It was a good play, honestly. And I'm not saying that America is absolutely horrible. There are some qualities defining this country that made it a great place. Years ago, many called it the "greatest." To the persecuted immigrants, America looked like Disneyland today: "the happiest place on earth."
But the ending of the play left an unforgettably sour taste in my mouth, a sore disgust with what our nation has become combined with a halfhearted wish that what I had seen didn't have to be true. The finale of this creative history lesson depicted Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain standing on Lady Liberty's torch and discussing the future of America. In a sarcastic grumble befitting the ingenious satirist, the animatronic Twain quoted John Steinbeck and prophesied a dim future for his nation, saying, "We now face the danger, which in the past has been the most destructive to the humans: Success, plenty, comfort and ever-increasing leisure. No dynamic people has ever survived these dangers."
I was impressed that they mentioned this quote and quite happy that, at last, someone was reflecting my own thoughts on the danger threatening the too-comfortable United States. But the quote was quickly forgotten as Franklin convinced Twain that America would survive these dangers because she was, after all, America. Hard work had brought her this far, and it could surely bring her farther.
As I walked out of the theatre, reflecting on this solid circular reasoning, my eye wandered over the six statues which proudly lined the wall and pointed us to the exit. Each statue embodied one "spirit of America" which distinguished the nation. They all sounded nice. "Spirit of Tomorrow," "Spirit of Independence," "Spirit of Innovation," "Spirit of Discovery." But the last two didn't fit. I'm sure they sounded just as nice to most people. For me, however, they stood out as if they had been painted purple.
The first of these statues, a female doctor, bore a placard which claimed a "Spirit of Compassion." That's all fine and dandy, except that the next one, a noble cowboy, exemplified a "Spirit of Individualism." Yes, I'd say that both of these have been used countless times to describe the United States. Yes, at times, they might each be true descriptions—but never at the same time, because they are exactly opposite of one another.
Think about it. What is compassion? It's thinking of other people, seeing their pain, and sympathizing with it. What is individualism? It's promoting yourself over community, taking pride in your work, your position, your accomplishments...and it necessitates ignoring everyone else in the process. You see, these "spirits of America" can't possibly work together.
So what's the point?
I think we have a decision to make. Which spirit are we going to live out? Will we boast our individualism and bring Steinbeck's prediction to fulfillment? If we are focused on our own prosperity, the destruction he describes is inevitable. But we're Americans, animatronic Franklin argues. We'll make it anyway. Right.
But suppose we decided to throw out the individualism, to see the pain of others, and to make America a country that really is compassionate. What if we had the guts to set ourselves aside for a minute, to pick up humility with both hands, and to start serving others? What would that look like?
Call it ironic if you want to, but I think it would start to look a lot like Christ had started a church.
