Gerald L. Campbell
The Person & Decision: A Devil & An Angel, Everywhere, Everyone
Please view large.
Mamiya 6, 75mm Mamiya Lens, Tri-X, Minolta Scan Multi Pro Scanner
© All rights reserved.
The following essay is offered as a pathway to the heart and soul of my photographic images. The photograph to which this essay is attached symbolizes that the dilemma we currently face is spiritual in nature and can only be resolved through proportionate means.
The Concreteness of Spirituality by Gerald L. Campbell
No one in America today, or so it seems, can escape the ubiquitous impact of cynicism and distrust, violence and fear, intemperance and injustice, and the isolation and aloneness that ravages so much of our national life. Statistics on homelessness, substance abuse, youth violence, and corruption within the family -- not to mention the litany of social and economic inequities -- have long told this tale. But they have done so primarily through cold numbers and lifeless correlations.
Yet, lurking in the shadows hides the specter of the autonomous individual. Anthropological atomism is embedded in American culture, and it acts as the wellspring of spiritual alienation. It rages unabated like a firestorm across the land. Its alluring dynamic fragments and distorts the nation’s institutions. It corrupts the lives of present and future generations. More than most realize, its impact mounts a serious spiritual, intellectual, moral, and cultural challenge to an integral America.
Faced with this predicament, Americans carry a greater burden in their hearts than they do on their backs. Alienation or love, pride or humility, indifference or compassion, judgment or mercy – these disjunctive qualities give form to the decisions we make in every aspect of our lives. Whether rich or poor, socially placed or displaced, educated or uneducated, religious, agnostic, or atheist -- whether Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American -- each person wrestles with the transcendent nature of decision. At every juncture, we act to make incarnate qualities that enrich our being and our relations with others -- or we act not to do so. The decision is ours to make.
No matter how we choose, the universality intrinsic to decision offers an enduring reminder that spiritual qualities are the substance of every thought we consider, every action we undertake, every relationship we establish, and every form we make concrete. For this reason, it matters greatly whether our thoughts, actions, relations, or creations are suffused with alienation or love, indifference or compassion, judgment or mercy. For it is out of the dialectical clash of these contradictions that decisions are made and outcomes are formed. No matter how we choose, a force is unleashed by our decision that impacts the quality of our being and the integrity of every person and object we engage.
Even the slightest tinge of spiritual indifference has the potential to sour one’s own life. But it can do much more. It can cause radical and enduring disruptions in the lives of others. Even more, were the dynamics of spiritual alienation to gain sufficient strength, its effects would ripple throughout society. Eventually, its collective intensity would corrupt the living dynamics of the individual, the integrity of institutional life, and the moral fabric of the nation. Already, as statistics indicate, spiritual alienation reflects the heart and soul of our national life.
Given this, what desperately needs healing in America is not just this or that individual, or this or that group. Nor is it this or that value, or this or that institution. Nor is it this or that policy, or this or that leader. No, it is the very soul and culture of America itself that cries out most loudly to be healed, a soul and culture whose ethos pours from the autonomous individual and erupts into the dynamics of spiritual alienation.
To heal America, it is necessary to realize that an affliction of the spirit can never be alleviated through institutional reform. Nor can it be substantially lessened by a reaffirmation of traditional values or the cardinal virtues. Even less can it be assuaged by an effort to restore traditions and customs. Such stratagems have been tried and found wanting. Yet it is interesting to note that in every instance where there was failure, the impediment to success was the same – social atomism.
America’s predicament transcends the reach of such perfunctory solutions. Social, economic, institutional, and moral legitimacy can only be restored through a collective process of healing spiritual alienation. Ultimately, this involves a social, economic, moral, intellectual, cultural, and spiritual transformation.
Short of such dazzling change, certain habits can be nurtured in the meantime that will make a profound difference in our lives. Especially relevant is the forging of quality relations with one another. Each of us, and all together, have the capacity to extend the gift of self to others through simple acts of love, compassion, understanding, and mercy, and to do so without any condition or expectation whatsoever. The building of such relations would truly honor the work of the Spirit in the hard march of man. And it would help alleviate what has become our national predicament … spiritual alienation.
Gerald L. Campbell
Christmas Day 2010
The Person & Decision: A Devil & An Angel, Everywhere, Everyone
Please view large.
Mamiya 6, 75mm Mamiya Lens, Tri-X, Minolta Scan Multi Pro Scanner
© All rights reserved.
The following essay is offered as a pathway to the heart and soul of my photographic images. The photograph to which this essay is attached symbolizes that the dilemma we currently face is spiritual in nature and can only be resolved through proportionate means.
The Concreteness of Spirituality by Gerald L. Campbell
No one in America today, or so it seems, can escape the ubiquitous impact of cynicism and distrust, violence and fear, intemperance and injustice, and the isolation and aloneness that ravages so much of our national life. Statistics on homelessness, substance abuse, youth violence, and corruption within the family -- not to mention the litany of social and economic inequities -- have long told this tale. But they have done so primarily through cold numbers and lifeless correlations.
Yet, lurking in the shadows hides the specter of the autonomous individual. Anthropological atomism is embedded in American culture, and it acts as the wellspring of spiritual alienation. It rages unabated like a firestorm across the land. Its alluring dynamic fragments and distorts the nation’s institutions. It corrupts the lives of present and future generations. More than most realize, its impact mounts a serious spiritual, intellectual, moral, and cultural challenge to an integral America.
Faced with this predicament, Americans carry a greater burden in their hearts than they do on their backs. Alienation or love, pride or humility, indifference or compassion, judgment or mercy – these disjunctive qualities give form to the decisions we make in every aspect of our lives. Whether rich or poor, socially placed or displaced, educated or uneducated, religious, agnostic, or atheist -- whether Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American -- each person wrestles with the transcendent nature of decision. At every juncture, we act to make incarnate qualities that enrich our being and our relations with others -- or we act not to do so. The decision is ours to make.
No matter how we choose, the universality intrinsic to decision offers an enduring reminder that spiritual qualities are the substance of every thought we consider, every action we undertake, every relationship we establish, and every form we make concrete. For this reason, it matters greatly whether our thoughts, actions, relations, or creations are suffused with alienation or love, indifference or compassion, judgment or mercy. For it is out of the dialectical clash of these contradictions that decisions are made and outcomes are formed. No matter how we choose, a force is unleashed by our decision that impacts the quality of our being and the integrity of every person and object we engage.
Even the slightest tinge of spiritual indifference has the potential to sour one’s own life. But it can do much more. It can cause radical and enduring disruptions in the lives of others. Even more, were the dynamics of spiritual alienation to gain sufficient strength, its effects would ripple throughout society. Eventually, its collective intensity would corrupt the living dynamics of the individual, the integrity of institutional life, and the moral fabric of the nation. Already, as statistics indicate, spiritual alienation reflects the heart and soul of our national life.
Given this, what desperately needs healing in America is not just this or that individual, or this or that group. Nor is it this or that value, or this or that institution. Nor is it this or that policy, or this or that leader. No, it is the very soul and culture of America itself that cries out most loudly to be healed, a soul and culture whose ethos pours from the autonomous individual and erupts into the dynamics of spiritual alienation.
To heal America, it is necessary to realize that an affliction of the spirit can never be alleviated through institutional reform. Nor can it be substantially lessened by a reaffirmation of traditional values or the cardinal virtues. Even less can it be assuaged by an effort to restore traditions and customs. Such stratagems have been tried and found wanting. Yet it is interesting to note that in every instance where there was failure, the impediment to success was the same – social atomism.
America’s predicament transcends the reach of such perfunctory solutions. Social, economic, institutional, and moral legitimacy can only be restored through a collective process of healing spiritual alienation. Ultimately, this involves a social, economic, moral, intellectual, cultural, and spiritual transformation.
Short of such dazzling change, certain habits can be nurtured in the meantime that will make a profound difference in our lives. Especially relevant is the forging of quality relations with one another. Each of us, and all together, have the capacity to extend the gift of self to others through simple acts of love, compassion, understanding, and mercy, and to do so without any condition or expectation whatsoever. The building of such relations would truly honor the work of the Spirit in the hard march of man. And it would help alleviate what has become our national predicament … spiritual alienation.
Gerald L. Campbell
Christmas Day 2010