1. I think that the article on Sun Tzu "The Art of War" helps us understand the philosophy behind the powers. I also think that my link to propaganda would be useful in understanding the structures that give rise to War.
2. I read both Jesse and David’s analysis and it seems that we all have, to some degree, been thinking and writing not only about the powers, but how we as Christians become aligned with the powers. Jesse’s idea that “with the advent of industrialization and modernity, traditional family and social structures broke down. This caused massive social dislocation and anomie.” Therefore there was a need for a sort of configuration alongside the powers, namely patriotism. I believe that this was caused by the alienation of a people. People needed to be defined by something because of the distancing of humanness to industrialization. People began to look elsewhere and found there sense of unity within the structures themselves. Therefore the Church, as a people of God, failed to bridge the gap by alienating themselves from the present cultural pulse. What they saw as a rise of humanism within society was and is really a cry for some sort of definition. In time, the people’s fears became the Church’s fears which inadvertently led to the merger of Church and powers within the U.S. People are extra fearful because they do not have a definition and the powers continue to prey on their fears. When these fears become manipulated people will invariably look for protection. This is the post-modern predicament. How do we find a way to dig ourselves out of this hole? Maybe we need to begin to look for different means of attacking this problem, beyond violence. David’s article “Good to be King” states that we should be looking for economic solutions, not military, in our quest for a peaceful U.S. and world. The talk on Postmodernism in light of this very subject might seem whimsical but I really think that even what we might be doing in this group is a look inside the postmodern answer.( i.e. questioning structures/powers, getting clear on definitions (but wondering which is the right definition), uneasiness of our current situations…the list goes on)
2. I read both Jesse and David’s analysis and it seems that we all have, to some degree, been thinking and writing not only about the powers, but how we as Christians become aligned with the powers. Jesse’s idea that “with the advent of industrialization and modernity, traditional family and social structures broke down. This caused massive social dislocation and anomie.” Therefore there was a need for a sort of configuration alongside the powers, namely patriotism. I believe that this was caused by the alienation of a people. People needed to be defined by something because of the distancing of humanness to industrialization. People began to look elsewhere and found there sense of unity within the structures themselves. Therefore the Church, as a people of God, failed to bridge the gap by alienating themselves from the present cultural pulse. What they saw as a rise of humanism within society was and is really a cry for some sort of definition. In time, the people’s fears became the Church’s fears which inadvertently led to the merger of Church and powers within the U.S. People are extra fearful because they do not have a definition and the powers continue to prey on their fears. When these fears become manipulated people will invariably look for protection. This is the post-modern predicament. How do we find a way to dig ourselves out of this hole? Maybe we need to begin to look for different means of attacking this problem, beyond violence. David’s article “Good to be King” states that we should be looking for economic solutions, not military, in our quest for a peaceful U.S. and world. The talk on Postmodernism in light of this very subject might seem whimsical but I really think that even what we might be doing in this group is a look inside the postmodern answer.( i.e. questioning structures/powers, getting clear on definitions (but wondering which is the right definition), uneasiness of our current situations…the list goes on)
posted by Joshua Martinez at 8:07 PM
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