Dreams and Visions

An Important day, this! A great day of remembrance, of taking stock, of hoping still on what would have been the 79th birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.



In today's Syracuse Post-Standard "national" pages there were a couple of articles about race and gender. On the surface they were about Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton, but they were really about race and gender.

Finally, the articles pointed out these two historically divisive issues have surfaced in the Presidential campaigns. Obama supporters have taken issue with President Clinton's remarks about Barak's campaign as being a "fairy tale". They also felt that Sen. Clinton was disparaging Martin Luther King when she credited Lyndon Johnson with affecting integration when he guided the Civil Rights Act through Congress. Clinton Supporters have taken umbrage at Sen. Obama's retort to Hillary that she was "likable enough." And, there have been many misogynistic remarks against her from many sources throughout her campaign.



One African American man was quoted in the article as saying, "In America it's all about race...always has been, always will be." An African American woman observed that she had experienced discrimination both as a person of color and as a woman. She was hard pressed to say which had been worse or more persistent.



These are very important issues, of course. And, even though it is a wonderful moment that a woman and an African American are being seriously considered for the office of President, it hasn't all been wonderful or pretty. The mudslinging and offense taking only promise to intensify.



But...I don't want to talk about these things. I want to talk about dreams and visions. In my memories of today I think of the dreams of liberty and justice for all, of reconciliation of the races (and of genders, and of sexual orientation, and of religions, and of generations, and...) that Martin Luther King, Jr. led us to consider.



To be honest, in my own deliberations, I am leaning toward supporting Obama. He is UCC, after all. I also could vote for Clinton and Edwards. I respect McCain for his straight talk about election reform, indeed about all of his views. I disagree with him, but at least I feel that I can trust that he is telling the truth as he sees it.



More than any of these leanings and opinions, I appreciate Obama's message of hope. There are those that wonder about this. Kathleen Parker, syndicated columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, wrote an op-ed piece recently pointing out Obama's personal appeal while disparaging his emphasis on hope. Her title expresses her view succinctly enough, "Obama: Hope is not a policy." She went on to say that his politics are little more than soporific, a feel good approach to dealing with tough issues. She concluded by stating that he may or may not be the right one for the job, but everyone will feel too good to notice.



But, I keep wondering about this. I think we give hope short shrift. We only consider it as wishful thinking. But, isn't it better than fear? Isn't it better than bitterness and anger at injustice unabated? Isn't it better than greed or ignorance or despair?



What would a policy of hope look like? Well, we could begin by saying that our main goal in Darfur is to bring hope to the people who have been victimized by such great violence. We could look at what would bring hope. Family life without violence seems to be a pre-requisite. Good schools. Enough to eat. Why are these things lacking? Well, because of the gangs of warriors, the Janjaweed, probably sponsored by the Somalian government, that terrorize, rape and murder them. Yes, it would mean a military solution, an economic one, a political one, but primarily a humane one.



One of our goals as a nation in this decade has been to encourage nations to become democracies. We believe that people want to be free. And the best way to be free is to have a democracy with free elections. And so, we have a policy of democratization.

Now, I love our democracy. I wouldn't exchange it. But, in dealing with other nations I think democratization as a policy is too small and limiting a goal. People want to be free, but freedom comes from living peacefully, providing a good livelihood for your family, a good education.

These goals can be realized regardless of the political system. Or, to put it another way, Palestine is a case in point that democratizing a nation doesn't produce a people that is either free, nor friendly to us. Or to put it still another way, I know that it doesn't matter what kind of government is in power in Honduras, the life Telepani people with whom we work through NY/Help is unchanged. Like so many countless millions of others the discrimination and poverty that they experience persists regardless of the political system.



So, I like hope. I think we out to give hope to each other. I believe that we need to do this as a nation, but also as churches. I believe we need to look for the lonely and the desperate, the forlorn, the embittered. The gospel was created for such as these. Preaching the good news of God's unfailing love to the poor and everyone else is our central reason for being.



At least, these are my thoughts on this anniversary of Martin Luther King's birthday. I need to do better at sharing hope and empowering faithfulness and embodying the love of God in Christ. I need to watch what I say and how I say it, what I think about people -- the way I am too quick to judge. Maybe you do, too.



And so, King's dreams and visions inspire but also convict and challenge me. But mostly, they give me hope.



Blessings,



Rick Cowles