MY NEW HERO
Circle of Protection
The reason it’s unprecedented is because “we don’t agree on much else,” said John Carr of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. The coalition focuses on those Jesus called “the least of these” (Matthew 25:45), which speaks to obligations to look to the less fortunate. One goal it to get lawmakers to consider, “what would Jesus cut?” (Actually, to ask the question is probably to answer it.) […] “Poor people don’t have an office on K Street,” said Galen Carey of the National Association of Evangelicals. “They don’t have lobbyists, so their voice is muted. That’s why it’s important for people of faith to step into the void.” The association is headed by Leith Anderson, former pastor to Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor and current Republican presidential candidate.
On occasion, I’ve been known to decry the excesses and hypocrisy of modern Christianity and organized religion in general. It’s no secret that religion, which I’ve always found to be, conceptually at least, a laudable idea, has been co-opted by ignorant, fearful, power-mad zealots for whom religion is simply their cudgel of choice. I don’t care what your theological underpinnings might be; religion is not at it’s most basic a vehicle for protecting the interests of the wealthy and the powerful. Sadly, the people of faith who happen to draw attention these days are the one who use their religion as a bludgeon to protect their fears, their prejudice, their self-interest, and their lust for power, control, and money. There are also people of faith who toil quietly in the earnest pursuit of living their beliefs. I, like most everyone else with a byline of any sort, tend to ignore these folks…because they frankly just don’t make for good copy. Sadly, quietly and confidently living a Christ-like life just isn’t a recipe for attracting media attention. Of course, I should probably do a better (and more balanced) job of recognizing those who actually do endeavor to live their beliefs as they work to create a more just and peaceful world.
It’s easy to find examples of so-called “Christians” (which, honestly, is shorter than the more accurate “Far-Right Uber-Jesus-y Social Conservative Zealots”) who wield their Christianity as the club with which they hope to beat non-believers into submission to their flavor of Jesus Christ. What’s harder- though certainly not impossible- to find are examples of Christians coming together to advocate for the needs and concerns of those who don’t donate large sums of cash to Republican politicians. The poor, the sick, and the disabled don’t have lobbyists on K Street, and because of that those groups tend to be roundly ignored by the GOP. After all, you can’t buy influence if you don’t have money, right?
The coalition is called the “Circle of Protection,” and they have been working hard on the debt ceiling issue, holding prayer vigils on the Hill and fasts. When the group met with Obama, they encouraged him to protect Medicaid, food stamps, aid to poor women with infant children, international development aid, and other programs specifically targeted to the poor…. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, a Christian social justice group, points out, “A budget is a moral document.” His group’s website poses the question, “What would Jesus cut?” Wallis says that in debt ceiling negotiations, politicians will be faced with choices like whether to cut $8.5 billion for low-income housing or whether to save that money by ending tax deductions for mortgages on vacation homes for the wealthy.
Wallis’ group is launching an advertising campaign in the home districts of political leaders, aimed at encouraging them to shield the poor from draconian spending cuts. Another coalition member, David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, said they are reviewing the plan put forward by Speaker Boehner. “I don’t think they want to make kids hungrier,” he said. “But if you have deep, unspecified cuts in spending, they will make kids hungrier.”
One thing that I’ve found sorely lacking in the manufactured public Sturm und Drang over the debt ceiling is any concern (from either party, but in particular from Republicans) over the fate of the poor, the disabled, and the elderly. These folks will be among the most deeply impacted by draconian cuts proposed and demanded by the GOP, and yet they’ve no real voice because they lack the financial resources necessary to purchase influence.
I’ve found it refreshing to be reminded that there actually are groups of committed Christians (of various flavors) working diligently to ensure that the “least” among us aren’t tossed overboard in the name of political expediency. Whether Lutheran, Catholic, Presbyterian…or whatever version of Christianity they adhere to, these folks know that the teachings of Jesus Christ are the same. That they’re working to live their faith is both laudable and notable, if only because that sort of thing seems so little in evidence these days.
Republicans (and to lesser degrees, Democrats and the President) seem all to willing to abandon those with the least power and influence. In Washington, after all, if you have no one to lobby for you, do you even really exist? Cutting social programs is easy, because those the programs serve are the ones with the smallest voices and the weakest influence. It’s good to know that there are those who will take up the mantle of those largely unable to fight for themselves (usually because they’re too busy simply trying to survive). Would that more people (and I include myself in their number) could pay closer attention to what groups like the Circle of Protection are trying to do on behalf of those who aren’t alway able to do for themselves.
Sometimes, heroes don’t wear uniforms and carry rifles….
