From what I have heard (which, admittedly, isn’t much), Ministers blame the police for handling the riots badly. And the Archbishop of Canterbury has come under fire for not having made any statement about the riots before his response in the House of Lords yesterday. Then, the first thing he did was praise the police.
Awkward…
It appears to be mostly media people who are upset by his apparent silence. He is, after all, supposed to ‘say something’ every time anything happens.
Why?
It is for the bishops of the affected areas to speak, not primarily the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has no jurisdiction over other bishops’ dioceses. There is something prophetically stubborn about Rowan’s refusal to accept that (a) every time someone sticks a microphone under his nose he has to say something, (b) his job is to feed the media with words, and (c) there is something to be gained from speaking before thinking – or being sure of the facts. There are plenty of others (like me, obviously) willing to comment; why should he?
His silence – however frustrating for the rest of us – makes his response more powerful. And he didn’t once say, “I told you so.” I will comment further on this phenomenon (silence), but, for now, here is what he said:
“My Lords, along with all of the members of Your Lordship’s House, I wish to associate myself with the tributes that have been paid to the work of the police force in recent days, and the work of the emergency services. These are people who have put themselves at risk in a very costly way in order to minimise the risk to others, and we are reminded by what we have seen in recent days of the crucial role that these services play in our society. I believe there are indeed questions about the right level of policing that is appropriate to a complex and troubled society like ours, and I hope that those are questions that will be seriously addressed in the days ahead.
I wish also to express the deepest sympathy to those who have lost members of their family, who have lost their livelihoods, who have in some measure lost hope and confidence in recent days. And it is perhaps that loss of hope and confidence that is the most serious, the most long-term issue which we have to address as a society. In the events we have seen in recent days, there is nothing to romanticise and there is nothing to condone in the behaviour that has spread across our streets. This is indeed criminality – criminality pure and simple, perhaps, but as the Prime Minister reminded us, criminality always has a context, and we have before us the task of understanding that context more fully.
Seeking explanations, it is worth remembering, is not the same as seeking excuses, and in an intelligent and critical society, we do seek explanations so that we may be able to respond with greater intelligence and greater generosity. My Lords, one of the most troubling features, as I think all would agree, of recent days, has been the spectacle of not only young people, but even children of school age, children as young as 7 taking part in the events we have seen. And surely, high on our priorities as we respond to these circumstances must be the question of what we are to do in terms not only of rebuilding the skills of parenting in some of our communities, but in rebuilding education itself.
Over the last two decades, many would agree that our educational philosophy at every level has been more and more dominated by an instrumentalist model; less and less concerned with a building of virtue, character and citizenship – ‘civic excellence’ as we might say. And a good educational system in a healthy society is one that builds character, that builds virtue.
In the wake of the financial crisis a few years ago, we began to hear more discussion than we’d heard for a very long time about the need for a recovery of the virtues. The need for a recovery of the sense of how character was to be built in our society, because character my Lords, involves an awareness not only of the connection between cause and effect in my own acts, but a sense, a deepened sense of empathy with others, a deepened sense of our involvement together in a social project in which we all have to participate.
There are indeed, as we’ve been reminded, no quick answers here. And I believe one of the most significant questions that we ought to be addressing in the wake of these deplorable events, is what kind of education we are interested in, for what kind of a society. Are we prepared to think not only about discipline in classrooms, but also about the content and ethos of our educational institutions – asking can we once again build a society which takes seriously the task of educating citizens, not consumers, not cogs in an economic system, but citizens. Yesterday I was speaking to a friend who teaches in higher education, who said that she had been overwhelmed with the number of messages she had received from the young people she was involved in, expressing their anger and their frustration at what they had seen on television. They believed that their own generation was being betrayed by the activity of many young people.
And that, My Lords, is simply a reminder that the young people of this country deserve the best. The reaction of so many of them to the events of recent days has been, as we’ve already been reminded, an inspiration. Just as has been the reaction of so many in our communities – generous, sacrificial, and imaginative. My Right Reverend Brother the Bishop of London has already spoken in other contexts about the way in which communities have rallied, and the place of churches and other faith communities in that rallying, to provide support, to provide emergency help, and simply to provide a quiet space for reflection. Communities deserve the best, and above all, let me repeat it My Lords, young people deserve the best.
I would hope that in our response to these events we shall hold in mind what we owe to the next generation of our citizens – and I underline that phrase “the next generation of our citizens”. What we have seen is a breakdown, not of society as such, but a breakdown of the sense of civic identity, shared identity, shared responsibility. The Government has very rightly made a priority of building community cohesion in what it has spoken of in recent months. Talk of the “Big Society”, of which we have heard a great deal, has focused precisely on the rebirth, the renaissance, of that civic identity. Now we need to see what that is going to look like. Now we need – all of us, without any point-scoring from a partisan approach – we need all of us to reflect on what that building will require in terms of investment in the next generation – in formal education, but also in the provision of youth services, imaginatively and consistently, across the country.
My Lords, I’ve spoken a little about the way in which communities have responded, not only volunteer bodies, but local businesses and also individuals, building new friendships, new networks. People have discovered why community matters. They’ve discovered why solidarity is important. They have begun to discover those civic virtues that we’ve talked about in the abstract. In other words, My Lords, I believe that this is a moment which we must seize, a moment where there is sufficient anger at the breakdown of civic solidarity, sufficient awareness of the resources people have in helping and supporting one another, sufficient hope (in spite of everything) of what can be achieved by the governing institutions of this country, including in Your Lordship’s House, to engage creatively with the possibilities that this moment gives us. And I trust, My Lords, that we shall respond with energy to that moment which could be crucial for the long-term future of our country and our society.”
– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:New York, USA
August 12, 2011 at 3:46 pm
We’re used to everyone everywhere commenting on everything these days so we can’t understand why Rowan wouldn’t and why it might not be appropriate. I think we have lost our understanding and agreement on what appropriate responses are. Or maybe what is appropriate is changing and we haven’t all understood it yet?
The other thing is that there are people who are so fuelled by disappointment with and dislike of Rowan that they will use whatever he does or doesn’t do or say to criticise him. It doesn’t matter whether he says something or nothing, there’ll be the same jack-in-the-box somewhere popping up slating him for it.
And it doesn’t matter what he says, there’ll be people with knee-jerk criticism of everything. It even affects normally thoughtful people and I’m finding it increasingly unpleasant to watch how he’s being bullied and scapegoated for all the ills of the Communion.
For what it’s worth, I like what he said. A lot.
August 12, 2011 at 3:52 pm
As per normal a thoughtful and appropriate response from Rowan.without the hint of a however I would also add that of course in a 24 hr news cycle world where news stations are hungry gods OF COURSE they WANT him to make a statement as the national leader of the established church.unfortunately knee jerk response is what they require and usually get but this unprecedented civil action is the kind of thing that the media( though they don’t really are what the church thinks in actuality)is hungry for.
Sorry but that’s the way of the world! Sad but true.
August 13, 2011 at 7:48 am
Thanks for posting this Nick and for posting Rowan’s response in full.
It also gives me the opportunity to say something I have wanted to say for quite some time. As someone from the evangelical/charismatic side of the fence so to speak I would like to say that, like Erika Baker, I am getting heartily sick of some of the thoughtless criticism of Rowan Williams, bordering on bullying, especially from those inside the church, especially the more conservative evangelical wing, as well as thouse outside of it in the media.
I personally enjoy listening to and reading many of the writings of Rowan Williams. Yes, maybe he can appear somewhat vague at times, but often he has a slant on things which is often both different, perceptive and at times deeply challenging. And I like the way Nick you describe his response as “stubbornly prophetic”. Despite the flak he took for it, I feel there was something prophetic in his comments in the New Statesman re the Big Society debate. I also think there was something very prophetic in his coining of the term “mixed economy” to describe the need for the Anglican church of the present and the future, to develop ways for its traditional expressions of worship, mission and service to coexist alongside fresh, new ways of being church.
And he coined this phrase when he was Bishop of Monmouth before he transferred to Canterbury.
I think his pause before commenting has been commendable.
On a different note,I think there is quite a challenge for us as Christians over the last few days. One thing has struck me in recent days. Which comminity by and large has not been involved in these riots.
The names of certain towns and cities are commendable by their absence…Oldham, Rochdale, Preston, Bolton, Blackburn, Burnley (the Lancashire “mill towns” ), Leeds, Bradford, Dewsbury, Wakefield and others in West Torkshire
Many towns and cities with large Muslim communities have not appeared to have taken part at all in the rioting, which for me has been really heartwarming to see and sends out a real challenge to us. In fact, along with many Christians/churches, they appear to have been amongst those defending their communities rather than attacking them.
Also the response of the Muslim community to the murder of the 3 Muslim youths who were senselessly run over in Birmingham has, largely due to the tremendous, almost heroic example shown by one of the grieving fathers, been impressive so far. . I am guessing also that the Malaysian student attacked and robbed by the gang pretending to help him may also be a Muslim, and his gracious reaction was also deeply challenging and thought provoking.
I am guessing that something surrounding the strong family bonds in Muslim communities, as well as other ethical considerations have contributed also.
Again. not something we are likely to see highlighted in the pages of the Mail, Express or Telegraph depressingly.
August 13, 2011 at 10:50 pm
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August 22, 2011 at 12:16 pm
When promises made in church are meaningless, at least to one in three, and children are shunted out to varying “parents”, the Church family an at least point the way ahead by showing what family means, apparently it means nothing to those involved in criminal riots.