I find Merton's discussion of tyranny and the need to be open to dialogue and the dark side of our lives as challenging and greatly needed.
The greatest tyrannies are all therefore based on the postulate that there should never be any sin. That therefore what happened either was not a sin or else it has been immediately wiped out. Since sin is what should never be, then it must never be, therefore it will never be. The most awful tyranny is that of the proximate Utopia where the last sins are currently being eliminated and where tomorrow, there will be no more sins because all the sinners will have been wiped out.
Whoa! This is one of the reasons I find it hard to listen to those who launch into the need for a government to be a theocracy. It is as though they are saying...if we can be in charge, we will get rid of what is wrong among us. The wrong among us in such a group of people is always - them. Then again, it doesn't take a theocracy to do such work as this. This can happen in totalitarian states and even democracies like our own. The thought of a utopia being possible...a leadership that will make all things right and good...is, quite frankly, not the best way to go about creating a society that will be open to all the people. Utopias seem to be places with tall walls so that no one can see if it really is working or if something else is working better. Fear reigns and the fearless are eliminated.
Connection: What is the option to elimination of the "other"? We need to always keep our mind on that so that our vision is never restricted.
When you save your people, O God, you open doors and you flatten out the rough ways so that all will find a place to rest and settle and invite others to live. Keep this vision of life among us. Amen.
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