Psalm 11.3 says “ If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” This quote was much in my mind during this week of turmoil with riots throughout the country. How hard it can be to do good – even, to want to do good – when all around you is uncertainty, anxiety and fear. Actually, I had remembered the quote to be “if the foundations are shaken....” because Paul Tillich wrote a famous theological book in the early 1960s under the title “The shaking of the foundations”. Tillich was exploring the radical change in culture, both within the Church and society, in that era; and he too noted that radical upheaval, though sometimes necessary, can demotivate people from doing good. We need a base and framework within which good makes sense.
But I must not get carried away, as though the whole country was going up in flames. Headlines proclaiming “Broken Britain” exaggerate. There were many parts of the country at peace. One reason that this news was so shocking was that it came out of the blue, and is not typical of what the vast majority experience in Britain all the time. August is the silly season for the media so any story is likely to be blown up our of proportion. When tragedy of any sort strikes, one thing demanded of leaders is to keep a sense of proportion. As someone who is familiar with the level of insecurity in South Africa, I say that we need to recognise that this is a remarkably peaceful and safe country in which to live.
Perhaps a few obvious things need nevertheless to be stated:
- There is no point in criticising the operations of the Police in public. Senior politicians are intimately connected with the Police in many ways. Quick blame is unworthy self-defence. After all politicians are responsible for strategic oversight as well as police funding. Everyone was caught on the hop with the speed of these riots. Respect must be shown for those who protect our safety . Challenging questions can be asked – but later.
- There is no point in telling off the rioters. There is point in naming behaviour as bad and criminal. Our Christian tradition has the phrase “hate the sin, love the sinner”. This can be used too simplistically; however, it is absolutely right to condemn criminal behaviour as well as seeking to understand root causes. Any leader must be sufficiently big-hearted and big-minded to do these two (slightly different) things at the same time.
- There is no point in wringing our hands with angst from our fortunate position of safety. We can put our energy into helping (as many who live close to the riots seem to have done); we can admire the bereaved father for his words of private grief and wish for public calm. We can ensure that we do what we can here in Guildford: the YMCA is hosting times of prayer for Street Angels as well as the Police throughout August – we can join in that. Or we can do whatever small bits of networking and normal neighbourly kindness that come our way – anything that displays a positive attitude towards bridge-building, and commitment to growing mutual esteem.
Beyond these generalities, I was impressed with the speech given by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the House of Lords where he queried the tendency of our education system to manufacture qualifications rather than form character and virtue. These comments are wise but are about giving long-term direction (rather than short term guidance on how to deal with riots). One of the shocking aspects of the riots was to see people caught up in them who could be expected not to countenance such behaviour. Let me borrow an image from the Harry Potter novels where Harry possesses an Invisibility Cloak. If you had such a thing, and could get away with any crime that you wanted to, what would you do? Character is about having a sufficiently secure inner moral compass that bad behaviour is avoided because you immediately and clearly recognise that such behaviour damages you as well as other victims. Character is not only about knowing the right direction but taking it. Character requires us to be guided by our moral compass even when external factors sway us to other directions.
There is something about these riots that shows an unpleasant side of our culture. We live among such a pressure to shop and spend. I am on holiday at the moment in the countryside where I try to ensure that the fridge is full enough so that I do not have to go near shops for at least 3 days at a time. It is amazing how pleasant that feels – and also how unusual. We are so used to spending money that we can get sucked in to feeling that it is a natural activity. How hard it must be to live in an urban environment where you are faced with shops day in and day out, yet are never likely to have the resources to join in (and spend money in such shops). This does not excuse the looters. But their bad behaviour is indicative of a wider sickness. The sub-prime mortgage situation which has done such damage to the whole world economy cannot solely be blamed on those who took out such mortgages. I just wonder whether an extended period of slow growth in the worldwide economy will actually give us all an opportunity to realign some of our values.
Finally, there is a tradition within our faith that acknowledges and accepts that there are brief moments when it is OK for all to let off steam, to laugh at the Emperor, to anoint a serving boy as Bishop for a day and have a meal served by the Lord instead. In part, this is what Carnival (the few days just before Lent) are about. I am very saddened that these riots happened, and it is a tragedy that lives were lost and livelihoods wrecked. Criminals must be taken to court, not punished beyond what is the norm. If people cannot let off steam (and partly shout “something is rotten in the state of England”), then even worse trouble may be ahead. After Carnival comes Lent, a time for re-establishing what good behaviour is about and nurturing our commitment to uphold it.