Confluence is a way of looking at an "ageing democracy", like America, as a convergence and flow of various historical events and current affairs. Indeed, the book turns out to be a confluence of essays "" each thoughtful in itself, one out-of-place, some brilliant "" which taken together, are ill-fitting and make for a surprisingly murky, choppy mass that is difficult to tread through. Not all confluences end in a tranquil sea. |
Shorris insists that all Americans, of various religious and non-religious hues, are essentially Protestant, just like the first European immigrants. What made these diverse people Protestant? Was it because their forefathers saw America as a land of opportunity, where hard work, instead of religious affiliation, royal blood or ethnic identity, was the ticket to economic success? Economist/sociologist, Max Weber, is heavily referenced here for his thesis that Protestant ethics "" of using one's time upon earth to work hard and efficiently "" contributed to the development of capitalism. American Protestantism presented a sea-change from Christianity and Roman Catholicism in Europe, that considered profit-making and lending a sin. Thus, all pursuers of the 'American dream' are "economic and ethical descendants of... John Calvin", and therefore, Protestants.
Though enough religious history of the Protestant movement on both sides of the Atlantic is provided, the essay smacks of oversimplification and dangerous conflation of correlation and causation. Most critically, what Protestantism has anything to do with the current political movement is not explained.
The writer is right in identifying fear as the greatest driver of American politics today. Americans live in constant fear: Of Communism, of Islamic terrorism, of a war that will never end, of a declining dollar undermining their economic might in the world scene, of illegal immigration, and of oil running out. US citizens presumably elect their government on its ability to fix broken parts rather than its promise to keep America rich and powerful.
But what is dubitable is that all Americans are afraid of untimely death in the event of a chemical or nuclear warfare. Such stories were debunked after WW II... till September 9/11. To assume that all Americans are more worried about a Hiroshima redux than pressing concerns closer home is a generalisation.
The author admits that this book was an accident, and was initially intended to be a work on the emergence of a religious conservative right in America. In the midst of his research, Shorris deduced a new national political movement and decided to change gears. Accidents are rarely serendipitous and this work is no exception. The only credible insights are those gleaned from his work on the religious right and the longevity of conservatism. The argument of a latent-but-powerful political movement that would explain America was promised in the synopsis but slips from the reader's grip a few chapters into the book.
Shorris does not lack in writing skills; his essays can most certainly be read one at a time, but without the expectation of a cogent thesis.
THE POLITICS OF HEAVEN
AMERICA IN FEARFUL TIMES
By Earl Shorris
WW Norton and Co.
Price: $25.95;
Pages: 347 pages
