A good FB friend asked me what I mean by the world liberal ... in terms of the root meaning, as in liberal education or in terms of the progressive agenda these days in politics.
Here's my response - quick and dirty:
Hi John ... I think both ... a freedom to think broadly, experimentally - but clearly, for me, the term represents the best in America's political story - that which gave us the National Parks and child labor laws; that which abolished slavery and established civil rights for people of color and women. The liberal spirit busted the trusts under Teddy Roosevelt, gave us Social Security under FDR and promoted unions to protect the working class and build the middle class. John, you ask good questions: For the church, a place of free inquiry because of a solid faith, not in spite of it, with less emphasis on "winning souls" and a lot more emphasis on living the faith, and letting God do the winning through our witness (my Calvinism is showing!). I think the struggle today for Gay Rights is akin to the struggle for civil rights and women's suffrage and ordination. Why the church tends to be last in line on so many of these things astounds me. We talk of heaven, but seemingly close our eyes to the hell in which so many millions are forced to live their days. Socially, a safe society - where aliens have an easier time of it, where employers are penalized for illegal hiring rather than gathering up these poor families late at night and deporting them. We have to recover our manufacturing basis - if there were a crisis and the shipping lanes disrupted, we couldn't make our own refrigerators anymore. We need to sever the link between employment and health care and put it where it belongs - in government. We need a major public transportation effort to curb our fuel usage and rebuild our cities around it rather than freeways (and I live in LA) We have to learn how to curb our spending, learn to live with less, pay more for what we have to support our middle class and keep jobs here in America. Our corporations have to be leashed; and super-wealth taxed! Junk food and corn syrup banned! Feed McDonald's executives their own crap three times a day for a month, take away their cars and make them use public transportation. Oh well, you asked ... a lot of random thoughts. John, tell me more about your vision, for the church and for our society.
Showing posts with label job security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label job security. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Friday, January 30, 2009
It's Time to Celebrate
I wept the night Obama was elected, and I wept on the day of his inauguration - I felt a great weight lift from my shoulders and that of my nation.
It's time to celebrate.
His executive orders and his first piece of signed legislation (Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act) signal a new direction for the Republic, though I might add: not so much a new way, as the restoration of a purpose so eloquently outlined for us by our Founding Mothers and Fathers.
And now the central piece of Obama's Presidency, the Stimulus Plan - will it work?
Hard to say - once the wheels of Recession/Depression begin to roll, like a snowball heading down hill, it's tough to put the breaks on.
If John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) is right, and there are many who believe that it's time for Kenyesian steps to be taken - that is, if spending is the key to a vital economy, and banks aren't lending and folks aren't spending, then it's up to Uncle Sam to spend.
My greatest concern is that this spending be directed to job-creation and health care. The American people are shackled by rising health care costs, and too many are without insurance, contributing to a decline in our overall health and huge stress on our emergency rooms, just when so many hospitals are closing their ER doors and increasingly unable to absorb losses.
What limited travel I've had, it seems to me that our European and Canadian friends are doing a whole lot better on this one then we are. Both friends and family have experienced the European health care system, and the grades are consistently high, but the point worth noting: everyone is cared for, and I believe that when Uncle Sam begins to pay our medical bills, Uncle Sam will suddenly take a new interest in the food and water supply, clean air, product and workplace safety and the lifestyle of the American people.
For much of our history, there's been a marvelous oscillation between rugged individualism (everyone for themselves) and a social mandate to care for one another. It strikes me that in our youth (both personally and as a nation), we're likely to favor the "rugged" model, appealing, as it does, to our personal strengths and uniqueness. But as we grow older, we are likely to pay more attention to our neighbors, and if religion has any value whatsoever, faith opens our eyes to see "the least of these" and opens our hands to help.
Individual charity is a must, but only a concerted partnership between Uncle Sam and the engines of business can correct the social structures creating poverty. Charity alone may temporarily alleviate some suffering and will make the giver feel good, but we need social restructuring so that folks will have access to good jobs, job safety, education, health care and housing.
We can do it!
Yes, it's time to celebrate.
There are no miracles on the horizon. It took a considerable time for us to get to this point, and it will take time to make the needed corrections, not only in the material elements of taxation and government spending, but in our heart - as we move toward a greater social maturity - moving away from the "rugged" model to understanding and affirming that the greatest test of a society is the care we give to one another.
I write as Christian, and I write as one who heeds (or tries to) the prophetic message of Isaiah and Jeremiah (and the others) and how that message takes shape in the words and work of Jesus my Lord.
Yes, it's time to celebrate!
By God's grace, we can!
It's time to celebrate.
His executive orders and his first piece of signed legislation (Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act) signal a new direction for the Republic, though I might add: not so much a new way, as the restoration of a purpose so eloquently outlined for us by our Founding Mothers and Fathers.
And now the central piece of Obama's Presidency, the Stimulus Plan - will it work?
Hard to say - once the wheels of Recession/Depression begin to roll, like a snowball heading down hill, it's tough to put the breaks on.
If John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) is right, and there are many who believe that it's time for Kenyesian steps to be taken - that is, if spending is the key to a vital economy, and banks aren't lending and folks aren't spending, then it's up to Uncle Sam to spend.
My greatest concern is that this spending be directed to job-creation and health care. The American people are shackled by rising health care costs, and too many are without insurance, contributing to a decline in our overall health and huge stress on our emergency rooms, just when so many hospitals are closing their ER doors and increasingly unable to absorb losses.
What limited travel I've had, it seems to me that our European and Canadian friends are doing a whole lot better on this one then we are. Both friends and family have experienced the European health care system, and the grades are consistently high, but the point worth noting: everyone is cared for, and I believe that when Uncle Sam begins to pay our medical bills, Uncle Sam will suddenly take a new interest in the food and water supply, clean air, product and workplace safety and the lifestyle of the American people.
For much of our history, there's been a marvelous oscillation between rugged individualism (everyone for themselves) and a social mandate to care for one another. It strikes me that in our youth (both personally and as a nation), we're likely to favor the "rugged" model, appealing, as it does, to our personal strengths and uniqueness. But as we grow older, we are likely to pay more attention to our neighbors, and if religion has any value whatsoever, faith opens our eyes to see "the least of these" and opens our hands to help.
Individual charity is a must, but only a concerted partnership between Uncle Sam and the engines of business can correct the social structures creating poverty. Charity alone may temporarily alleviate some suffering and will make the giver feel good, but we need social restructuring so that folks will have access to good jobs, job safety, education, health care and housing.
We can do it!
Yes, it's time to celebrate.
There are no miracles on the horizon. It took a considerable time for us to get to this point, and it will take time to make the needed corrections, not only in the material elements of taxation and government spending, but in our heart - as we move toward a greater social maturity - moving away from the "rugged" model to understanding and affirming that the greatest test of a society is the care we give to one another.
I write as Christian, and I write as one who heeds (or tries to) the prophetic message of Isaiah and Jeremiah (and the others) and how that message takes shape in the words and work of Jesus my Lord.
Yes, it's time to celebrate!
By God's grace, we can!
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