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OPINIONS/tOt Ctarldttt $ot
Thursday, March 9. 2006
D.G.
Marhon
God, politics and
American way
What is the best title of a recent book?
My candidate: “God’s Politics; Why the Ri^t Gets It
Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It” the best seller written
by Jim Wallis, a Washington based Christian minister.
Why is the title so good? Of course, anything that hints
of mixing religion and politics gets our attention these
days. Either of these topics can evoke strong feelings in
many of us and the mixture compounds their powerful
hold on us.
But this title has more. It seems to slam
both the political right and the left. “The
right is wrong,” the title implies. That mes
sage rings with political liberals.
’ “The left doesn’t get it,” confirms the feel
ings of many conservatives. Amazingly
then, “God’s Politics” title draws in both the
political ri^t and the left. They all want
someone to slam their “wrongheaded”
opposites.
The title seems to imply that the author, Jim Wallis, may
give us a balanced critique of both ades of the American
political divide fix)m an impartial religious perspective,
and then give his readers guidance about how to deter
mine what God would have us do in political matters.
This is exactly what Wallis tries to do.
His point says “The best public contribution of religion is
precisely not to be ideologically predictable nor a loyal par
tisan. Tb always raise the moral issues of human rights, for
example, will challenge both left and right wing govern
ments who put power above principles. Religious action is
rooted in a much deeper place than ‘rights’-that being the
image of God in every human being.”
He is criticgd of the political Right which “has hyacked
the language of faith to prop up its political agenda — an
agenda not all people of faith support.”
Wallis writes, “The religious and political Ri^t gets the
public meaning of religion mostly wrong-prefeiring to
focus only on sexual and cultural issues while ignoring the
weightier matters of justice.
“And,” he writes, “secular Left doesn’t seem to get the
meaning and promise of faith for politics at all-mistakenly
dismissing spirituality as irtelevant to social change.”
In material promoting the book Wallis’s views are sum
marized this way, “The Left hasn’t done much better, laige-
ly ignoring faith and continually separating moral dis
course and personal ethics firom public policy While the
Right argues that God’s way is their way, the Left pursues
an unrealistic separation of religious values fix)m morally
grounded political leadership. The consequence is a false
choice between ideological religion and soulless politics.”
The book’s promotional material asks these questions,
“Since when did believing in God and having moral values
make you pro-war, pro-rich, and pro-Republican? And
since when did promoting and pursuing a progressive
social agenda with a concern for economic security, health
care, and educational opportunity mean you had to put
faith in God aside?’
Wallis urges all Christians to turn to scriptures to seek
God’s directions for our political efforts. Wallis is an evan
gelical Christian minister. So it should be no surprise that
his imderstanding of the scriptures have led him to take
strong “pro-life” and “pro-family” political positions.
But he finds in the words of the Old Tfestament prophets
and the words of Jesus clear directions to work for peace
and justice for the poor and oppressed. Wallis’s criticism of
the war in Iraq and the current administration’s positions
on poverty might surprise those who think Evangelical
Christians are all automatically political conservatives.
Wallis not only surprises. He also dismays conservative
groups, one of which accused him and his ministry of
“reading scripture throu^ the lens of leftwing politics .”
Wallis would, no doubt, reject this criticism, asserting
that some of scripture’s commands are unambiguous,
whatever lens is used.
Even though he has become a sought' after advisor for
Democrats, he pleads for religious people to resist being
fcaxed into one political camp or another. “In a political and
media culture that squeezes everything into only two
options of left and right, religious people must refuse the
ideological categorization eind actually build bridges
between people of good will in both liberal and conserva
tive camps.”
On that note, religious people of all political persuasions
should agree with Wallis.
D.G. MARTIN is host of “North Carolina Book Walch ’’ on UNC-
TV.
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Ron
Walters
Going back to Gary
for Covenant with
black America
The forum that was recently held in Houston by Tavis Smiley,
communications impresario, on ‘The State of the Black Union”
was important not only because this was the seventh such event,
but because it was the site where a book — “The Covenant” — was
launched.
The Covenant contains a vital set of recommen-
”1 dations for black people to pursue in 10 different
i 1 areas. And, althou^ I will not attempt to desaibe
: them heie, suffice it to say that they make an
enormous contribution to the agenda-building
process so necessary for leadership that will make
a difference.
HHHHHII 1 suggested that agenda-budding was a process
and in that respect, the upcoming Gary
Convention is also designed to be part of that
process. It will produce an agenda that empha
sizes the economic problems of the black conmiu-
nity and potential solutions to them as well. This is the primaiy
difference fioni the State of the Black Union conference. In fact,
many of the fine recommendations taken up in the economic panel
of the Houston meeting will also set the stage for discussion by the
economic foioim at Gary, attempting to refine, elaborate and build
upon the ideas presented.
Never before has a convention of non-specialists in the black
community priniaiily set its si^ts on economic problems. Most of
the past conventions that have been expected to create a leadei’-
ship agenda and the momentum to get them enacted have been
political in natme and these have produced a wide set of issues
with not a great deal of depth.
The Gary convention provides an opportunity for the partici
pants to go into some depth on a series of economic issues affect
ing the black community such as; poverty correctives, Katrina
reconstruction, economic literacy in home ownership, taxes,
money management, investment, debt avoidance, labor ri^ts,
business development, the role of Blacks corporate executives,
health care economics, urban inner-city economics, affiimative
action in employment and contracting, social security, fair wages
and globalization.
Most of these issues were addressed in Houston, but the Gary
convention will undoubtedly contribute to the momentum of The
Covenant and the objective of attempting to aeate a force of lever
age that will surface them in the political system.
In addition, the direction of The Covenant that emphasizes indi
vidual and community responsibility is consistent with that of the
Gary Convention. As a participant in shaping the original Gary
Convention, I remember our discussion about who or what was the
target of our agenda. We decided that we must begin witli the
black community first, so much of the original Gary Agenda docu
ment is addressed to what the black community must do to expand
the range of opportunity and fieedom. That is still an imperative
today
Tb some extent, the debate that arose in Houston about whether
to make a Covenant with America or with the black conmiunity is
a false choice as long as we live in America, under its legal fi*ame-
work, are part of its employment base, consume its good and pay
taxes. That leads to something I discovered in the 1960s in the
midst of similar discussion about whether to go ‘’outside the sys
tem” with our politics. Thinking hard about it, I concluded that
there was no "outside the system,” that as long as we were within
the system, we were within its reach and therefore, we had to
strug^e here and create oiu* space within it. So, the Covenant has
to be with American public policy and with black community
empowerment, what is important are the terms of each agree
ment.
These agendas are addressed to setting out the terms of our
Covenant with America and with the black community, that is
why they are important. Over the past 34 years since the Gary
Convention, many of the terms set forth in that agenda have been
achieved in the progress we have made in many fields. For mudi
of that progress, we have to recognize the steadfastness of our
leadership in fighting to uphold the legal covenants made in the
1960s.
The Covenant with America has been far less productive, since it
has gone backward on many of the promises held out in those
covenants. Consequently, we need to make a new assessment of
the terms of a Covenant and that is why there cannot be too many
contributions to arrive as a substantive, effective and forceful
agenda.
Finally, while I believe in agenda setting, I have come to believe
that what happens at the back end of the process is more impor
tant that the production it takes to launch an Agenda. The test is
to make it live and that will require unity and strug^e by as many
who under the task and will commit themselves to it.
RON WAJJTERS is the Distinguished Ijeadership Scholar, Director of the
Afiican American Ijeadership Institute, I^fessor of Government and
Politics at the Umversity of Maryland College Park.
The Covenant with America has been far
less productive, since it has gone
backward on many of the promises held
out in those covenants.
OUR VOICES
Marian
Kdi;i.man
Next generation
of leadership
People often ask me whei^e tlie next gt'iieration of
leadere will come fiom I know tliey will be yoimg
men and women like Westenley Alcenat.
Wes’ fellow students at liis Minneapolis liigli school
call him tlie “kid who alwa>’s smiles.” But tJie con
stant optimism and infectious smile he shows now as
a teenagei’ weien’t always there in
the little boy who “gi'ew accustomed
to seeing dead bodies, and hearing
rapes fiom tlie neighbor’s door ”
Wes was one of foui* exti*aoixlinary
higli scliool students I'eceiitly honoi'ed
at the Childi'en’s Defense Fiuui
Miimesota’s Beat Uie Odds celebra
tion. Beat tlie Odds was uiitiated by
CDF in 1990 to celebrate the positive
potential of yoimg people like Wes
who are succeeding and doing well in school despite
having to overcome enonnous obstacles. He gi^w up
in Haiti, wheie violence and political instability
turned plajgrounds into battlefields and liis cliild-
hood into a series of imimaginable honois
As he says, “I was pail of a cycle in which tlie futiu’e
seemed grim and hopeless...! witnessed tlie dai'kest
conditions of poverty, where projects ai*e made of
shacks and mud huts; wlieie di*eanLs aie nonexistent,
a place where hope lies dead and buriixl by political
unrest.”
Wes had every reason to feel hopeless. When he
was six, soldiers killed liis paients. His gi'andparents
then cared for liim, but when they and tlie i-est of l iis
family had to flee the country, Wes was left behind
with distant relatives to wait for a visa clearance for
what turned out to be four long yeai*s. Often lonely
and alone, he even survived attempts on liis life.
Dming those fom yeais, he nied eveiy day
But when Wes was finally cleaied to enter the
United States and be leimited witli his gi’andpai'ents
and other family membere, liis life took a new turn.
He didn’t speak English when he anived and had
had very little foniial education in Haiti. But thanks
to the support of teachers, inentore, and liis devoted
grandparents, he now takes rigoreus courses in high
school, maintains a 3.2 GPA, and coimts writers like
Richaid Wright, Langston Hughes, and W.E.B.
DuBois among his heroes.
He also writes poetiy as a way of expiessing his
feelings about his past and liis hopes for tlie fiiture.
He volunteers at local hospitals and schools working
with inuiiigrant and inner-city children, and his
dream is to pursue a caieer in healtli cai*e and return
to Haiti or travel to Afiica to continue helping other
young people who have not yet received the second
chance he was given.
In his speecli aftei* winning the Beat tlie Odds
award, Wes said, “It has always been said that chil
dren are the future of our world. But tlie veiy igno
rance of our world is the cause of their iniseiy:.. I stand
before you not as the sole incipient but as the ambas
sador of millions of others like me; some living in
Haiti, in Africa, in Asia, in South America, and ui tlie
United States.
I am standing before you as the living metaphor, a
reminder of kids that grow up in war zones, of kids
that grow up without cliildhoods; of kids in need of a
home, a father or mother, and of kids without futures,
unless those of us who have the power to change tlieir
lives are willing to take action.”
Westenley Alcenat is aheady standing up, taking
action and making a difference. He has already had
a lifetime’s worth of difficult experiences and lessons,
but they have given him wisdom, maturity, and the
determination to turn a terrible past into a positive
future.
Tbo often we hear about teenagers getting into trou
ble, dropping out of school, becoming involved with
drugs, crime, gangs or becoming parents too soon.
But we rarely recc^nize the many young people who
do well despite serious obstacles that can stand in the
way of even the smallest achievements.
We need to celebrate and support the yoimg people
in our communiti€»s who are beating the odds every
day, and look all around us for bright, inspiring role
models like Westenley
More importantly, we must transform a world that
places daunting obstacles in the way of millions of
children.
MARIAN WRI( iHT EDEIMAN is president and founder of
the Children s Defense Fund.
Beat the Odds was initiated by CDF in
1990 to celebrate the positive poten
tial of young people...