Changing the wind

by Gary Boatwright, Thu Jan 27, 2005 at 03:54:54 PM EST

Many of us believe that by replacing one wet-fingered politician with another we can change our society. But it never really works, and when it doesn't we get disillusioned.   . . .  You change a society by changing the wind. Change the wind, transform the debate, recast the discussion, alter the context in which political decisions are being made, and you will change the outcomes.

There's more in extended diary

[There is] a fundamental principle--that history is most changed by social movements with a spiritual foundation. . . .  Issues such as the strength of family life, the meaning of work, the health of neighborhoods, the well-being of children and the shame of child poverty, the moral tone of "entertainment", the truth telling of public officials, the quality of moral content of education, the equity of health care, the stewardship of the environment, and the consistency of foreign policy with expressed national values are all deeply held moral concerns at the heart of contemporary political issues.
            . . .

The lack of vision in public life and the emptying out of values that visionless leadership creates lead to a politics of complaint,  . . . and complaint becomes our dominant political discourse.

Ruah is the word for the wind of God in the Old Testament.  . . .  I am convinced that we can make key "wind changing" or pardigm shifts on a wide range of issues.   . . .   The truth is that most of the important issues for social change in America have been fueled by religion--progressive religion.

                                     . . .

There are now three major political options in our public life. The first political option in America today is conservative on everything--from cultural, moral, and family concerns to economic, environmental, and foreign policy issues.
                     . . .  

The second political option in contemporary America is liberal on everything--both family/sexual/cultural questions and economic, environmental, and foreign policy matters.            . . .

The third option in American politics is libertarian, meaning liberal on cultural/moral issues and conservative on fiscal/economic and foreign policy. The "just leave me alone and don't spend my money option" is growing quickly in American life.              . . .

I believe there is a fourth option for American
politics.  . . .  At the heart of the fourth option is the integral link between personal ethics and social justice. And it appeals to people who refuse to make the choice between the two.  . . .   I think the fourth option could be a real winning vision, and I believe many are very hungry for it.

Do you want to know what the fourth option for American politics is? Buy the book!

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Shadow_head_small
Just kidding!
I believe there is a "fourth option" for American politics, which follows from the prophetic religious tradition we have described. It is "traditional" or "conservative" on issues of family values, sexual integrity and personal responsibility, while being very "progressive," "populist," or even "radical" on issues like poverty and racial justice.

It affirms good stewardship of the earth and its
resources, supports gender equality, and is more
internationally minded than nationalist - looking
first to peacemaking and conflict resolution when it come to foreign policy questions. The people it
appeals to (many religious, but others not) are very strong on issues such as marriage, raising kids, and individual ethics, but without being "right-wing," reactionary, mean-spirited, or scapegoating against any group of people, including gays and lesbians. They can be pro-life, pro-family and pro-feminist, all at
the same time. They think issues of "moral character" are very important, both in a politician's personal life and in his or her policy choices. Yet they are decidedly pro-poor, pro-racial reconciliation, critical of purely military solutions, and defenders of the environment.

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by Gary Boatwright 2005-01-27 03:58PM | 0 recs
Shadow_head_small
Worthy Diary
-- I agree about the need for the fourth option and also believe that people are deeply hungry for it.  Our culture is in a huge crisis because so much of our lives are devoid of meaning beyond acquiring or controlling things. So many religious traditions are right in eschewing material acquisition because the wise know how materialism blocks self knowledge and connection with others and life.  You cannot immerse in things and immerse in the spirit.

Also, our capitalist paradigm is designed to instill continual hunger for material acquisitions.  Without that, who could get rich, right?

We will have to find our way to the light probably the hard way.  I don't want that - so much pain and suffering and those who will suffer most will be the weakest among us. Lets hope to find our thread again to values of gentleness and mercy through the turmoil to come. It won't be easy.  We have been groomed to attack and hate each other and there will be many seeking scapegoats.

Still I know that there are many of us who are strong, resilient and deeply caring.  Those people - some we don't expect, will be there for us.

Thanks for your lovely thoughts..

by SwimmereToFreedom05 2005-01-27 09:21PM | 0 recs
Shadow_head_small
Call it what you will...
I haven't read Rev. Wallis' book yet but I've heard him on Air America and from my perspective he seems right on the mark. My progressive political views are a direct extension of my faith and seem completely consistent with my reading of the scriptures.

Jesse Jackson's observation was that "Jesus was a liberal, Herod was a conservative. Moses was a liberal, Pharoah was a conservative." Jesus said the two most important commandments were to love God and love your neighbor. To me, it is not loving God or your neighbor to stir up hatred against people whose lifestyle you disagree with, to invade foreign countries and torture their citizens in order to control their natural resources, or to allow your corporate friends to pump mercury into our lakes and rivers that will cause developmental retardation for generations of children.

Jesus is recorded as spending alot of his time with the sexual and social outcasts of his society, not using them as scapegoats for political gain. Jesus' harshest recorded words were not directed at those regarded sexually immoral but at the legalistic religious leaders of his day. Jesus' friends were not the rich but the poor. And he was executed in a brutal and public manner normally reserved for political prisoners.

Rev. Forbes at Riverside Church has said the election of '04 may be God teaching a lesson to the community of faith for falling asleep for thirty years while conservatives took over the evangelical movement for their own political and financial purposes. The old testament is filled with God using ungodly kings to correct the people of Israel that he loved. Perhaps Bush is our Nebuchadnezzar.  There is a "chad" in Nebuchadnezzar :+(

All that being said, your comment that this is not a "popular topic" may be true as well. The numbers may not justify the outreach. Many of my conservative Christian brothers and sisters may be so rigidly married to their ideology and tribal identity that no theological argument, regardless of it's logical construction or impassioned delivery, can distract them from a blinding obsession with sexuality and a simplistic view of the relationship between pregnancy and women's lives.

But the arguments made yesterday all say the key to regaining political viability is speaking of and standing for a set of values that resonates with the hearts of a majority. Most of the non-Christians I know have a sense of right and wrong that is not greatly unlike the definition of right and wrong that comes from my faith tradition. And I believe that progressive Christians and a large body of non-Christians share the values that Dr. Dean has articulated since taking the national stage.

When I hear the receptive change in the tone of voice of the agnostic and/or non-Christian hosts and guests on Air America to Rev. Wallis's arguments, I have hope. Core Democratic values are core Christian values as well. If we can deliver a message that articulates those values with clarity, respect and confidence, I think the Democratic party and the Christian church will be better for it.

IMHO :+)

by ProgressiveChristian 2005-01-31 02:36PM | 0 recs

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