I ran across this column by Cal Thomas through a link from Travis G. at Sadly, No. I seem to be obsessing a bit about Cal, ever since I read the strangest column in the aftermath of the elections, and which I wrote about earlier. What made the column strange was its depth, its signalling of a possible re-evaluation of the political dimension of right-leaning Christianity. The column linked above is in that vein, and the results are, well, mixed. It shows that Cal's transformation from bold culture warrior to a perhaps more thoughtful, cautious observer of America is slow, with hiccups and bumps along the way, yet nonetheless a strangely compelling thing to watch. Like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, it takes time, and sometimes the pupae is uglier than the caterpillar, but we all hope the butterfly is gorgeous at the end.
With a snide sneer at the War on Christmas in the first paragraph (all culture warriors die hard, apparently), Cal considers the MSM's love affiar with Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, and Rudy Giuliani in terms of religious messianism. This is neither new nor original; what would have shown a real breakthrough in Cal's rather turgid mind would be a column on the continued obsession among many on the right with George W. Bush as an actual Messiah figure. Such a column, to show an actual breakthrough would have ripped such nonsense apart. Perhaps it is a bit early in the process to ask such things, although I was hoping as I read he might at least venture in to that territory. In any event, there is no doubt that there are elements from messianic literature - sacred and secular (read Ernst Bloch in the MIT translations for a good example of the latter) - that feed our political narratives. Especially in times such as those in which we currently live, where our President is broken, indeed the office itself may be ireeprably damaged, we long for a leader to return us to greatness. This is only human.
Of course, such longing, as Cal points out (correctly I might add), is based upon a perception of our own weakness and helplessness in the face of events over which we seem to have no control. I think this is less a description of the public, which elected a progressive Congress as a counterweight to the Bush Administration, than it is Establishment types who long for some sign that Humpty Dumpty will be put together again. The Establishment, media and political wings thereof, disdain the public, quoting poll numbers that have become increasingly irrelevant, and ignoring an election that, to put it bluntly, scares the shit out of them. Cal's dismissive tone towards the messianic tone of the coverage of the (press') leading Prsidential hopefuls (where's Tom Vilsack in all this? Dennis Kucinich?) is a sign that he is starting to awaken from his dogmatic slumber and see that, in a democracy, we do not need a Leader, because we are not powerless, and forces are not outside our ability to control. Leave messianism to those who feel a desire to be led.
While Cal has far to go, I think this particular column shows that, as a work in progress, Cal shows much promise. I do not doubt he will remain as conservative as he always has been. To me, that is neither here nor there. My hope for him is that, having been slapped by reality in November, he continues to recognize reality as and for what it is, and respond to it, rather than create fantasies and myths and dwell in some Platonic realm of never-changing forms. I think Cal is evolving nicely and I will continue to pray for his continued progress.
Virtual Tin Cup
