Faith and Politics
When my children were young, I took them with me to vote. Before we went into the polling place, I said to them, "We vote because somebody died so we could have the right to vote." Now I think the reason we vote is because somebody lived so we could have the right to vote.
During this year's election season Santa Cruz's local news station KION Central Coast News, a subsidiary of CBS, has issued an open invitation to local candidates to come to the studio and promote their campaigns for election. Each candidate can create a one-minute spot to introduce themselves, explain why they are running for office and share their qualifications and viewpoints. The only condition for the free news coverage was that they could not say anything negative about their opponents.
The Institute for Civility in Government was founded in 1998 by two Presbyterian pastors, the Rev. Cassandra Dahnke and the Rev. Tomas Spath. They began by taking groups of adults to Washington, D.C., to listen and learn about how to speak with one another and their elected officials in civil, courteous ways. They branched out to college campuses, bringing elected officials to campuses to meet with students. These gatherings are not about positions or sides of a debate, but about discussing ideas in a respectful manner.
You have to wonder -- when political ads focus on a college prank pulled by your opponent -- what else could that money have gone to?
On October 13, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Pacific Tomato Growers (CIW) -- one of the country's oldest and largest tomato producers -- announced a http://www.ciw-online.org/CIW_Pacific_joint_relea
It's midterm election time. How are you going to vote? Well, it's obvious, isn't it? Your side -- whichever it is -- is the only one that will save America from utter financial and moral collapse. The other side -- whichever it is -- is full of liars and hypocrites controlled by unscrupulous cabals who, for financial reasons, are willing to ruin the common man. And woman.
The passage from James' letter warns that our words, for better or worse, can turn a ship or light a forest ablaze. At this point in the campaign season, every time I see a political ad I mute my TV or change the station. I know I'm not alone.
Like millions of people around the world, I stayed up much too late last night, mesmerized by the live coverage of the miners being rescued in Chile. The pictures of the narrow capsule emerging from the ground, the door opening, and men who had been 2,300 feet underground for 69 days stepping out were extraordinary. And the joyous, tearful reunions with their families that followed were moving beyond words.
Last week, I asked you all to tell FOX News that when it comes to truth and civility, they can do better. Thousands of you did. You aren't the only ones who see things getting worse than ever before. This week, a group of more than 130 former legislators, both Republicans and Democrats, released a letter urging for civility and encouraging candidates, once elected, to focus on cooperation to face our country's greatest challenges.