I am not a Christian, but I admire the Christ-like responses of the Amish community to the horror visited there in the past week. I think the opposition party could learn something from these remarkable people when it comes to dealing with the so-called 'christian' right.
In a diary several days ago, I put forth six principles based in the bodhisattva tradition of Buddhism as guidelines for leading others. I have no investment in a religious approach of any kind, including Buddhism, yet I believe there is something here that might inform the debate with the so called 'christian' right wing.
The first point is to draw the distinction between claimed 'christian' behavior and true Christ-like behavior. From Ann Coulter to Rick Santorum, from Ralph Reed to James Dobson, the so-called 'christian' right's words and actions stand in stark contradiction to the reflective, ethical and forgiving responses that the Amish have modeled for us all as they deal with their tragedies. What they do, how they treat one another, and the family of the perpetrator of those horrendous murders are part and parcel of what all spiritual traditions say is at their core, but few can manifest with such quiet eloquence.
The second point is that principles matter. The Amish response has been entirely based in the principles of their faith put into action. Forgiveness, that rarest of qualities, is a common thread in all traditions, but rarely, if ever, is it manifested in the world at large. Instead, the focus is on the blinding "eye for an eye" response to one's perceived enemy. Its far easier to let one's hurt be turned outward and visited on the other in the form of anger than it is to hew closely to one's principles and to find forgiveness and patience with the other's imperfections. This does not mean that perps walks free, justice should see to that. But it avoids the kind of hatred that continues the cycle of violence by keeping hearts and minds inflamed by focusing on the anger of loss rather than the sadness of grief. One keeps you stuck, the other, as the Amish demonstrate so gracefully, moves you forward.
There is a huge opportunity here, it seems to me, for the Democrats and moderate Republicans to repudiate the 'christian' rights claims on values, and to talk about the gap between what people say and what they actually do.
If the Amish approach to suffering can move even a non-Christian like me, how might it appeal to many Americans who, seeing the current breakdown in values and ethics in our government at all levels, might see how misguided and destructive the so-called 'christian' right has been.