Labor and Suffer Together

          Winthrop writes: "We must delight in each other, make other's conditions our own, rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, our community as members of the same body" (pg. 51) This sentence, described by Vowell to be "one of the most beautiful sentences in the English language" is Winthrop's ideal city. The shining city upon a hill. Referred to in Winthrop's 1630 sermon A Model of Christian Charity, it was intended to be America. Regardless if surrounded by kings or common people, you were to be accepting of them and live as "members of the same body". Now however, this once golden phrase, this once "shining city" has worn itself out, revealing the hollow worthless core it really possesses
          I truly believe that the intent of the metaphor, when spoken by Winthrop, was to convey his dreams for the future New England, the future America. It was a way to express the community that he and all of the others around him were hoping to create. However, this is not the only time in history it has been used. “Let us resolve they will say of our day and our generation, we did keep the faith with our God, that we did act worthy of ourselves, that we did protect and pass on lovingly that shining city on a hill.” (Vowell, pg. 59) Reagan spoke these words the night before winning the 1980 presidential election. Was it his dream too, or was it simply a way to win over the hearts of his voters? Regardless, Reagan was undoubtedly a publicity stunt - a star. He had an image that, if changed, would not do good for his standings in the election.
          So what happened to this communitarian, neighbor loving side of the city on a hill? It was certainly lost when Reagan commented on the homeless being “homeless, you might say, by choice.”: “He couldn’t be more right- I have this fantasy that someday I’ll throw off the shackles of my clean sheets and pillow-top mattress and curl up on a sub-way vent in the rain.” (Vowell, pg. 60) The phrase has been tossed around as if it holds the key to unlock the hope in anyone's heart. In a way, this is true. It gives that image of the perfect city, where no one has to "curl up on a sub-way vent in the rain", and no one has to worry about where they will get their next meal. The sad truth, however, is that so many people do. We often forget to look at the realistic side of this "shining" city.
          Running against Reagan in 1984 was democrat Walter Mondale. He constantly tried to convey through his speeches that we are in fact not shining. That we, as a country would need to pull together and realize that things are not at all perfect, however as Vowell notes, "In the U.S.A., we want to sing along with the chorus and ignore the verses, ignore the blues", "no one is going to hold up a cigarette lighter in a stadium to the tune of 'mourn together, suffer together.'" (Vowell, pg.63) And so Reagan swept forty nine states. "The only state Mondale won was Minnesota, where he was from." (Vowell, pg.63) Mario Cuomo, (governor of New York at the time) said, “A shining city is perhaps all the president sees from the portico of the White House and the veranda of his ranch, where everything seems to be doing well,”.
          Winthrop truly believed in a shining city upon a hill. Regan used this belief to his advantage, striking the hope that we all at one point had inside us. Something he missed, however, was that to get there - to get to the top, you have to climb, and one man cannot hold a city upon his back. We must "labor and suffer together". A rather communitarian approach that has all but lost its luster over the years.