I have been greatly troubled over the past several months by much of the propaganda propagated by the religious right, epitomized by groups such as the Tea Party, as it relates to the Obama administration and its social agenda. Especially in the arena of health care reform, the hostility has permeated every facet of the debate. Words such as communist and socialism, Marxist, etc, have been hurled around venomously with little regard for truth or reality.
This debate has really brought into focus the divide between what the scriptures teach and what many in our society assume is God's position. There is this very unfortunate assumption that God is somehow the author and architect of free enterprise and capitalism. After all, God only helps those who help themselves and if someone is not a part of the proper social or economic class, then it's obvious that they are deficient in some way. Why should we give up our hard earned money to fund food stamp programs or provide Medicaid for impoverished children? Why should we care about the millions of Americans who can't afford health insurance and suffer without access to basic health care services? Let them get a job and work, this is the American way! Anyone who has gumption and who is willing to work can achieve success in our society, right?
Obviously, this is not true. Success is an American illusion for many people. Much of our political and economic structure really does help the rich get richer and keeps the poor in their place. It reminds me of a passage in the apocryphal book of Ecclesiasticus 13:23,24:
The rich person speaks and all are silent; they extol to the clouds what he says. The poor person speaks and they say, "Who is this fellow?" And should he stumble, they even push him down. Riches are good if they are free from sin; poverty is evil only in the opinion of the ungodly."
USA Today Columnist, Oliver Thomas, makes the following statement while writing about the current divisions in America and the need for genuine Community:
If genuine community is to occur, it will require sacrifice on the part of both winners and losers. Winners must be willing to reach across the chasm that divides us and welcome losers to choice seats at the table. Losers — rather than allowing themselves to steep in their bitterness, awaiting the first opportunity to pounce on the new president — must accept the responsibility of shared leadership. Of being the loyal opposition. John McCain set the tone for this beautifully on election night.Graciousness will be called for all around, as will be compromise — that essential lubricant of our life together. Ours is a world of half loaves, but alas, it is still bread.Here's the interesting thing. America's faith communities are well positioned to lead the way, to set the example for the rest of us. They are, after all, the places where millions of Americans go to find community. There, Republicans, Democrats and independents weekly kneel beside each other to acknowledge their shared humanity and their common commitment to a transcendent God and the truths that transcend our political and ideological differences. Truth. Justice. Love of neighbor.
He goes on to say:
While national leaders must set the proper tone, wars are won in the trenches. Local pastors, priests, imams and rabbis will be called upon to do much of the heavy lifting. For example, getting attached to one another might mean getting unattached to things. Clergy can remind us that the things that give our lives meaning rarely cost money. They do, however, cost. We will need to become better listeners. And less judgmental. We might even relax our grip on the notion that all of life must be adversarial. Perhaps cooperation, rather than competition, is the pathway to this new American dream.
Thomas makes some excellent points in this column. He asserts that we should learn to concentrate on those fundamental beliefs and needs that we all hold in common rather than being divided by the things that we disagree upon. He contends that there is much work to do in the future of the United States and it can not be done without a deep sense of community and the responsibility to one another that such an understanding breeds.
Communities of Faith can indeed help lead the way in this endeavor. I agree with Thomas that they are uniquely qualified to help the broader community to come together and pursue community building practices such as the Golden Rule. This will be good not only for our nation but for communities of faith as well. We all need to learn how to sit at the same table and listen to one another's concerns and ideas. Only then can we build a world conducive for everyone rather than a select few.
I recently stumbled across an excellent blog by the name of In My Lifetime. BK Hipsher, an Episcopal priest as well as a PhD candidate at Winchester University, UK, is the author. Back on November 17, she published a post entitled What if... I meant to get around to sharing this earlier but have been busy of late trying to get some things sorted out on my blog so my posting has been delayed a bit.
The post refers to the many demonstrations around the country against Proposition 8 in California and numerous other anti-GLBT initiatives that succeeded around the country this past election. Hipsher was amazed that so many people were moved to get out of their lazy chairs and demonstrate for justice, equality, and religious pluralism. Obviously, the issue at hand really hit the participants where they lived and thus blasted them out of their complacency and behooved them to become involved. According to the post, demonstrations took place in 300 major cities throughout the US . . It is so easy for us to become passionate about the things that directly affect us. Let someone assault our religious freedom, our freedom to of speech; watch the NRA pundits pour millions of dollars into lobbying against any thing they deemed a threat. We are so prone to act when it affects us. But, Hipsher asked the question, what if we would react with the same fervor against any incidence of injustice in our world? The examples are overwhelming; one such example she mentions is the fact that 43 million people in this country do not have health insurance and thus, limited to no access to quality health care.
The point here is that we should be consistent, willing to fight for those who consistently can not fight for themselves. The millions of children in this country who are considered to be food insecure. The marginalized, mentally ill, and those who have no voice. At the end of Hipsher's post she states that she hopes "that one day we grow up and realize that until all of us are free, none of us are free. Until all of us have access to civil rights, none of us do. Until all of us have health care, none of us do. Until there is justice for ALL, there is no justice." There is absolutely nothing I can add to that but a hearty AMEN!
Click on the link above and it will take you to the Sojourners website where you can personalize a letter to President Elect Barack Obama, pledging your support and prayers as he embarks upon sober and important mission. There is also a video pledge/appeal from Jim Walis to the Obama. Be sure to check that out as well. Here, however, is a sample of the letter:
"I am one member of a growing movement of Christians and people of faith who support a broad moral agenda that includes a deep concern for poverty, peacemaking, a consistent ethic of life, and care for creation. During the campaign, you said that, if elected, you would face powerful special interests trying to block change. You said you would need a citizen movement to support and push you." (click on link above for the entire letter.)
Yesterday morning I got up and after a cup of coffee and a few other morning rituals, I sat down to read over the daily headlines, peruse my favorite blogs, and check in on a few forums that I frequent. On one such forum there was a negative post regarding Obama's recent selection of Eric Holder for the Attorney General spot, pending confirmation, of course.
I am a disabled and a chronic pain patient and this particular forum is related to that topic. There has long since been great concerns among those who suffer from chronic pain that this country's so called War on Drugs has turned into a war against doctors who treat the chronically ill. I won't spend any time substantiating this but if you do some research I think you will find that the concerns are valid. We don't often worry about stuff like this until we are the ones facing the probability that a doctor, out of fear of losing his license, is unwilling to treat our chronic pain. Since the War on Drugs has and is a losing battle, allot of the resources are now being directed towards doctors and prescription drugs. This is being done for two reason: one, there are doctors out there who are abusing their privileges and flooding the streets with dangerous medication; and two, since the war against illicit drugs offers few measures for success, the DEA and DOJ have begun targeting their resources in areas where they can gain some visible successes so that they can convince the American people that their efforts are really making difference regardless of the statistics to the contrary.
Now, before I lose you here, let me just say that I understand that this is a religious oriented blog. This post, however, seems more political than religious. But, let me try here to make the religious point that I have in mind; that is, Barack Obama, while definitely an icon of change and hope for this countries' future, is not our Savior. Laying aside his rhetoric, promises, the assumptions many American people have made about him (such as the idea that he will bring some rationale and direction to a war on drugs that is getting out of hand), the fact is that Obama is just a man and a politician. I have great hopes that he will succeed in his endeavor to change America at home as well as our image abroad. I hope that he will return our sons and daughters to us who are fighting on foreign battlefields. But, in the end, these hopes are just that. Their not solutions yet, not by a long shot.
Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners magazine and organization, recently published a book entitled The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America. In this book, Walis outlines the plethora of issues facing America and our world: poverty, lack of quality health care, equity in death penalty cases, lessening the divide between the haves and have nots, among many others. He objectively points out that the President of the United States can only play a small role in bringing out real and consistent change in these areas. He then argues that the real responsibility here lies upon those of us on the grass roots level. He said that after the elections were over, regardless of who emerges as our next President, we have a responsibility to return to our communities and continue to grow social movements for change, citing that real change in this country has always come that way.
I appreciate many of the ideas and initiatives of President Elect Barack Obama but my enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that there is a higher power at work in the world today. The future of this country, my future and the future of my children, does not rest in the hands of a mere man. He must do his part but we must do ours as well. We must get up out of our complacency and stop expecting government to do what we ourselves should do. The fight for social justice, whether for race equality, LGBT issues, eradication of poverty, I, immigration reform, religious tolerance issues, the fight is ultimately resting upon our shoulders. May the divine help us in this endeavor!
