Obama and Transience - June 4

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort - a sustained effort - to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings. - Obama, from his recent speech on the Middle East

But to subsist in bones, and be but Pyramidally extant, is a fallacy in duration. Vain ashes, which in the oblivion of names, persons, times, and sexes, have found unto themselves, a fruitlesse continuation, and only arise unto late posterity, as Emblemes of mortall vanities; Antidotes against pride, vain-glory, and madding vices. Pagan vain-glories which thought the world might last for ever, had encouragement for ambition, and finding no Atropos unto the immortality of their Names, were never dampt with the necessity of oblivion. - Thomas Browne, Hydriotaphia

This morning, in my attempt to stay abreast of current political events, I read about Obama's speech about America's relationship with the Muslim world and the Middle East. My eye was caught by a particular passage (the one I have quoted above), as well as a picture that the Times had on its homepage of Obama touring the Pyramids, which could not fail but to remind me of a certain section of Browne's 'Hydriotaphia.' One of the central points of Browne's work on urns (or at least, a central point of its 5th section) is to set up a comparison between what has inspired humanity and given us meaning, what ought to inspire us. In his analysis of urns, myths and memorials Browne argues that men are driven by a desire for immortality, a desire to be remembered by future generations. In his opinion, this is a flawed ambition, instead we ought to practice Christianity and invest in our souls.

The observation that we live for so short a time, and that our existence is so small, almost necessarily forces us to ask 'what is the point?' Browne's answer is Christianity, the pursuit of heaven. What fascinated me about the passage that I picked out from Obama's speech was both the fact that he explicitly recognizes the transience of individual existence, and the way that he neutralizes that troubling notion (i.e. explains what he sees as 'the point'). For Obama, the answer appears to be three-fold. Unlike Browne, he does not believe that the world's time is running out and that judgment day is nigh. Obama places some significance in the future, though not in vain material memorials. He instead focuses on what can be done to better the lives of our children. Additionally, Obama invokes the idea of respecting the dignity of all human beings as a goal in and of itself. This represents a staunch faith in human beings and their worth, and approaches a religious notion. Lastly, Obama talks about 'common ground.' As Simon Critchley has noted (Here's a video of his lecture on Obama at the New School http://happydays.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/25/happy-like-god/), for Obama, hope is based on a BELIEF in the common good. Critchley characterizes this as a civil profession of faith.

It is obviously very difficult to define religion, and determine what is a religion and what isn't. But the parallels between Browne's Christianity and Obama's belief in human dignity and the common good are undeniable. Primarily, all three necessarily involve questions of faith and belief that can't be defended by logic. The notion of universal human dignity only exists when we will it to exist. The common good, even the very idea of 'common,' must be created through belief as well. It is a manufactured construct, in the same way that religion is. This is not to say that any of these ideas are invalid, it is more to point out that we seem to be constantly inventing projects and faiths that are larger than our existence, and that the constant struggle to give ourselves meaning has not changed much in the last half millennium.