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The Art of Politics
"A Letter From Walter"
By Judy Osborne
Walter Cronkite sent me a letter the other day.
Walter probably forgot my name, because the letter
was addressed to "Dear Friend" And Walter asked me for
money. Still, I was glad he wrote to me and I sent him some money.
For those who are media-challenged or too young to
remember, Walter Cronkite anchored the CBS Evening News through
many turbulent times. He was the most trusted person in television,
a father figure to us all. Nobody of similar stature works in
the media today.
Walter is worried. "For a decade," he says
"I have watched with growing apprehension the rise to real
political influence in our country of a genuinely radical movement
known as the religious right wing."
"This movement, whose lead organization calls
itself the Christian Coalition, has a militant ideology -- one
that encourages deep hostility toward those who disagree with
its agenda."
"It is lavishly funded. According to published
reports, the Christian Coalition alone has an annual operating
budget in excess of $20 million."
Walter goes on the to say that, I consider myself
a person of faith. I work very hard at being a Christian. And
certainly, the Christian Coalition does not speak for me."
Walter's letter was written on behalf of The Interfaith
Alliance. TIA's board lists an impressive array of leaders from
churches such as United Methodist, Unitarian, Roman Catholic,
Jewish, Episcopal, Baptist, Presbyterian, and many others.
TIA has begun a program to mobilize the vast majority
of Christians who continue to believe our country was founded
on principles which include freedom of faith and toleration of
diversity. The organization distributes voter guides, encourages
mainstream religious people to vote, identifies religious-right
"stealth" candidates to voters, communicates regularly
with clergy, and asks political candidates to "repudiate
the use of religion to demonize those whose religious or political
beliefs are different from mine."
The Washington State Association of Churches took
a similar stand in opposition to the religious right during 1994.
The religious right introduced statewide initiatives that year
which would have legalized, and in some cases actually required,
various forms of discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals
and transpeople. The initiatives also would have eliminated any
local laws protecting against such discrimination. The association
of Churches voted unanimously to oppose the initiatives soon after
the religious right started their campaign to place them on the
ballot.
In rejecting the initiatives, the Association wrote
a letter to churches and Christian communities throughout the
State that said, "As Christians, we believe that ... God
created the world and all that is in it - and for no other reason
than that of love. We believe that Initiatives 608 and 610 divide,
fragment and polarize. The stories of discrimination of gay and
lesbian persons are bleak realities of this. For so long we have
been bound by a culture of silence about this discrimination.
We have often ignored these injustices. We are called to practice
compassion and commitment to fairness. We must seek legal mechanisms
which protect and not erode basic human rights."
A further ray of hope that opposition to the religious
right is growing within church congregations was provided by Rev.
Paul Doyle, pastor of the church in which The Emerald City meets.
In a commentary entitled "An Army of Whose God?", Pastor
Paul wrote "How sad to me that the perpetrators of such hate
and violence are so perverse in their thinking that they justify
their actions by calling themselves an 'Army of God'."
He went on to say "Under the banners of 'pro-family'
and 'pro-life' the 'religious wrong' have only accomplished the
alienation of people from a God whose desire it is that we all,
whosoever, come into a place of spiritual kinship with our creator
(John 3:16). They pretend to know a God whose teachings espouse
the exact opposite of their actions."
Speaking of "these cowardly butchers who hide
behind their interpretations and misuse of a 'word' that celebrates
people loving one another," Pastor Paul offered his conviction
that "they are guilty of the very mutilation of the body
they pretend to defend."
Pastor Paul concluded by saying, "Please join
me in prayer for them, that they come to a place of true understanding
about a God they obviously know nothing about. Pray, and as true
Christians, come out of the closet and be counted so the world
might see God's true love in action, not just the hateful actions
of people who don't even understand what the word Christian means."
For me, I'm inspired and heartened to realize that
authentic, love-inspired Christianity continues to exist. I hope
you are too. As Walter says in his letter, "... I am absolutely
sure that the Christian Coalition does not speak for the great
majority of men and women of faith in this country."
Comments? E-mail Judy at heyjude@eskimo.com
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