity. Politics is our superhero complex, and it's this complex that sits at the root of so many of our social and cultural pathologies.
This self-identification with a political cause has not been a feature of Australian life. But it is growing with the rise of small right-wing parties who are raging about their disenfranchisement, which is rooted in our refusal to fairly and responsibly tax the wealthy. Everything else will flow from that refusal, including the hitching of other so-called "woke" social issues to the issue of poverty. People are living in tents for lack of housing, and we barely care. As soon as we privileged ones rage back at these people, instead of supporting them, we will tip into the the same devastating identity politics which are destroying the United States.
How are we to live in this?
Our heroism is to follow the Christ, which is not about winning, but about giving. The Christ gives us an identity in the sense of enabling us to be a someone, a person who is rooted in meaning and significance and purpose. All people need this to live beyond despair. But such a self is not rooted in material success, or status, or winning. It finds its joy, its stability, and its purpose, in love and compassion. It is here that our grief—God help us if we do not care! —can be healed rather than plunging us into despair, hopelessness and cynicism. It is here that we avoid becoming one more branch of empire, succumbing to the heresy of prosperity theology, or becoming one more enthusiast of cancel culture, and adding to the problem.
And, to keep things in perspective... Although Nero is instantly recognisable if one reads his Wikipedia entry, Jonathon Keats points out that Nero's palace,
the Domus Aurea[,] was encrusted with enough gold and jewels to make Trump Tower resemble a tenement...[his] immorality and extravagance were almost pedestrian by Roman imperial standards.
His ego may be assuaged in this moment of his victory, but he is only a cog in the machine of a much deeper roiling of the empire's discontent.
(Andrea Prior Nov 2024)
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