The Healing and Building Back Better of Our Nation Requires Confronting The Issues of Respect and Poverty

A Prayerful, Humble Reflection by a Person Who Is Concerned About a Country Divided

In my ministry I have been blessed to have met up close and personal the breath of humanity in all its shapes and sizes, cultural backgrounds, racial hues, theological perspective and political affiliations.  I have heard firsthand the life stories and hopes of the hard working poor in Central America (Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica); the coal miners of North East Pennsylvania (Frackville and Shamokin); the well-known CEOs and giants in the financial industry in their homes and offices (Greenwich, CT, and NYC); the small family farmers in the heartland of the Middle Atlantic region (Rough and Ready, Aaronsburg and dozens more); high ranking military leaders in the Pentagon; Native Americans in New Mexico; Hispanics in our nations inner-cities and in Cuba; at risk youth in our cities (Hartford, New York, Philadelphia).  I have represented my denomination in settings where social justice was the focus, where charismatic tongue speaking echoed in my ears, where Biblical conservative theology was the order of the day.  What a fortunate journey in ministry I have had!  And in those blessed times when there was “soul talk” – deep personal sharing – I saw the image of God shining from their hearts and through their stories.  As one person said to me, “You love bringing the most diverse groups of humanity together.”  In my conflicted church interim and consulting, I have sought to have strident divergent views be expressed in an atmosphere of compassionate listening and speaking.  Healing and a cooperative spirit for the common good has often been the outcome of bringing “lions and lambs” together. 

Where is this all leading!  It’s leading to a reflection on the divisive state of political affairs that is being fostered even after a significant electoral defeat by a President whose life has been spent almost exclusively with white, rich, testosterone juiced males.  Yet a sizeable portion of his ardent devotees are the down to earth, salt of the earth rural and blue-collar laborers whom I have been blessed to meet along the way.  They are Stover, the small family dairy farmer, who regularly invited me into his kitchen for a personal and church chat and Charley, the nearing retirement coal miner in Frackville, who coughed and coughed from lung disease, who wanted to discuss his wavering faith, and Fred, the line worker who drove the forklift at Armstrong Cork , who asked for a prayer for himself because of his diagnosis of prostate cancer.

As I have distanced myself from the chaos of the post-election political scene, I realized that many of the desires of a majority of the “Red” state voters and the “Blue” urban voters are the same – personal respect and help in alleviating their economic poverty.  The predominately urban African American community desires the respect that changes the current racial stereotyping realities that have lead to the “Black Lives Matter” movement and a commitment to assisting in developing dynamic ways to assist them in overcoming 400 years of predominately white privilege created poverty.

The rural agricultural and blue-collar classes are seeking respect from a society that increasing showers status (in word and in paycheck) upon those who work in the fields of corporate leadership, financial oversight, and technological advancement.  They also live with the real knowledge that many of their jobs are being eliminated by technology or the current progression toward a more corporate and global food production system.  Several years ago at a conference at which I was keynoting, a local church member who worked in the coal industry said to me, “Potential new sources of energy are going to impoverish me.” 

GAINING RESPECT AND OVERCOMING POVERTY unite the Iowa small family farmer, the West Virginia coal miner, the immigrant Hispanic field worker, and the African American father who holds down two minimum wage jobs.  Yet our political system has made them adversaries.    

The new Biden administration needs to bring a legislative balance to addressing the issues of poverty – regardless of its geographic location or its skin color.  It needs to bring into balance aggressive actions to deal with white rural and blue color poverty as well as the poverty of the urban African American and Latinx communities.  A task force on blue collar poverty needs to be established.  While addressing quality education in the most impoverished areas, our government leaders need to design initiatives for the re-training of those whose job skills will soon or no longer be needed because of technological advancements or climate change realities.  A primary focus needs to be placed on an infrastructure bill that will be a catalyst for worthy employment for our manual labor workforce and out construction workers!  Let Mitch McConnell be seen as the block to helping the middle and lower middle-class worker.  Wouldn’t it be a healing and creative way of building our country back better if national task forces made up of people with a diversity of political opinions and a broad range of knowledge in a particular area (from the everyday worker to acknowledged experts) were brought together to study the issues about which they have distinct personal expertise? Their insights could assist in writing legislation to build back better in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing, energy production, healthcare, and urban renewal.  Their hopeful outcome of their work would be concrete suggestions for legislation that would address the educational, economic and trade, and infrastructure needs to build back better our nation in the area of their study.      

While racism is very much alive, poverty is color blind.  Regardless of their color, REAL people who are facing personal harsh economic realities need to be given visibility in the legislative efforts of state and national government settings.  Our national dialogue under a new administration needs to include even some of the most strident voices on the right and the left along with the voices of the moderate middle in building our country back better.  ALL of those feeling disenfranchised need to be given respect and have their economic concerns addressed.  It is only when the lion and the lamb, when those who see themselves as “enemies”, come together to address in an honest and compassionate way will our increasing wide divisions will be overcome.

 

Devotional

Scripture – Isaiah 11:6

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”

(Rewrite this passage in the context of today’s societal division……”An the red state farmer and the blue state consumer food corporation CEO, and the West Virginia miner shall……………..)

Prayer

How long O God before we see your image in each human soul and revere the “other” because of seeing that image?  How long O God before we realize that all have the same basic hopes and dreams?  How long O God before we learn to whisper to each by getting close rather than shouting at each other from a distance?  How long O God before we can humble ourselves so that we realize we need to be in this continuing experiment called democracy together?  Instill in our elected leaders an “in God we trust” spirit in all that they say and do. Nudge them and us when we fail to consider the common good above our personal desires.  Instill in us a color-blind spirit that sees through the color of our skin into the depths of our souls.  Remind us when we become too self-serving that we are to minister to the poor in the basic necessities of life as well as spirit.  Yes, God bless our nation so that it be a humble servant in partnering with other nations in bringing a peaceable realm to this world.  Amen.

The Rising was written as a response to 9/11/  Its focus on rebirth and renewal seems appropriate for this time in our country.