Building On Trauma 4

Religion is huge for building on trauma.  Such has been the experience of the emerging peoples of Latin America when the Spaniards forced Catholicism down their throats.  In Mexico and in Peru, two countries whose history I am currently reading about and studying, the indigenous peoples were utterly destroyed by genocide, foreign epidemics against which they had no immunity, and perpetual mistreatment, enslavement and abuse by stinking Spaniards who believed themselves to be their racial superiors.  Deprived of their culture, their identity and their gods made them a vulnerable target for proselytization.  Talk about shooting fish in a barrel!

It wasn't the Conquistadores themselves that converted the natives.  They were at most just nominally Christian and their own murderous deeds, avarice and unbridled acts of lust, rape and pillage proved them to be as far removed from Jesus of the Gospels and his apostles as the devil himself.  Rather, they brought with them on their wooden ships, not just (often corrupt) priests, but Dominican and Franciscan friars.  They were the good cop.

The indigenous people, those who didn't have the surviving sense of dignity to keep resisting the Spaniards, swallowed this newfangled religion, hook, line and sinker.  The kindness and evident piety of the friars were just the bait that the rulers of Spain had been banking on for Christianizing the new colonies and thus securing ultimate control over the conquered people, body, soul and spirit.

I am a Christian and I do believe that God will work in any situation that people may come to know him.  Right now, I have no time to get into a discussion about religious plurality, syncretism, nor any of this my God is better than your God kind of nonsense.  Simply, I am of the opinion that some of those friars were authentic and that there were likely some authentic experiences of Christian conversion, since Christ makes himself real to us in trauma.  But this is not an apology nor any justification for the way it was done and the Spanish still have to apologize to the people of Peru, Mexico and elsewhere in Spanish America for the inexcusable and horrific abuses that were committed. 

I am reminded of Jesus' words, it is inevitable that offences are going to happen, but woe to those by whom they occur!

God reveals himself to us when we are at our worst.  Just as he became real for me and permanently changed my life when I was an internal refugee of a highly dysfunctional and toxic household.

Christianity in Latin America, whether Catholic, a fusion of Catholic and indigenous, or Protestant, flourishes to this day.  It is the meek that inherit the earth and it is to the poor in spirit that the kingdom of God is revealed.

This doesn't necessarily make us strong or highly functional.  Often, we go on limping and hobbling along in life while maintaining faithful and close ties to Our Lord, and more often or not he reveals his love and truth, compassion and justice in our lives while we are not necessarily at our best.  This has been my experience.

This doesn't make us less functional, but functional in different ways.  We may not necessarily be competitive in the workplace, nor enjoy a high ranking on the social hierarchy.  But our lives will reveal a love, joy and grace, and graciousness that will make us otherwise the envy of all.

This is how I have experienced my mental health recovery: At sixty-one I earn far less than a living wage but my work is incredibly gratifying as I get to walk with others towards their mental health recovery and a richer quality of life.  I do not live in a nice home that I own, but I pay affordable rent in a lovely little apartment in a building that is well and carefully managed by a Christian organization.  I do not have a lot of nice expensive possessions. But the few things I have are very beautiful and as an artist I have been able to create visual beauty for my home, to delight my eyes and the eyes of my guests.  I will likely die poor, but rich in more ways than I can possibly tell here.

In terms of the Latin American countries, political and economic instability has been rife throughout those countries.  Costa Rica and Uruguay appear to have the most stable democracies and most prosperous economies.  Chile does well in its economy and cost of living index but the shadow of Pinochet still looms somewhat, given the neoliberal economic policies that keep Chilean society with that of Colombia among the most unequal in South America.

For all the historical problems of crisis, corruption and social and economic inequality, an incredibly rich and vibrant culture has been fused throughout Mexico, Central and South America.  The people celebrate life and spirituality in a rich and fecund frenzy making them the envy of the rest of the world.  Even though many Latinos are so influenced by US pop culture and shallow materialism as to forget who they are, they still do it with a joyous, celebratory and sexy flourish that can only be Latino in its flavour and character.  Salsa dancing on the way to the mall, anyone?  Meringue while taking in the sales?  Cumbia all the way home?

They might still be unstable and reeling from corruption in high places and repressive governments and military and drug wars, but Gawd! the art, the music, the literature, the dance, the irrepressible joy and celebration of life!  I might add here that, except for in Bogota Colombia, but for some lovely friends I know there, a notoriously unfriendly city, I have been overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of the people I have known in Latin America.