Les Miserables, Today's GOP and the Christian Right

This past Tuesday night, the boyfriend and I went to the touring production of Les Miserables at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk - we had been at a party where a fundraiser for the local PBS station was airing and the boyfriend made a donation that got us the tickets.  It was a very good production and most enjoyable.  I enjoyed it very much.  But it also struck me once again how there are parallels between today's Republican Party and its Christianist base and the government of Louis Phillipe which crushed the 1832 "June Revolution" as personified by the character Javert.   The GOP/Christianists apply a legalistic approach to the law, religion and the less fortunate just as did the regime of Louis Phillipe.  And as under Louis Phillipe's regime, the policies lauded by the GOP and its Christianist base would make life for America's unfortunate citizens far, far worse.  The only positive example shown by authority figures in the entire musical is Bishop Myriel, who turns Jean Valjean's life around by showing him mercy and encouraging him to become a new man.

The related common thread that struck me is the manner in which both Javert and his counterparts in today's GOP/Christianists view those who are poor, those who hold different views of morality - indeed, those who are different - are viewed as less than human and a type of disposable garbage.  There is an utter lack of any ability to see others as equally human with hopes and dreams just as valid and worthy as those who would judge them.   It's clearly not conduct that is in keeping with the message of Christ or his acceptance of those who were social outcasts of his time.  Yet like Javert, we see leading Republican figures and certainly the modern day Pharisees of the Christianist set continue to pat themselves on the back and revel in their self-anointed piety when in fact it is they who are often the ones morally bankrupt.

In the musical based on Victor Hugo's novel, Javert ultimately sees the folly of his life and cannot reconcile his inflexible devotion to the law with his recognition that the strict application of the law and the heartless religious dogma that underlies it is immoral. Ultimately, Javert takes his own life by leaping off a bridge into the Seine River.   Many reviewers see Les Miserables as a story of Jean Valjean's redemption.  I'd argue that in the end, Javert recognizes the truth and does the only thing he deems honorable given what he has done throughout his unfeeling legalistic life.  Unfortunately, I suspect that the GOP and its Christofascist base will not have the revelation that finally came to Javert.   No, they will continue to inflict horrors on others and disseminate hate and bigotry even as they congratulate themselves on their godliness. It is they who are the immoral ones.

Reflections on Les Miserables, Christianists, Republicans and Javert

Friday evening the boyfriend and I went to see Les Miserables at the wonderful Commodore Theater (more on the theater in a future post) in neighboring Portsmouth which we found most enjoyable.  For non-students of history, Les Miserables was written by Victor Hugo in 1862, but the revolution story line was based on the actual June Revolution of 1832, which as in Hugo's story was brief and ended badly for the students as in the book and movie.  Hugo had some first had knowledge of the ill-fated revolution since as a student in 1832 he himself had been briefly been inadvertently caught between the opposing force close to Rue Mondetour.   Not all critics have been kind to the movie and indeed, not all of the singing is Broadway quality.  But there are pleasant surprises such as Cambridge educated Eddie Redmayer (previously seen in My Week with Marilyn) who has performed in London's west end and Aaron Tveit who has done Broadway stints.

One of the ironies I stumbled upon via CNN is that the movie has apparently been targeted for marketing to conservative and evangelical Christians on a theory that:

The story in "Les Miserables" is heavy with Christian themes of grace, mercy and redemption. The line everyone seems to remember is "to love another person is to see the face of God.”

NBC Universal looked to capitalize on those components and promoted the film to pastors, Christian radio hosts and influence-makers in the Christian community.

Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family was one of the groups that partnered with Grace Hill Media for a special screening. For the event, Focus on the Family brought in partners from across Colorado, adoption agencies, child welfare officials and church leaders.

Yes, I saw these themes, but I also saw damning parallels with the social policies of today's Republican Party which seems determined to bring back the horrific wealth disparities seen in 1830's Paris and the disenfranchisement of and frightening health conditions experienced by countless Parisians, first under the Bourbon restoration and then under Louis Phillipe's rule (Louis Phillipe himself was eventually overthrown as the conditions of the working classes deteriorated, and the income gap widened considerably ).   Indeed, if one is not a white conservative Christian (preferably with a great deal of money), one is viewed by today's GOP much as the wealthy Parisians viewed the misfortunate and poor.

And then there is the figure of Javert, first appearing as a prison guard and later as a policeman who is inflexible and cruel, seeking a legalistic form of blind justice.  Javert is incapable of seeing the common humanity of others or the good and kindness in others. Thus the irony that the movie was marketed to the folks at Focus on the Family, an organization whose hallmarks are hypocritical legalism and misplaced self-congratulatory piety, along with huge doses of hatred towards those who don't embrace their fear and legalism based religious dogma.  If one is looking for someone judgmental like Javert, look no farther than James Dobson and the professional Christian crowd. 

Will the Christofascists recognize themselves in Javert and today's Republicans see the similarities of their policies and during the rule of the Bourbons and then Louis Phillipe?  Sadly, I doubt it and all of us will suffer as a result.  History has many lessons to teach, but those filled with hubris and self-congratulatory piety rarely seem to learn the lessons.