Sweet Land of Liberty

by Hope Lanier

Over an extended July 4^th holiday in 2004, I had the unique opportunity to travel as part of an 18-person mission team from my church to work with the small but determined congregation of Hope Baptist Church, located in Ryazan, Russia – a military town about three hours southeast of Moscow.  As a self-proclaimed political geek, I have always been fascinated with government and politics and particularly with the differences between the United States and the former Soviet Bloc nations.  This trip provided not only the opportunity to visit a place with which I have long been fascinated, it afforded me a chance to live, work, and worship with Russian citizens and gain an understanding and appreciation of Russian culture and the struggles that Christians there face.

One benefit of international travel always seems to be the individualization of cultures – the transition from thinking of people in terms of groups en mass such as “the Russians” or “the Mexicans” to thinking of them as people we know and like, such as Pavil, Olga and Carlos.  That process goes a long way toward developing a stronger sense of understanding and of respect for cultural differences.  It has also helped me to lift the curtain that divides us in an effort to identify things we have in common – as citizens, families, and Christians.

Another, maybe larger benefit of international travel is an increased appreciation for home.  On the occasions when I have enjoyed traveling outside of the United States – whether on a visit to the depressing or the exotic – I have gotten almost giddy about planting my feet solidly back on American ground.  Tide scented sheets, long hot showers and good southern meals are never better than when I first come back home!  After that particular trip – and a July 4^th spent touring the Kremlin and wading through the remnants of Communism – I realized that the colors on our American flag seemed brighter than ever before.  I will never forget saying the Pledge of Allegiance at my Rotary club the week we returned from voting in the Presidential election that year.  Oh, how lucky we are!

Driving from the Moscow airport to our hotel, which was situated directly across the street from St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Kremlin, I noted that the buildings in Moscow seemed like those in most any other European capitol.  Large, traditional and built along the river that splits the city.  Upon closer review, it became clear that the upkeep was just enough to keep up appearances.  Chipped and peeling paint and general disrepair was much more the standard, almost as if there was an effort made only to maintain a façade. In the suburbs, the situation was much more dismal.  The so-called Brezhnev walk-ups dotted the landscape in a way that was reminiscent of the worst project slums in the worst corners of Southeast Washington, DC, or East Los Angeles.  Families occupied these buildings – typically five stories without an elevator or nine-stories with a “lift” that might be operational half of the days in any given week.

The apartments were tiny and, relatively speaking, very expensive.  To put that in context, the average pre-tax salary of a successful, educated worker earning a good wage equated to about $100 US dollars a month – roughly the price of rent for a two room apartment with a small kitchenette.  In order to make ends meet, it is standard fare for a family of four, five or more to share a space of that size with two people sleeping in the living room and three or more in the bedroom.  In one situation we saw, there was a family of nine – with children ranging in age from 3 months to 14 years – living in a moldy, dark, one room apartment, about the size of my office, on the top floor of a nine-story building with a broken elevator. 

Per the Communist ideal of communal living, the bathroom and the kitchen, which consisted of a leaky sink, two broken ovens, seven broken burners and one that worked sporadically, were all shared with several other tenants on the same floor. Food, clothing and medicine were regularly stolen by alcoholic neighbors. Even with government operating under the auspices of freedom, this family had repeatedly been denied the right to move into sufficient living quarters by the regional government, based on allegations that they had become friendly with members of a Baptist Church.  That experience highlighted for me the real struggles – and threats – that our brothers and sisters at Hope Baptist still endure every day, bolstered by an incredible faith in God and dedication to following Jesus Christ.

In the first few days of our trip, one of our group observed that in Moscow and Ryazan alike, none of the Russians ever seemed to smile.  And the more we watched, the more apparent that became.  It was not a situation where the weather was bad, or people were just in a hurry or that they appeared to be preoccupied with the events of the day, but a constant factor among people on the metro, in the market, buying flowers, even walking in the park.   In talking to our hosts in Ryazan, the reasons became more and more clear.  The Communist “ideal” encouraged people to suffer today so that others might benefit tomorrow.  The problem, however, is that “tomorrow” never seemed to come. 

While the Russian governing body has had three “faces” in the past hundred years, little has changed from regime to regime for the average Russian family.  Corruption is rampant, fear is prevalent. A few with extreme wealth flaunt an unbelievable level of opulence while most families struggle to put food on the table from week to week.  Without any incentive to do things better, faster, or more resourcefully, there is no comprehendible benefit to creativity, higher productivity or efficiency, and the notion of general improvements to process or products raises fear rather than hope in the minds of most people.  In a nutshell, most Russians have lost hope, fear change, and have been beaten back and oppressed for so long that they are content in their suffering.

In Washington, D.C. this week, the 44^th President of the United States will take the oath of office, following in the footsteps and continuing traditions established by great leaders like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.  Putting aside political beliefs or partisan leanings for just a moment, it is worth noting that this is a profound and historic moment.  Certainly, that Barack Obama will be the first man of color to assume the American Presidency is of great significance. But taking a moment to look beyond the person who will be President, it is fascinating instead to look at America from the eyes of my Russian friends – from the perspective of the Christian pioneers at Hope Baptist Church in Ryazan, Russia.

Among the most eye-opening revelations during my visit to Russia was learning that, in the aftermath of the 2000 Presidential elections, when we were knee-deep in dimpled chads and re-reading hundreds of ballots in precincts across Florida, the rest of the world watched in awe, fully believing that America, this “Shining City on a Hill,” was on the verge of crumbing under the weight of discord.  The notion that any nation might be built upon a foundation strong enough to withstand such turmoil from within such that we might resolve our differences, grudgingly though the resolution may have been, without a coup or mass violent uprising of angry insurgency was incomprehensible to them.  And that we might not only succeed, but succeed with the rugged determination it took to rise and endure challenges of the magnitude we faced after September 11, 2001 was as remarkable as – well – America.

This week, for the 44^th time in the history of our nation, Americans will witness the peaceable transfer of power from one man to another.  Without a military coup or violent uprising, our nation will install a new leader, who assumes his position not by birthright, but as one chosen by the people, from among the people, given responsibility to lead for the people, and so entrusted to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

For the 44^th time in the history of this nation, Americans of all political persuasions, all religious affiliations, and all walks of life, will bear witness as our nation once again breathes life into the blueprint established by our founding fathers.  More than 230 years ago, these brave men declared their Independence, and established a new nation, born of faith, steeped in hope, blessed with the courage and vision of men and women seeking a new and better way of life, and reinforced with freedoms that we as today’s Americans often take for granted, and others around the world so desire. Key among them are justice, freedom and peace; recognition of the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; Constitutional guarantees of the right to free religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.

The strong but simple faith and hope of that determined congregation in Ryazan, Russia shares much of what our forefathers brought to bear when they laid the foundation of our great nation:  grit, determination, faith, the perseverance to withstand oppression, and to see through the tough times with the hope of what could be.  All of them are things that most Russians today – and many colonists in 1776 – were no doubt lacking.  All of them are things that we as American and as Christians are called to embrace, celebrate and share – because, as Americans, we can.

Our father’s God to Thee, Author of liberty, To Thee we sing.

Long may our land be bright, With freedom’s holy light,

Protect us by Thy might, Great God our King.

-    from America, by Samuel Francis Smith, 1831