February 01, 2000
Review of Sharon Welch, Sweet Dreams in America
Sweet Dreams in America: Making Ethics and Spirituality Work (New York: Routledge, 1999)
Oppositional language is often the backbone of social change. The moral vocabularies of certainty, demonizing the other, and self-righteousness are clear and powerful motivators. Battle cries of "us versus them," "justice versus injustice," and "good versus evil" mobilize protestors seeking "voice in the system."
But what happens when those in power are suddenly "Us"? Getting voice in a system is only one dimension of the challenge. Leading with integrity is another.
Sharon Welch, Professor of Religious Studies and Women's Studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia, argues that we need a different moral vocabulary to sustain the self-critical and creative formation of institutions. We need ethical models that propel us into the risks and learning necessary for coalition politics and the humane use of power.
So where do we turn for this different vocabulary? Try Miles Davis, conjure chaos theory, and lowered expectations. As is her style, Welch turns to unique resources for provocative ethical models. All of them share a counter to dualistic logics and easy answers.
For example, Welch turns to jazz for a content and practice for her Postmodern ethic.
In jazz and blues we find the power and pleasure of 'virtuousity in the face of limits,' the power and joy of holding together seemingly intractable oppositions (suffering, rage, hope, and determination) all without illusions of simple or final answers....The pleasure and energy of jazz comes from hearing both a familiar chord progression and melody and the new possibilities, what can be done from that structure. The ability to improvise is fueled both by individual effort, creativity, and technique and by group synergy: the technical skill and creativity of each player is as foundational as is the spark that comes from playing off each other (p. 21).
The familiar structure in Welch's work is a humanist ethic that emphasizes, "We do not reach 'truth' by transcending error, by defeating enemies, by containing chaos; we do not reach 'truth' in spire of our particularity, our frailty, our finitude. We reach 'truth' through error, through chaos, through responding to cruelty and exploitation" (p.33). Journeys into chaos theory, multicultural education, and spirituality all improvise the chord progression of living self-critically, joyously and creatively within the limits of life and power. Jazz is a different way of understanding and respecting a tradition that is responsive but without illusions of progress or perfection. And when the learning and innovation come together, there is a vitality that swings, sings, and will always be different.
For Welch, goodness is not a final utopian state or resolution of conflict, but rather a practice of seeing and responding to conflict, chaos, and ambiguity. This embrace of moral ambiguity should motivate rather than paralyze us. It is a way of seeing the complexity of the world as the beauty of existence, not a quandary to avoid. This is an ironic spirituality, one fueled not by a utopia but by the audacity and an appreciation of the perverse wonder of that which is.
With a final turn to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Welch concludes a complex and creative book with the simple statement:
We can accept failure without a sense of humility, shame or self-abnegation. We act, rather, in light of a basic recognition that we all make errors of judgement, we all find ourselves driven by pettiness, jealousy, and power. To be called on those failings by other people is not a sign of fundamental flaw or weakness, but is simply part of life. We need each other to be moral (p. 124).
If leading with integrity requires models that motivate provocative, self-critical questions, Sharon Welch offers a book that invites just those questions of both the reader and the author.
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