Both Oars In Out of the Mouth of Babes and Popes, a Vision of One America

Feb 6, 2009

One of the many benefits of having school-aged children is that they keep my own education fresh. It was my children who first explained to me why Pluto is no longer a planet. Recently, the dinner table topic turned to geography. The big question: How many continents are there? A debate ensued. The traditional answer of seven was put to question. My son Timothy suggested that some say there are only six.

Before we get into whether it is six or seven, we need to be fair to pure geographers. This is not a geography question. It is a geopolitical question. I have been suspicious of how a continent is defined since I learned to play Risk. So, I looked into it. There is no actual geological definition for what we commonly call continents. Subsequently, the number can be six or seven.

It turns out that there are two defenses of the number six: one classical and the other modern. Apparently, from the Russian perspective, there are six continents because, on their list, one of them is Eurasia. It is logical for Russia, which spans the two continents traditionally called Europe and Asia, to point out that it is a bit arbitrary and out of date to list as two continents a land mass that is not only contiguous, it is not even divided, at least not neatly, by national borders.

Likewise, up until the late 1700’s, America was seen as one continent—maybe it should be again. My youngest son Timothy advocated for counting America as one. He is in good company. Pope John Paul II, in a post-synodal exhortation promulgated shortly after the 500th anniversary of the European entry into the Western Hemisphere, pointed out its singular continuity. Since he forecasted and contributed to the fall of Communism, maybe his vision deserves more attention. Here is a thumbnail of it from Ecclesia in America.

In Santo Domingo, when I first proposed a Special Assembly of the Synod, I remarked that "on the threshold of the third Christian millennium and at a time when many walls and ideological barriers have fallen, the Church feels absolutely duty-bound to bring into still deeper spiritual union the peoples who compose this great continent and also, prompted by the religious mission which is proper to the Church, to stir among these peoples a spirit of solidarity." I asked that the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops reflect on America as a single entity, by reason of all that is common to the peoples of the continent, including their shared Christian identity and their genuine attempt to strengthen the bonds of solidarity and communion between the different forms of the continent’s rich cultural heritage. The decision to speak of "America" in the singular was an attempt to express not only the unity which in some way already exists, but also to point to that closer bond which the peoples of the continent seek and which the Church wishes to foster as part of her own mission, as she works to promote the communion of all in the Lord. [EA 5]

For most of us who were born and raised in the United States, embracing John Paul II’s vision of One America and One Church of America will require "unloading" the more popularly accepted, media-driven perception that the United States is unique among its regional neighbors, a veritable Tigger among far more similar countries.

We are surprised when the leaders of Central American or South American countries, especially in critical comments about NAFTA, refer to Mexicans, Canadians and U.S. Americans collectively as North Americans. How much more progressive to view the entire hemisphere as a people of common heritage? To soothe our exceptionalist egos, we are tempted to say to ourselves, "Well, if we are a block, it is just because the other countries are U.S. wannabes."

Our "exceptionalism" is equally the result of our exposure to overly positive images of the U.S. promoted by zealous patriots as our exposure to the negative images often promulgated by "self-deprecating" anti-U.S. U.S. Americans. It is true that the United States is exceptional in the Western Hemisphere in many categories: population, economic market share, percentage of college-educated people, per capita income, literacy rate, consumption of natural resources, and percentage of obesity. But are these truly significant qualifications for being different? How different is a ten-gallon bucket of water from a five-gallon bucket of water or even a single gallon bucket if the water in all three buckets shares a common origin? How much less is the difference if the large bucket is increasingly dependent on the contents of the smaller buckets for its volume?

Analogies provide quick understanding; however, to really accept the validity of John Paul II’s vision, we need to explore the geographical, ethnic, cultural, theological, economic and social basis of his assertion that the Western Hemisphere is, partly in reality and even greater in potentiality, one continent, one people and, for Catholics, one Church. While we do not want to be naive in our approach or gloss over the political, class and racial dissension in and among the countries of this hemisphere, it is practical for those in search of solidarity to look first for communality, not differences. It is far easier to achieve solidarity with people we see as ourselves rather than others.

As John Paul II points out: it is in the spirit of communion, sacramental solidarity, that we can best work through the issues that separate us, such as poverty, illiteracy, politics, trade and race. With this in mind, let us hope that President Obama will continue to work for and to support mutually beneficial trade agreements, development support and cultural exchange to stimulate greater cooperation and continuity in our hemisphere. Out of the mouth of babes and Popes comes a vision of tomorrow. I hope my son Timothy and John Paul II prove to be right that there are only six continents.