Pundit vs. prophet

AN ad of one of America’s prestigious newspapers, The Washington Post, caught my attention recently. “Put your opinions to the test and compete for an opportunity to write a weekly column. Be America’s next great pundit!”

Immediately, I thought how nice for the States to have contests like this one. Even if they already have a surfeit of pundits, they are still looking for new ones, with new ideas, outlooks, perspectives, styles, etc. I suppose they want variety, more than anything else.

I tried to resist comparing, but I think it would not be a bad idea if we also can have more pundits in our midst, better qualified, selected and regularly rotated, instead of getting stuck with the usual ones whose views are already very predictable.

I can’t help but think that many of our pundits are over-exposed, their biases already quite well known, and more than insights we seem to be regaled merely with a play of words, and a sprinkling of irony, sarcasm, bombast, and other space-fillers.

They’re notorious for being more of an attention-grabber than a provider of thought food, or for just wanting to make points even at the expense of charity. They are geared more for action and practical purposes than for making people better persons.

I have reason to hope we can improve a lot in this regard. We have talents waiting to be discovered and given the proper breaks. Just look at the feedback sections of many papers. Besides I think we also have a growing and more discriminating audience interested in the art of punditry, for whatever it is worth.

But in a more serious vein, the ad triggered thoughts about the similarities and the differences between a pundit and a prophet. There are many areas where they overlap. But we have to be clear about where they differ from each other.

Both have something important to say. Both are interested in convincing others of certain things. Both can have a sense of vocation and mission. But they differ a great deal in many aspects, and even from the roots. One is a function of faith, the other of politics mostly.

Punditry is a purely human affair, made up of observations, opinions, facts, scientific data, guesses, etc. It can bring to play the cutting edge of our skills and arts of gathering data, interpreting them, expressing them with precise timeliness, style and flourish.

It usually focuses on social and political issues, hot buttons that always elicit strong reactions, mostly of the emotional type. Since it tries to convince and persuade people at all costs, it tends to exaggerate things and to dogmatize what actually are mere opinions.

Prophecy, on the other hand, is an affair all of us have with God. It’s our affair with the living word of God meant for the good of all, and not just for a few. Its ideal state is when we all can say together with St. Paul: “We do not adulterate the word of God, but with sincerity, we speak as from God, before God, in Christ.” (2 Cor 2,17)

This living word of God is found in the Church. More than a matter of predicting future events, prophecy involves upholding, defending and spreading the teaching of Christ and the Church. It involves making God’s living word also our own word.

So one can just imagine what it entails: studying the doctrine, assimilating it and converting it into virtues and other traits, giving catechism, applying it to all our concerns big and small, communicating it to others with gift of tongue, etc.

It involves everyone, and not just a few who have some talent and knack for it. Of course, different people have different ways of doing and living it, and there can be a kind of hierarchy involved among them. But on the whole, everyone is meant to be a prophet, one way or another.

Thus, prophecy is something done all the time. It covers all aspects of our life, and not just confined or focused on certain fields like business and politics, much less, on some controversial issues only. It is an abiding thing.

Though punditry and prophecy can share some areas, our problem today is many are hooked more on punditry than on prophecy. People prefer opinions over absolute truths, quick, pragmatic results over deep personal and social transformation long in coming. To change this temper is our challenge now!