Reflections on Life and Faith,
by David Keating

Pride, Prejudice, and Progress

July 1, 2006

       What constitutes progress in a society?

     Is it material goods? Two cars in the driveway, a chicken in every pot? Is it full employment, opportunity for everyone to reach their full earning potential? Maybe it’s the quality of social programs, education, and health care?

     Or maybe those things are just reflections of the emotional and spiritual well being of the people who make up any society or country.

     For the most part, the people of Canada and the United States have a great deal to celebrate. In spite of our warts and blemishes, both countries have managed to exist as reasonably free societies for extended periods of time. That's something to be proud of, and we shouldn't hesitate to say so. The ability to create largely peaceful societies that function in spite of our differences is a somewhat unique quality in the world.

     Which doesn't mean that we should ignore those warts and blemishes. July doesn't commemorate the safe arrival of idealistic colonists on an empty shore. It marks the European conquest of a continent that was already nurturing people with distinct cultures, history and traditions.

     And although we call ourselves a land of immigrants, that land hasn't always been that welcoming. My Irish ancestors, fleeing famine, endured their own oppression and exploitation. So have others.

      We take pride in our diversity, but we're not always comfortable with it. The Canadian Prime Minister has just apologized to Chinese immigrants who were subjected to unfair treatment. That apology is important. Not because it will change an injustice that has already taken place, but because it may demonstrate that we have realized in some small way that people don't have to be the same in order to be equal. One interviewee commented that he hoped the lesson learned from the past would continue to be applied in the present.

     It’s a good point. Even while we're apologizing to one group for past transgressions, we're busy making new judgments based on the same kind of biased beliefs toward others.

     Pictures of alleged terrorists or accused gang members give rise to fear and suspicion aimed at anyone of the same ethnic or racial background. Meanwhile, we still attempt to enact legislation that makes some lifestyle choices illegal.

     It's painfully obvious that we're not perfect societies.

     But therein also may lay one of our greatest strengths. For in spite of our shortcomings, we continue to strive, as societies, for justice and equality. And to recognize, if belatedly, our mistakes.

     I've never believed that it's possible to separate the spiritual from the secular. If God, whatever you conceive God to be, is part of the world, then it follows that God is also intimately involved in our societies.

     Those who call for a "return to God" to solve the problems we're facing, whether social, environmental, or political miss the point. I can understand and appreciate their sincerity. However, returning to God isn't a matter of adopting a particular set of beliefs or following a limited set of traditions. God calls us to "seek justice" and to care for one another. That means understanding one another.

     We seek to do that individually in our lives. But we must also seek to do it as a society toward all of our citizens, and toward the rest of the world.

     If God calls us to an agape relationship with each other, what greater progress could we make but to work to exemplify that relationship as a society? It will be obvious by now that I believe that the things I mentioned at the beginning of this column are indications of our success in that goal.

David Keating