Editorial

Family North Carolina Magazine—November/December 2008

by R. Matthew Lytle, Ph.D.

The Public Policy Pendulum

by R. Matthew Lytle, Ph.D.

Johann Sebastian Bach was a gifted and prolific composer. Not only this, but he was truly innovative in an era when music as we know it in the Western world was coming into its own. In 1722, Bach published two series of 24 preludes and fugues (a prelude and fugue for the major and minor modes of each key). This work, called The Well Tempered Clavier, was the product of a new way of tuning instruments called equal temperament tuning, which was still controversial in the musical community. As a result, The Well Tempered Clavier played a major role in establishing equal temperament tuning as the preferred way to tune instruments; it is still the standard tuning for Western music today.

For all his genius, Bach’s music was not always appreciated, even by his own sons. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Sebastian’s son, thought that his father’s music was out of date and even embarrassing. A new era of music was dawning. The heavily ornamented nature of Bach’s Baroque music was replaced by the somewhat compact nature of Classical music. Stunning innovations of the previous generation were now seen as blasé in as little time as one generation.

The shift in focus from one generation to another is like the swinging of a pendulum. Whatever views one generation holds, it is a safe bet that the next generation’s views will shift dramatically toward the other end of the spectrum. The excessiveness of the Romantic period, which came after the Classical period, was itself a reaction against the tidiness of the Classical period.

The pendulum swing is not limited to music; it also applies to matters of worldview. These worldview matters often have important implications for public policy.

In the current political climate, a group of young Christians (generally those under 30) have reacted against the convictions that defined the previous generation. This previous generation has traditionally engaged the public square over two issues: abortion and homosexuality, pouring tremendous resources in the fight for traditional family values. In their eyes, the greatest threats to citizens—and ultimately the nation—are the murder of millions of unborn children and the unnatural practices of homosexuality.

Things are different with many of these young Christians. They no longer wish to be known as a “two-issue” group. Younger Christians are more likely to take up the issue of the environment, poverty, and war, among others. This is welcome, and it is healthy. The environment is an important issue, and it is right and good to push for better conservation and responsible stewardship. Poverty is also an important issue with a biblical basis; we are called to care for the widow and orphan repeatedly throughout Scripture. There is a time and place for war, but only when it is entered into and carried out properly; an improper war is unjust.

The swing of the pendulum comes in when these important issues take undue precedence to the virtual exclusion of the issues that defined the previous generation. The problem is not that Christians are looking to other issues to define how they engage in the public square; the problem is that many Christians unduly relegate abortion and homosexuality to the back burner in practice.

The biggest temptation when one is at the apex of a pendulum swing is to force it back in a different—and often opposite—direction as a knee-jerk reaction. While it is impossible to be certain what this swing would look like, it is safe to say that the apex will not look like anything in the Christian public square today. The Romantic period of music, as a reaction against Classical period, did not return to the Baroque period, but instead introduced a new—and excessive—style.

The young Christians are right to address issues like the environment, war, and poverty. However, they have woefully missed the mark by relegating abortion and homosexuality to the back burner. A fully-orbed and biblical system of engaging the public square must take these issues and many more into account. Moreover, each issue must have its proper weight in relation to the others.

In matters of public policy, considering each issue is relatively easy. In elections, however, the limited number of candidates for each office makes weighing these issues difficult, especially when candidates affirm some core issues while denouncing others. When this happens, each Christian must determine which issues are primary issues and which are less important.

There is not room enough in this editorial to develop a method of doing so. There is room to make this admonition: one’s hierarchy of issues should accord as closely as possible as the hierarchy of issues in Scripture. As more issues gain attention in Christianity, this correspondence to biblical norms can be a powerful antidote to the swinging pendulum.

R. Matthew Lytle is director of research with the North Carolina Family Policy Council and editor of Family North Carolina.