The “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah has always stirred me. His work is a sobering reminder of a person’s attempt to define God’s majesty and glory. I’ve heard the work performed by quartets and massive choruses. I’ve witnessed instrumental as well as vocal renditions. All of them have moved me, inspired me and led me to seek a deeper understanding of the concept Handel was seeking to transmit. Every time, I have concluded that if a flawed human can imagine something so glorious, the reality must be far greater…omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence. My response is usually limited to a tearful “Wow.”
One of the timeless clichés from the world of football is the inspired coach of the underdog team reminding them that their upcoming opponent puts their pants on “one leg at a time” just like they do. He attempts to stir his team by illustrating that their adversaries are human just like them. They may be larger, faster and more skilled (perhaps better coached?), but in the final analysis are merely human and fallible. So, you may ask, what on earth do hallelujahs and football have in common? Simple answer, dear reader, the common denominator is the career politician.
Whenever a career politician opens his or her mouth, she/he believes that the political version of Handel’s mighty work is transmitted to the audience. In reality the typical political speech more closely resembles the football coach’s pre-game cliché-ridden rallying cry. The politician’s ponderous pronouncements lack the grace and awe of Handel’s masterpiece. They are filled with clichés, suppositions and bromides that are lacking conviction and do not reflect reality. Yes, sometimes we laud the speaker’s style or flowery message, but we know deep within that most of it is bologna (baloney for my fellow Buckeyes) that will turn rancid in the light of day. Handel captured a tiny but glorious glimpse of the bigness of God, but our political speakers appeal to our fallen nature. Freshman and sophomores may buy into the coach’s shtick, but the juniors and seniors who have been clobbered in past years are cynical, skeptical or indifferent.
Newbies to the political scene are susceptible to the politicians’ songs. Just witness how each generation of young voters seems to swoon for a new vibrant leader. Later, as the truth becomes apparent, they find their fervor oozing away, and they view the next new leader with jaundiced eyes. Coaches are important. They deal with the day to day grind of preparing and planning for the team to perform at its peak. If the team plays at its uppermost level, the coach and team can take some level of satisfaction from the contest. No matter how stirring or exciting the coach’s pregame speech may be, it will not outlast the rush of early adrenaline. Only practice, preparation and planning can persist beyond the adrenaline high. Our political coaches lack the intelligence, commitment and integrity to subject themselves and us to the rigors of pregame preparation. They merely utter the talk and head for the parking lot believing that we will react as if we had heard and felt the “Hallelujah Chorus.”
Their pep talks fall flat as more and more citizens are moving into their junior and senior years of political watching and activism. We are waiting for the internal and eternal truth of the Messiah to move us as we search for methods to eclipse the banalities of the political class. The truth is that Truth doesn’t arrive in pre-game rah-rah’s. Even a magnificent movement like the “Hallelujah Chorus” contains but a glimmer of Truth. For us to discover the truth about human dignity, human potential and all-too-human government, we must seek the truth from the Source, internalize, follow it and share it with others. We cannot find the truth in others. They may not know it, or they may dismiss it. Trust no political careerist to lead us to the truth. They haven’t practiced, prepared or planned for it. Besides, most career politicians couldn’t recognize the truth if they encountered it…it’s an alien concept for them.
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