Jesus and the Desert of the Real

I forgot I wrote this a while back (2007), in response to an essay test, and uncovered it today:

Book reference: Slavoj Zizek, Welcome to the Desert of the Real

What does Zizek mean by “the desert of the Real?”

What if the world that we were living in was actually a carefully constructed fake, and only a few of us began to realize this, the rest of the world completely unawares? Whether described by the Truman Show, the Matrix, or perhaps even the ‘brain in a vat’ theory, the idea of a virtual, reality-that-is-not-Real is deeply troubling.

Much of this can be seen in today’s mainstream media. What kind of ‘reality’ would be constructed for and assumed by a person who only got their news from FOX or Clearchannel or the New York Times? (What about the reality for a person who only got their news from Democracy Now or NPR? Just curious). We live in an age where we may believe that we have freer, better access to ‘the real world’ than our ancestors may have—and yet, given passive receptivity patterns on behalf of the media consumer, and the multibillion-dollar ‘news industry’s’ practices, we may be just as ignorant as ever before.

This is particularly true in the grand theme Zizek is responding to in this text: September 11th. He argues that rather than taking stock of its behaviors and relationships in the world, we entered a Reality ™ (a constructed product) that painted us as the innocent victims in all things and those whom we had oppressed as the wanton Enemy ™ [I use this designation for enemy here, given that our so-called enemies are always being invented and marketed to us, made ‘new and improved’ every few seasons].

In the next few paragraphs, I would like to practice Zizek’s ‘relational cure’ by speaking to that which I experience directly and relationally in my daily life. I would argue that even mainstream liberal theological education suffers in the desert of the Real. Any time we (particularly those of us coming from white, privileged backgrounds) pontificate and theorize about what’s going on half a world away and why, without having any direct relationships to that place or other authentic praxological engagement; or even when we theorize about what’s going on a neighborhood away from our classrooms without similar authentic interpersonal relationship and experiential knowledge of some kind, or whenever we shift an academic conversation to the theoretical level, not for the reasons of analyzing and critiquing that theory, but rather to avoid engagement with uncomfortable emotions and experiences that may exist within our immediate learning community, we tragically construct a liberal ‘virtual reality’ of that place and the people involved. This is likely unhelpful to them and to us, perhaps just as much so as if these same behaviors took place in a conservative theological education classroom. Theological education that refuses to ‘get its hands dirty’ may be real ™ but it’s not Real.

I believe there was a Jesus of the real ™ and a Jesus of the Real. This is often expressed as a Theology of Glory vs. the Theology of the Cross. The Real Jesus was Really born into poverty. In a wooden, stinky manger. Being incarnate, He pooped, just like the rest of us. And He died a gruesome, torturous death at the hands of the State and the will of religious leadership.

In the portrayal of the real ™ Jesus, Mary and Joseph wear new clothes. The Holy Family is White, and probably blond. The manger doesn’t smell bad when we buy the commercial crèche in the discount store. The infant never cries, let alone poops or spits up, in our Christmas lore,[1] two basic Realities we know from any experience with infants. There is also no blood on the Precious Moments ™ cross that comes in a keepsake box, or usually any other commercial model crucifix we might purchase to decorate ourselves or our homes[2].

What helps a person to break through the walls of ‘real’ ™ to Real? The Real is that which we come to know deeply—not absorbing third and fourth-hand as through a gossip chain, but face to face. This breakthrough could happen in a classroom where I am challenged to hear and deal with the authentic encounter of my classmate in his or her life, rather than just assuming what he or she would likely say, given my years of liberal (or conservative) social academic training. This could happen in any place on the planet where people are brought together to listen and speak to one another in a truly authentic manner. Let us then be authentic and present in our classrooms and hallways, in our congregations and homes and sidewalks and places of gathering. Let us not isolate ourselves any further to the numbing comforts of constructed reality ™.

Let’s get Real.

[1] ‘The little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes’ from the popular hymn ‘Away in the Manger.’
[2] Although I did once receive a handmade cross made of two large nails dipped in red nail polish for Confirmation class, an interesting take on the symbolism of then and now.

Meditation on the Inauguration

When Wednesday morning, November 5th, 2008 dawned, I felt as though it was Christmas. Jorge and I and friends from the GlobalServe Community 'Motherhouse' had spent the evening before reveling in downtown Chicago, in that mass of joyful and generous-spirited people. Not since I was a young child had I felt this mixture of giddy excitement, awe, and hope.

This morning, it felt like Easter, a new dawn that holds new life. The snow blows outside but we are all here circled around the television, all work on hold for now, watching the ceremony and the inaugural speech. I am so happy, so happy.

After the election, several classmates asked me if I planned to go to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration. I did not want to. Sure, there were the factors of cost and travel time; but more than that, I felt deeply that I should not go. Simply put, I didn't feel right taking a seat, or space along the parade route, or a hotel room, or a plane ticket, that should rightfully go to a Black person. For as much as this moment in history means to me, there are those who deserve more a front seat at this victory celebration.

For me, the front seat was in the room at the Iowa caucuses just over a year ago. I remember the energy in the room, the holding of breath as numbers were counted and candidates eliminated, and the amazing surprise at the end of the night--Obama would go on. I remember only six months before that, at the Clear Lake Fourth of July parade, when all the crowds came to see the Clintons, and one lone, young Black student held a sign in the parade and called out for our support. Then he was a voice in the wilderness; now there is a roar.

It is so beautiful to see all the people filling the National Mall, stretching back as far as the eye can see. It is so much like the pictures of the March on Washington with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It is so beautiful to see the people in the streets of NYC and Chicago, and also the schoolchildren in the classrooms, all allowed to watch. Not just here in Chicago, but also in Jakarta, Indonesia, and around the world. The world has wept with us before, and today the world celebrates with us. Let us join with them now, do our neighbors no further harm, and work together towards the Beloved Community.

For me, the best part of the ceremony was the remarks made by Rev. Joseph E. Lowery (co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a friend of MLK), especially the inversion of the old color scheme; expressing the hope that now if you're Black, you don't have to "get back," and the hope that those who are white will finally do what is right. And helpful, I thought, the mention of 'when the red man, can finally get ahead, man.' It was a day not to divide among the races or religions, or to pit oppressions against each other, but to work together for the liberation of all.

There is so much more work to do, and yet today, we have come so far.

peace to you,

Le Anne