Holy War in America
Once upon a time I almost wrote a book. Actually I did write one, a tome of 306 pages with over 750 footnotes that took nearly seven years to complete. Having passed muster with my team of dissertation readers, it seemed ready to be unleashed on the wider world. But its eleven-word title would need some paring before any audience broader than university professors would be inclined to buy or read it. Holy War in America fit the bill: succinct and evocative. I soon learned, however, that doctoral theses, even with catchy titles, evoke little interest in the book publishing market. So my pipedream, pictured above, has rested on a bookshelf for more than 35 years. Admittedly I rarely touch it, even if its ideas continue to percolate in my understandings of life as I have experienced it.
This past week, however, three events compelled me to crack it open once again. The first was a link sent me by my college roommate, a rather disturbing NY Times expose of members of The Proud Boys helping foment the assault on our Capitol. The video, seen against the backdrop of the January 6 hearings, was both disheartening and disgusting. I’m not sure what disturbed me more: the orchestrated and shameless desecration of our Capitol, the President’s incendiary pep rally that poured gasoline on it, or the vigilante spirit that energized so many to follow in lock-step allegiance in making America anything but great. What a despicable revocation of fidelity to the Flag and the Constitution it has so faithfully symbolized.
The second popped up on Facebook, steering me to a Bill Maher YouTube segment titled, “Democracy Dies in Dumbness.” Maher turned his rapier wit onto those under 40 who seem offended by almost anything that former generations either wrote off as inconsequential or took in jest. What a poignant reminder of the French proverb I learned in high school: “on dit souvent la verite en riant.*”
And then on Friday the long-threatened celestial collapse following the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade’. Predictably, floodgates holding back torrents of jeers and cheers that had been building for nearly 50 years were opened. As if on cue from the media hankering for another marketable moment of civil discord, protests were unleashed, some appearing spontaneous, others choreographed for best effect in documenting this moment in their calculated narrative. What a predictable display of righteous indignation from those intent on reducing a complex decision into us vs. them soundbytes. It was a week to ponder who we are and how we got here.
At first glance these indicators of our political and social animosity may seem to have little in common. But to me they represent variations on a common theme, one deeply woven into the fabric of our nation’s history. What could possibly link The Proud Boys and their ilk with those seemingly antithetical interest groups characterized as progressive, Woke, or as Gen XY and Z-ers? While pondering this, I made sure to include those tribal entities unwilling to pitch their tents on any ground that hints of moderation or compromise. I’m talking about those whose 21st century battle flags carry the acronyms of today’s news’ lexicon: MAGA, ANTIFA, BLM, LGBTQ+, and NRLC, to name but a few. Some have adopted brands that reflect their moral superiority, like Ruth Sent Us, Jane’s Revenge or Lambs of Christ. But taken together they are all helping to turn our E Pluribus Unum into an E Pluribus Discordium.
Those of us who have endured the winds of change since the 1950s may wonder, “why is this happening, and why now?” Just as assuredly many of more recent vintage feel justified in declaring, “why shouldn’t this be happening, and why has it taken so long!” As I try to make sense of the turbulence of our times, I am increasingly convinced that much of what is now pitting us against each other can be understood as a manifestation of the same phenomenon that riveted my attention in writing my dissertation: fundamentalism.
Now I realize most people have only heard of fundamentalism in reference to internecine religious wars fought over biblical interpretation, or as a journalistic epithet describing Islamic terrorist organizations. Yet fundamentalism is actually more widespread than we sometimes want to acknowledge, revealing a shared mindset about the nature of reality that is embraced by more people than we might at first recognize. Fundamentalists are people who…
1. Live within a dualistic worldview in which good and evil, right and wrong, are oppositional realities built into the fabric of life itself…
2. Are convinced that human life, in both its personal and social dimensions, is a battleground in which right must contest with, and vanquish wrong, making their struggle a holy warfare…
3. Believe in and fully trust the absolute truth of a particular philosophical premise, or “fundamental,” upon which they deduce the certainty of their logic in denouncing their chosen falsehoods…
4. Discover their meaning and purpose (salvation) in acceptance of the truth (assumptions 1-3), and in allegiance to and devotion to the cause of promoting and defending that truth.
What makes any fundamentalism so compelling is both the clarity of its black and white diagnosis of life’s messy and complex issues, and the solidarity and confidence it engenders among those who find their identity among those of like mind and heart. Fundamentalism can be found within any religious tradition, every political philosophy and cultural movement. And the spirit it inspires is readily apparent in the conduct of its holy warriors whose zeal for both left and right wing causes is increasingly changing the climate of our nation’s soul.
What can we say about the perpetrators of January 6 and September 11, or those engaged in urban anarchy and both pro- and anti-abortion violence? And what of those who would threaten to or actually inflict violence on any of their ideological foes, be they Supreme Court justices, physicians performing abortions, gay and transsexual rights activists or those standing up for the rights of parents in having a say in the education of their own children? They are all certain of their righteousness in carrying out their mission to call out and destroy the evil against which they feel compelled to do battle. Yet none of them, whether acting alone or embedded in a group of like-minded believers, is operating on some pinnacle of intellectual infallibility or moral purity. Why? Because none of us composed of 23 chromosomal pairs, opposable thumbs and three-pound brains is above the fray of human emotions, preferences and prejudices. And therein lies one of our biggest problems as a nation right now. We are a population of flawed and self-interested people being torn apart by our sincere but misguided righteousness.
When I first set out on my research to better understand fundamentalists over 40 years ago, I was determined to show how folks like this are less educated, less intelligent, and beset with any number of psychological imbalances that make them both unhealthy and dangerous. But in exhausting everything I could read to support my thesis, I discovered that little of it was true. Fundamentalism is neither a neurosis nor a sociopathic condition. In fact, many who call themselves fundamentalists are quite the opposite—enjoying better health, more happiness, security and confidence than many others beset with self-doubt and uncertainty. What animates and motivates them, as I hope is true for most people, is a desire to be right, to do the right thing, to see justice prevail. Yet their unconditional adherence to an all-encompassing cognitive premise that they regard as inerrant or unquestionable sets them on a path in which critical reason is sacrificed on the altar of dogmatism, conformity and intolerance.
The lynch pin in engaging fundamentalists is understanding, and speaking to their foundational assumptions. Is the black-white dichotomy of opposing forces in which they conceive Reality, pitting them as children of light against those who live in darkness, the only or best way to make sense of life in this universe? Or is life as we experience it more nuanced, more a continuum of possibilities set against a gray-scale backdrop. Does truth boil down to one unshakeable absolute that only some of us know or can accept, or is it as multifaceted as the perceptions and rationalizations of the humans who give it intelligibility? Is holy war an apt root metaphor upon which we should construct our ideologies in coming to terms with our differences? And does our salvation lie in a do-or-die adherence to formulations of truth that invariably polarize us into legions of those who are right squaring off in a convert-or-die confrontation with those who are damned for being so wrong.
In many respects I am now an onlooker to the trends shaping the advancing decades of this yet new century. Since many of the issues now provoking the passions of protest and even stirring acts of violence do not directly touch me where I live, I can comment on them at arm’s length without the same investment I may have had when I was younger or raising a family. Yet the divisiveness that now fractures any semblance of national unity makes me brood about the future of this land I so love. Is there no middle ground to be forged by reasonable people on abortion, gun responsibility, human sexuality, immigration, and justice under the law? I have to think there is, or could be, provided we resurrect concepts like negotiation, compromise and civility from the trash heap of our now tattered social contract. But that will take a high degree of courage, humility, and commitment to the common good from more of us than are currently grabbing the headlines and commandeering our public spaces.
Fundamentalism thrives in those times and places where order and long-held values seem to be unraveling. In such a climate of perceived disorder, whether signaled by the courts, fomented by the media, modeled from those in public office or threatened in the breakdown of families and schools—holy warriors hear their call to arms. Many are responding in ways we’ve not seen before, and for causes that would have rallied but a few in the past. As I put my thick volume of holy war research back onto the shelf, I can’t help but wonder: who will prevail, who will be driven from the field of battle, and who, if any, will survive?
* “one often says the truth in jest”
