Peace, poverty and Planet Earth were the foci of the “Keep Making Peace” conference held by Michigan's United Methodist Churches in Lansing on Saturday, April 12. Bob Edgar, pastor, former U.S. representative, former leader of the National Council of Churches in Christ, and now CEO of Common Cause, emphasized three messages that cut across the issues
We are the leaders we have been waiting for.
Lord, help me notice the stains when people get spilled on.
I love you and there’s nothing you can do about it!
Edgar on peace
He became a strong peace advocate when he visited U.S. missile silos and discovered that the finger on the button of potential nuclear annihilation belonged to a 21-year-old man
If you want to get Castro, lift the embargo. It has provided a great vehicle for demonizing the United States without moderating messages
We have the distinction of being the first generation capable of destroying the entire planet – whether by nuclear weaponry or global warming or pollution
If the whole population of the planet were 100 people, 52 would be women, 8 African, 14 would live in the Western Hemisphere, 57 would be Asians, 6 would own half the wealth and all would live in the United States, 80 would live in substandard housing, 70 would be illiterate, 50 would be hungry and 1 would own a computer
Of the 800 lifetimes of human history, 650 would have been spent in caves, in the last four people could measure time, in the past two people used lightbulbs or fossil fuels, and in the last lifetime 95% of everything that humans have ever made has been created
The earth has been present for 4.8 billion years. In 1830, the population first reached one billion; in 1930 two billion; in 1960 three billion; in 1975 four billion, in 1987 five billion, in 1999 six billion, and in 2008, 6.6 billion. More than half the people who have ever lived are alive today
“Elected officials may not have a clue. They think they can get terrorists by bombing a capital. We’re exquisitely preparing our defense for World War II,” when we should be focuses on cooperating with other nations for police actions against terror
“A courageous remnant of people can change the world.”
Edgar on how to be a peacemaker
We need to be the leaders we have been waiting for. Elected officials (especially Congress) follow, not lead
A president who leaves office popular probably hasn’t done a good job
People of faith need to learn to lobby, to infiltrate the system. Should have eye contact with Congressional delegates twice a year in their home offices
Visit their staff in Washington, and then call them quarterly
Letters, email and petitions are the “lousiest” ways to contact legislators. If must use letter, mark it “personal”
Figure out what it takes to change your mind when planning to change a legislator’s mind
Reinvent civil disobedience; there are times it is necessary
We need to change our “be-attitudes”
The 2006 election may have been the first to start pulling the country back to the middle. How will the new president help us become a superpower with humility?
Make sure that every high school student in your church has experience in working with poverty. Provide scholarships to assist college students in Peace Corps and other international missions. Mobilize seniors for conflict resolution, Senior Adult Peace Corps, etc.
Edgar on poverty
We as Americans believe we have a right to consumption, and have used two-thirds of the known oil
People cherry-pick the Bible. For example, homosexuality is condemned in only two verses, but poverty is condemned in more than 2,000
Tainted money = “ ‘tain’t enough.”
There is $35 billion in the country’s benefit bank for poverty that no one has applied for: food stamps, tax credits, etc.
Most people working are only a paycheck away from poverty
If we cut the defense budget in half we would still spend more than all other nations combined
If we’re going to lift people out of poverty, we need a new way to fund public education than poverty taxes, which perpetuate what is
Forty-seven million Americans – nine million of them children – have no health insurance
In 2004, 97% of the people who voted had health care
Until the minimum wage was raised last year, an employee on minimum wage could work 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, and the family be $5,000 below the poverty line
The new minimum wage has only 65% of the buying power of the minimum wage in 1965
Millennium goals show that we can end the poverty that kills. Charity is not enough; we have to change the environment
Michigan is on life support. The Michigan legislature is weak (because of short term limits) and lobbyists are strong
The churches should quit meeting so often, and come back together when they’ve accomplished something. Take on a ten-year campaign to end poverty in Michigan
Edgar on Planet Earth
If all the possible land on earth was cultivated, it could sustain a population of 6.5 billion. We must regenerate, not just sustain
Our whole economic system is based on presumptions of cheap energy and access to oil
Biblical idea of taking dominion of planet: Capitalists interpret as “dominance,” whereas the original Hebrew means “stewardship”
Water is the next big crisis, especially in areas like the Middle East
The community’s right to know about what chemicals are contained in Superfund sites was eliminated by the Patriot Act
Copyright, 2008, Pat Grauer
We are the leaders we have been waiting for.
Lord, help me notice the stains when people get spilled on.
I love you and there’s nothing you can do about it!
Edgar on peace
He became a strong peace advocate when he visited U.S. missile silos and discovered that the finger on the button of potential nuclear annihilation belonged to a 21-year-old man
If you want to get Castro, lift the embargo. It has provided a great vehicle for demonizing the United States without moderating messages
We have the distinction of being the first generation capable of destroying the entire planet – whether by nuclear weaponry or global warming or pollution
If the whole population of the planet were 100 people, 52 would be women, 8 African, 14 would live in the Western Hemisphere, 57 would be Asians, 6 would own half the wealth and all would live in the United States, 80 would live in substandard housing, 70 would be illiterate, 50 would be hungry and 1 would own a computer
Of the 800 lifetimes of human history, 650 would have been spent in caves, in the last four people could measure time, in the past two people used lightbulbs or fossil fuels, and in the last lifetime 95% of everything that humans have ever made has been created
The earth has been present for 4.8 billion years. In 1830, the population first reached one billion; in 1930 two billion; in 1960 three billion; in 1975 four billion, in 1987 five billion, in 1999 six billion, and in 2008, 6.6 billion. More than half the people who have ever lived are alive today
“Elected officials may not have a clue. They think they can get terrorists by bombing a capital. We’re exquisitely preparing our defense for World War II,” when we should be focuses on cooperating with other nations for police actions against terror
“A courageous remnant of people can change the world.”
Edgar on how to be a peacemaker
We need to be the leaders we have been waiting for. Elected officials (especially Congress) follow, not lead
A president who leaves office popular probably hasn’t done a good job
People of faith need to learn to lobby, to infiltrate the system. Should have eye contact with Congressional delegates twice a year in their home offices
Visit their staff in Washington, and then call them quarterly
Letters, email and petitions are the “lousiest” ways to contact legislators. If must use letter, mark it “personal”
Figure out what it takes to change your mind when planning to change a legislator’s mind
Reinvent civil disobedience; there are times it is necessary
We need to change our “be-attitudes”
The 2006 election may have been the first to start pulling the country back to the middle. How will the new president help us become a superpower with humility?
Make sure that every high school student in your church has experience in working with poverty. Provide scholarships to assist college students in Peace Corps and other international missions. Mobilize seniors for conflict resolution, Senior Adult Peace Corps, etc.
Edgar on poverty
We as Americans believe we have a right to consumption, and have used two-thirds of the known oil
People cherry-pick the Bible. For example, homosexuality is condemned in only two verses, but poverty is condemned in more than 2,000
Tainted money = “ ‘tain’t enough.”
There is $35 billion in the country’s benefit bank for poverty that no one has applied for: food stamps, tax credits, etc.
Most people working are only a paycheck away from poverty
If we cut the defense budget in half we would still spend more than all other nations combined
If we’re going to lift people out of poverty, we need a new way to fund public education than poverty taxes, which perpetuate what is
Forty-seven million Americans – nine million of them children – have no health insurance
In 2004, 97% of the people who voted had health care
Until the minimum wage was raised last year, an employee on minimum wage could work 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, and the family be $5,000 below the poverty line
The new minimum wage has only 65% of the buying power of the minimum wage in 1965
Millennium goals show that we can end the poverty that kills. Charity is not enough; we have to change the environment
Michigan is on life support. The Michigan legislature is weak (because of short term limits) and lobbyists are strong
The churches should quit meeting so often, and come back together when they’ve accomplished something. Take on a ten-year campaign to end poverty in Michigan
Edgar on Planet Earth
If all the possible land on earth was cultivated, it could sustain a population of 6.5 billion. We must regenerate, not just sustain
Our whole economic system is based on presumptions of cheap energy and access to oil
Biblical idea of taking dominion of planet: Capitalists interpret as “dominance,” whereas the original Hebrew means “stewardship”
Water is the next big crisis, especially in areas like the Middle East
The community’s right to know about what chemicals are contained in Superfund sites was eliminated by the Patriot Act
Copyright, 2008, Pat Grauer
1 comments:
Bob Edgar will be my guest on News Talk Online on Paltalk Monday July 14 at 5 PM New York time.
Please go to www.garybaumgarten.com and click on the link to talk to him. There is no charge.
Thanks
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