Death of a Sayresman

There is an obituary in today's paper for Francis B. Sayre, who was dean of Washington National Cathedral for 27 years (starting in 1951), and it appears that his life, and tenure, more or less exemplify the convoluted path of liberalism over that period. (I should note that his retirement home was on Martha's Vineyard -- which is right out of Central Casting.) To begin with he was a grandson of Woodrow Wilson -- which, I guess, means he would have had absolutely no problem with the "Bush Doctrine" -- but who knows? In any case, during his time on "Cathedral Hill" he represented the best (if that is the word) in liberal approaches to issues both domestic and foreign, "preaching the social gospel", which is the Episcopal Church's more up-to-date substitue for the Gospel. One of his early accomplishments was taking a firm stand against Sen. Joseph McCarthy and "McCarthyism", which required him to line up with approx. 99% of the American media -- a true feat of courage, I must say. Of course, the fact that all the information which has subsequently come to light more than supports McCarthy's position and his efforts -- this has yet to sink into the Episcopal mind (or many others). To them, communism was simply an alternative political system -- no better and no worse, and in fact motivated by much purer and more humanistic motives than nasty old capitalism. This near-mystical belief was jarred not the least by the many revelations concerning Stalin's purges and genocides, the Gulag, and other communist "experiments" in, e.g., China and Cambodia. On the domestic side, of course, all that tended toward socialism was given the imprimatur.

But let's give credit where credit is due. According to the article, Dean Sayre "once likened Lyndon B. Johnson's ethical foundations to a termite-ridden house." Well, we can all agree with that. And he also pulled a "Jimmy Carter" at one point when he "criticized Israel for 'oppressing' Arab residents of Jerusalem." (I'm sure he had to do many months of penance for that one.)

On the other hand, he also opened the doors of the Cathedral to "often-raucous youth religious Masses" -- a euphemism, I'm sure, for what actually went on up there. I don't know if the Abomination of Desolation was ever actually enthroned there, but it certainly could have been, and few would have uttered a peep of protest. The place was, in a word, a freak show -- and as far as I know it still is. But of course, it was established to serve the political establishment, which is a freak show in itself -- and to offer them a place to pretend to pray for things they pretend to believe in. And that's an important function! And as far as I know, the Dean performed it well. Heck, he even let a rag-tag Renaissance music group that I happened to be a member of perform there a few times.