Worldview and U.S. Policy—Is There a Link?

                                   by Ginny Finch
Try saying “I’m a peacemaker” the next time someone asks you, “What do you do for a living?” United Methodist minister, Wayne Lavender, refers to himself this way instead of calling attention to his professional title--Executive Director of the nonprofit organization, Passing the Peace. Lavender, who has been called a “fresh new face” and “passionate prophet” for the contemporary church, spoke to Adult Ed about his soon-to-be-published PhD dissertation—Worldview and Public Policy: From American Exceptionalism to American Empire.  According to his research, there’s a worldview that’s particular to American culture.
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His findings revealed a dominant worldview of “redemptive violence” among Americans. “We think we can make the world better by military spending and action” Lavender said. He reminded Dumbarton this worldview is dominant not because it may be held by the majority of Americans but because of its influence on public policy. “It’s a dominant view because it’s the one whose policies are most acted upon,” he said. 

To support his theory, Lavender cited examples like these:<ul><li>The U.S. Navy is larger than 13 other navies combined, 11 of which are our allies;</li><li>When the Department of Defense had a $300 billion overrun, they hired 20,000 engineers and accountants to figure out where the lost money went;</li><li>Up to 70% of all the world’s military spending is done by the U.S.</li></ul>
As part of his research, Lavender counted the number of “peace” versus “war” monuments and holidays across  five states. Rapt Dumbartonians were treated to on-screen images of war memorials like the 5.5-ton sculpture of Ulysses S. Grant intentionally placed at the base of the Capitol. Lavender is upbeat about the future: “I can imagine an alternate universe in which peacemakers are recognized.”