Me For Sure, Maybe You

The title of this spiritual reflection came from an article I read about the Pope, Francis I, and his recent apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”).  This publication comes far enough into Francis’ papacy, people now are beginning to suspect they understand how the Pope thinks about things.  Clearly the first Pope from the southern hemisphere looks at things differently than the previous European-based Popes did.  I find this fascinating.           

Since the publication of this apostolic exhortation (a long document), there have been a variety of comments.  The Pope has been praised for his emphasis on the missionary impulse of the Church.  He is lauded for his focus on the poor and marginalized.  He has been criticized for what some see as an attack on capitalism.  One commentator went so far as to label the Pope a Marxist!  I find some of this to be spot on, as the British say.  Other critiques I find amusing.           

I found one commentator who made a great deal of sense to me.  This commentator, Michael Gerson, picked up on the Pope’s concern about the individualism that can characterize our western culture.  It certainly is a feature of American contemporary culture.  Gerson is clearly a fan of capitalism, as the following quotation will testify.  “Defenders of market economics---and I count myself one---should recognize that global capitalism is the most powerful force of modernity, with a mixed influence on traditional ideals and institutions.”  I find myself in a similar boat with Gerson.           

Gerson continues his insightful analysis that recognizes exactly what the Pope is getting at in his publication.  Still talking about capitalism, Gerson says, “It has taken hundreds of millions out of poverty…”  That is a good thing and the Pope would agree.  But then Gerson described what can be called the potential down side of capitalism---at least the way it has been practiced in much of America and other lands.  “…it has also encouraged individualism and loosened the bonds of family and community.”  Gerson continues, “It has produced innovation and extended lives.  But in the absence of certain social conditions…capitalism can result in caste-like inequality.”           

I am also concerned with the wealth of a few that condemns the many into cyclical poverty.  I worry that the American mystique---the rugged individual---always suggests that anyone can become self-made.  The implication is the poor suckers who cannot thrive and prosper in our land are somehow tainted.  They are losers---perhaps lazy, surely incompetent, or something.  At any rate, we figure it is their own fault and walk away from any responsibility to be involved.           

I like the papal phrase, the “globalization of indifference.”  An individualistic mindset---the perspective that I am the centerpiece of my existence---potentially breeds this kind of indifference.  In effect, it argues that we all are responsible for our own justice.  The poor suckers who are on the margins are not really my concern.  I might even feel bad for them, but not bad enough to do anything about it.           

Another sentence Gerson wrote helped me understand things better.  He says, “Absent a moral commitment to human dignity, justice and compassion, capitalism is conducive to materialism, individualism and selfishness.  It is a system that depends on virtues it did not create.”  That part really rang a bell for me.  It should.  I have spent the last decade thinking about and writing about virtues: love, courage, justice, prudence and the like.  I, too, am convinced that without a life grounded in the virtues, rampant individualism will likely lead to materialism and this ultimately will lead to no good end.           

This is precisely where it becomes a spiritual issue.  And I am sure this is exactly why Pope Francis is addressing it in his apostolic exhortation.  He wants all of us---Catholics, Christians and all people---not to be uprooted from our spiritual moorings.  He wants us to found our lives squarely in the virtues.  In fact, I cannot imagine how anyone can be spiritual without also being virtuous.  And if you are virtuous, then somehow in my estimation you are also spiritual.           

I return now to my title: Me for sure, maybe you.  I was not trying to be clever.  I was trying to catch in a simple phrase what might be the theme song of American culture.  Although we may cringe to think it is true, nevertheless I do think it captures the American spirit.  I do think a substantial portion of our society does begin with self: me for sure.  That is a given.  Everything else is an option.           

If I am the given, then you are the option: maybe you!  This perspective always begins with “me.”  I may or may not even get to a sense of “we.”  In fact, I might only get to “we” when it advantages “me.”  The kind of “gospel joy” the Pope talks about is radically different, as was the message of Jesus, the proclaimer of that gospel.  I do think Jesus always had “us” in mind.  The Kingdom to which he called each of us is communal.  Finally, spirituality is a community---or it is nothing.