A Simon Carswell front-page story in The Irish Times, dated 17th October 2013, is accompanied by a photograph of religious leaders, holding books, appearing to lay hands on a government building. The leaders are seen side-ways on. Some of them have their eyes closed.
The
government building, sitting back across a lawn, is tall and white,
with lofty towers, rows of columns and lighted galleries. It is not
in Kabul, Lahore or Riyadh. It is in Washington. It is The Capitol.
The
religious leaders, women and men, one of then in a Salvation Army
uniform, others in suits, are attempting to influence the
deliberations of the politicians inside the building, as they wrestle
with a debate about the budget for the country. At the core of this
debate is a thorough-going, ideological difference of opinion on how
a very wealthy country covers the costs of health care for its
citizens.
Most
of the politicians at loggerheads hold strongly-held religious views,
mainly Christian. Many of them end speeches with phrases invoking
their God's name and seeking their God's blessing on their country
and their fellows.
The
debate inside The Capitol is rancorous.
The
pressing of the hands of religious leaders towards the building, as
seen in the press photo by Doug Mills of The New York
Times, gives the impression that
the religious leaders are laying hands on the building in order to
influence the politicians in their debate so that they might arrive
at an agreement. They
wish to end the political logjam, which they know is further
alienating the political class from the general population.
Is
God working in mysterious ways here?
There
are strong links, in
many societies, between political and religious professionals. These
links are rooted in ancient history and they tighten and loosen over
time. A sense of loosening of such links exists
in Ireland, at present.
They remain taut in America and Iran, two countries on the brink of a
major rapprochement
on the issue of nuclear weapons.
Is
God working in mysterious ways here also?
The
dynamic, tensile
relationship between politics and religion, two of the major stories
we tell ourselves, is
described in Nigerian
writer Wole Soyinka's Reith
Lecture (2004) observation that politics and religion are two sides
of the spinning coin of power.
Is
God spinning this coin?
Politics
and religion are two encyclopaedia of mythical discourse and
narrative we use to explain ourselves to ourselves; to operate the
world in various favours as we construct
them; to create morality and to reconcile ourselves to mortality.
The
press photo shows religion attempting to spin the coin of power by
giving politics a hand.
Is
God playing dice by tossing coins?
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/us/us-government-shutdown-ends-as-senate-strikes-deal-to-avert-debt-crisis-1.1563511
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2004/lecturer.shtml
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