TO COMFORT THE AFFLICTED, WE MUST AFFLICT THE COMFORTABLE

The title of this article comes from liberation theology, a movement having its roots in the Catholic Church in Latin America. It is a response to extreme poverty and widespread injustice and strives to put an end to oppression. Drawing from Scriptures, liberation theologians insist that its teachings reveal God’s preference for the marginalized, oppressed, weak and defenseless. Thus, there is a moral imperative to show compassion to the oppressed and to work to restore justice. In order to achieve this end and comfort the afflicted, those who are the more privileged must be awakened to the magnitude of injustice and its pervasive and pernicious impact on the lives of millions. Waking up cannot be achieved by remaining ignorant and turning a blind eye to harsh realities. It cannot be achieved by engaging in any number of strategies to anesthetize ourselves to the suffering of the oppressed. And it cannot be achieved without recognizing our complicity in maintaining this injustice and the inevitable guilt that accompanies such recognition.

Despite our best efforts to avoid the affliction that comes with awareness of the state of our world, it is becoming increasingly difficult. Of course, mainstream media continues to serve its corporate masters by distracting us with sensationalistic lies and seducing us with temptations to benumb ourselves with consumer goods. And political parties trot out what they believe to be tried-and-true propaganda intended to stoke fear and stifle critical reflection on what is actually going on behind the smoke and mirrors. However, when sufficient pressure is applied to any system where multiple fault lines exist, ruptures inevitably begin to appear. And those fault lines are most clearly revealed in the ever-expanding chasm that separates the “haves” and the “have nots” in our country.

Try though they may, the powerful are finding it ever more difficult to maintain the myth of the United States as the “land of opportunity” where anyone who works hard can succeed. However, we should not underestimate the continuing power of this myth and its deep roots in the prevalent neoliberal ideology that continues to dominate our way of thinking. For example, in a journal article by DiMaggio in Critical Sociology he advances the idea that while Americans agree that there is inequality in our country, they simultaneously tend to significantly underestimate the extent of this inequality. As a result, most Americans have an extremely skewed view that buffers them against the brutal facts about the real degree of inequality and, more importantly, the devastating impacts of that inequality. This skewed view, according to DiMaggio, is due in large part to Americans being socialized (i.e. brainwashed) from a very early age in the dominant ideology. This hegemonic worldview is one that does not recognize the relevance of class to American society. It also continues to endorse an overly individualistic belief that individuals are responsible for whether they are poor.

There are multiple factors responsible for maintaining the distorted beliefs and values espoused by a hegemonic ideology. One of the most powerful motivations is to cushion people from distressing or uncomfortable emotions. In other words, to ensure that the comfortable avoid becoming afflicted. In the same article, DiMaggio notes that part of why class is considered so irrelevant is because many Americans tend to have very mistaken ideas about where they fall in the very same class hierarchy they seek to deny. More specifically, they tend to believe that they are much better off than they actually are. Additionally, they also tend to believe that if they are not yet in the middle class, they will eventually attain that much exalted status at some time in the future.

There is ample data that clearly indicates that class mobility is a myth. The harsh reality is that where most people begin life is where they will remain. In a society characterized by such staggering inequality as ours, what that means is that every day thousands of children are born into morally unconscionable conditions of deprivation, poverty, and violence — due to no choice or fault of their own. They are then condemned to remain in those conditions and suffer the ever harsher consequences of cumulative deprivation. Each of those lives belies the fairy tale of pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps or of living the American dream. But to see this unvarnished truth, we must abandon our desperate efforts at evading the pain, shame and guilt that one deservedly should feel at doing nothing to change this abysmal state of affairs.

On Redacted Tonight, Lee Kamp discussed a study from November 2017 in Nature by academics from a range of disciplines and from different universities. This article describes how throughout human history some of the most dramatic revolutions have been in response to extreme and pervasive economic inequality. The article goes on to cite data using an established measure of inequality in a society, the Gini scale. A historical example of a highly unequal society was Patrician Rome whose Gini score was .59 (a score of one is the most extreme measure of inequality). However, that score pales in comparison to the Gini score of .81 for the United States, the worst among all industrial nations. And that was before the recent tax bill passed by the Republicans. The degree of inequality that exists in our country is staggering and will only grow worse. If left unchecked, history tells us that this inequality may well lead to terrible consequences.

Among the millions of people in the U.S. who feel the destructive impact of this inequality are not merely the poor, but also those who continue to hold desperately to the illusion that they are comfortable. Many of these individuals work desperately to avoid becoming afflicted. These illusions suffer from the same fracture lines that characterize our society — and they too are soon to collapse under the strain of mounting injustices. There is a certain degree of pain and suffering in life that cannot be evaded. Nor should they be as they alert us to take measures that will avoid even greater pain and suffering. It is like getting that inoculation in order to avoid an infectious disease or removing a cancerous tumor in order to avoid its spreading.

We are afflicted whether we want to realize it or not. However, in that affliction we may just be able to find a way to connect with the suffering of others who bear even more serious adverse impacts of the injustice and inequality that we find in our own lives. We may find that in extending compassion to the marginalized, the poor and the oppressed that we experience a deeper compassion for ourselves. But most importantly, if we are willing to surrender our false sense of comfort and security, we may attain a class consciousness that recognizes the need to join with all of those who suffer under the burden of inequality in order to restore true justice to our country. There are ways in which suffering can become the means to profound transformation.