Political Meets Moral

Political systems work in the real world where lives are really impacted for good or ill. In the past, much suffering has resulted from ethnocentrism. Ethnic cleansing has a rough history, but is real policy in some segments of political thinking...

Governments are ruled by an elite. Elitism is not meant as a derogatory label, unless the elite have a moral depravity that hinders their vision of inclusion. But, where elite meets power, with no accountablity, there is self-interest, at the costs of others and much damage to all. Our nation does not allow such power, at least in theory, and it has recently illustrated our ideals of inclusion in our president's election.

The Church has understood itself through an ethnocentric understanding. Besides understanding Jesus, as the Jewish Messiah, she has used other exclusive terms to bring about a "separatist" mentality, i.e. "the remnant", "the chosen", "the called", "the elect", "the Bride of Christ", "the Chosen Nation", "God's people", etc., etc.

This ethnocentric orientation has wrought on its heels many times, an attitude of priviledge, or superiority. I find that this is nothing less than ego managment, which is nothing more than self-agrandizement.

Obama's presidency means that we ALL are a people, which does not limit one's understanding to "saved and unsaved", but human. Morality means that all of us are chosen. All of us are important, and All of us need the right to be human, which is what human rights and international law is all about.