“I know a man, he lost his head. He said: 'The way I feel I'd be better off dead.' He said: 'I've got everything I've ever wanted, now I can't give it up...It's a trap. Just my luck.' ” -- Laurie Anderson, Monkey's Paw, from the album Strange Angels, (C) 1989, Warner Bros.
I see where the Pope spoke to young people in Australia, challenging them to abandon the headlong pursuit of material wealth. I assume he then flew his private jet back to his palatial apartments alongside the opulent, gold-, silver- and marble-filled St. Peter's Basilica. (I am not anti-Catholic. I am pro-irony.) I can only imagine what the humble fisherman-turned-itinerant servant of the Gospel would think of the towering, multi-billion dollar structure that bears his name.
The love of money is the root of much that is evil, Paul warned Timothy (1 Timothy 6:10). I must admit, if I don't love money, I am at least exceedingly fond of it. We don't get nearly enough time together, money and me. But I cherish every moment we spend.
For the thinking, self-examining American Christian, it is difficult to reconcile anti-materialistic Gospel messages with our hotly promoted civic shopping duties in this consumer culture. It is a struggle to wave bye-bye to all of the voices alternately whispering and screaming “BUY BUY.” But many of us view this American life as hopelessly perverted from the pursuit of happiness to the pursuit of MORE.
I believe we as a nation have lost our moral compass. Deregulation has been the mantra of the past four administrations, with devastating results. I provide as evidence the state of our supposed “free-market” economy: The deregulated media has bought out and shut down all competing and minority voices and given us pap in place of substance. The deregulated energy industry has given us the likes of Enron and oil companies that jack up profits to obscene margins as they rape the earth and consumers alike. The deregulated banking industry has given us mortgage and credit crises far worse than anything this nation has ever before seen. The deregulated investment industry has given us Bear-Stearns and many others whose uppermost executives fly off with their millions, immune to the common folks who have seen their retirements flushed down the drain. Deregulated airline industry? A poorly maintained fleet, lousy service and bankruptcies. Deregulated food industries? Outbreaks of food-borne illnesses, reprehensible land and animal stewardship, and brutal labor practices.
Deregulation will only work if the deregulated are willing and able to police themselves. This requires an awareness of – and allegiance to – a higher moral authority. But the current leaders of the corporate world in general seem to suffer from spiritual bankruptcy, doing things to boost stock prices that undermine our lives, our communities, our government and nation.
A for-profit corporation as a legal entity is an artificial person, born selfish and self-absorbed. A for-profit corporation “lives' to make as much money as possible. Such corporations love mammon, as it is the full defining measure of success and self-worth. A corporate entity has no conscience beyond that which its human handlers carry in their Armani briefcases. What's best for the stock price is seldom equivalent to what is best for humanity. But what's best for the stock price is inevitably the focus of the for-profit corporation.
The current state of for-profit America hearkens back to the days of the robber barons, doing whatever it takes to corner markets and eliminate the competition, regardless of what is best for the nation and her citizens. We are encouraged to remain addicted to that which does not satisfy. We are encouraged to help spread the disease of rampant consumerism to every foreign shore. We are encouraged to adopt the every-man-for-himself approach of the soulless corporation.
There is nothing inherently sinful in honestly pursuing prosperity. But I strain to find honesty in today's marketplace. How about you?
