It is only the dominant community, or those allied with and amenable to the dominant community, that does not need to work intensely or intentionally to socialize its young into its vision of reality.... "The ruling class" - those who govern the imagination, control the flow of images, and adjudicate what is worthy - so much control and legitimate the environment that their young inhale those assumptions and visions without effort. The dominant community nurtures its young into the habits of privilege, certitude, and domination, and the young, wisely and without reflection, receive their inheritance of privilege, certitude, and domination.
This introduction is difficult to walk through. I know that Brueggemann will write about the empires that controlled the world of Israel and Judah and yet, he wants us to see into the present - that which is all around us and begin to see things with realistic eyes.
Think about this one line: "The ruling class - those who govern the imagination, control the flow of images, and adjudicate what is worthy." Quite a good description of any dominant culture. I always go back to the infiltration of McDonalds as we - the empire of the late 20th century - into the world psyche. With our entrance into foreign countries, we have been able to mess with the communities and their identities. Just as our young "inhale" the assumptions of our dominant culture, those same notions are being inhaled by others. So often, it makes it next to impossible to live in a way that is contrary to the dominant power. So how do we help even our own children with in the American empire - not "inhale" too many of the habits of the "dominant community." On Sunday a young child was baptized into the life of the congregation. There were circles of people who promised to raise her up in the way of Jesus. Then again, even the church has a history of "inhaling" the life and patterns of the dominant culture. My concern for the this child is that she will go ahead and be Jesus in the midst of us even if we are not showing her the way. From her, we may learn. We must be willing to stand up and offer another way to live together than the rule of those who are in positions of power and domination.
Connection: I like the simple words of the Lord's Prayer. It becomes a simple base line for a community of hopefulness that can give us all a spark of direction.
God of All Hopefulness, let the image of you Reign be the power that gives us life when we are being so easily swayed to be nothing more than a reflection of the powers around us. We cannot resist alone - you are our rock and foundation for new life. Amen.
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