A Spirit of Penitence

As we begin 2009, my friend, Dan Cieloha, suggests we encourage penitence and expect our leaders to approach the year ahead with contrite hearts and reflection on what went so terribly wrong. So many of this week's New Year's celebrations mentioned how hopeful we are that 2009 will be better than the last year. This is good. But repentance is appropriate because new beginnings mean coming to terms with past failures, both temporal and spiritual. It would be gratifying to see Bernard Madoff, Rod Blogojevich, and the many corporate executives who squandered our money express themselves in a way that shows their own willingness to repent. Of course, the most notorious malefactors rarely admit their own wrongdoing so it's not likely we'll see them apologize. But in some way, some of them may acknowledge their own part in the economy's collapse and seek the forgiveness of those they harmed.

We--the collective, societal "we"--also enabled the excesses and abuses that got us into trouble, not all of us, but enough to matter. The danger is only blaming others and avoiding personal responsibility. My hope is that when President-elect Obama becomes President Obama, he will encourage a national consciousness that is intolerant of arrogance, repulsed by greed, and receptive to humility. Maybe he'll even acknowledge a spirit of penitence that can only make us stronger. In the soaring rhetoric of inauguration day we will be inspired to feel good about ourselves, our country, our leaders. This will help us move ahead and rise to meet the many tough tasks that we face. I will also look forward to some acknowledgment that our predicament is predicated on failures requiring penitence. Then we can rise to new heights that raise our spirits and help heal the wounds of the world.