For the most part, Americans have defined politics as the process of compromise, the means through which one determines the will of the people from the struggles of different interests within the political system. For the most part, these interests reflect the personal wants and needs of different groups, of powerful individuals or of the people in general.
It is a process that in its perfection would achieve the “will of the people,” but which in reality would be content with achieving compromise. In our democracy, then, politics is the process of compromise based on the values of rights as people seek governmental action on their demands as sanctioned by the principle that in this country it is “the people” who rule.
Accordingly, the values and rights of those who come out ahead in this struggle should be reflected in the governance of the country and these principles should be imprinted into law, instilling in all of us the duty to obey. This definition of politics has served us well and, while imperfect, has moved the country into a freer and more equitable society as we moved on in history.
But what if we were to change the definition of “politics” from the struggle among divergent interests and replace it as a conflict between those who represent “good” and “evil?” Judging from the rhetoric of today’s political environment, I feel this is the direction our political system is heading and it is one that ought to be avoided.
Isn’t there an inherent implication of “evil” ascribed by people on the left who perceive those in the right simply as “racists” or as “white supremacists?” Haven’t we learned to believe that evil is innately incarnated into the essence of people who see themselves as a “master race?” By the same token, don’t we generally assume there is an implicit evil lurking within those whom the right perceives as “takers,” “looters,” “rapists,” “thugs,” and “scum?”
The reality which emerges from this shift in definition is taking us beyond the boundaries of what can be politically accepted if we want our democracy to survive. Americans can strive to determine the will of the people through the process of political compromise, but how are we to determine the will of God? This would, in fact, separate us into two irreconcilable groups, the “children of light” and the “children of darkness,” just as Eliha predicted when he warned his people: “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”
The fact is that there is a stark difference between political and theological “good” and “evil” but it is a distinction we do not seem to acknowledge or understand. Political “good” is that which benefits the community as a whole, allowing people to fulfill their human needs. Political “evil,” on the other hand, is when one fails to act for the common good, such as when nature unleashes its fury and people do not respond to the needs of those affected.
In fact, politically we can do “evil” things for the common good – such as when we went to war with Germany and killed people to rid the world of Hitler and his Nazis, and this allows all of us to fluctuate between the two without making us children of light or children of darkness.
Theological “good” and “evil,“ however, are different, both being defined by a higher power who ultimately determines what is good and what is evil. In this context, there can be no compromise, and those who do evil must be punished, just as the Lord told Moses when the Israelites bowed down to Baal, the god of the Moabites: “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”
Moses, the Bible tells us, followed the Lord’s order, telling the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”
As a democracy, we can deal with the political differences between liberal and conservatives, but can we reach an agreement between the theological disparities of the Children of Darkness and the Children of Light?
