Two Speakers, One Goal

It is rare to hear two thought provoking talks by eminently qualified men in the space of five days, but that did occur at Shell Point this past week. Clarke Dahlgren, our local AARP representative whose talk was announced here two weeks ago, was the more practical, here's-how-we'll-get-it-done speaker as he detailed the Divided We Fail program www.dividedwefail.com sponsored by AARP. The second man, Dr. James W. Skillen, President of The Center for Public Justice www.cpjustice.org in Washington, D.C. gave a more philosophical and historical talk to explain the background of our political parties as they interpret the role of Church and State. His talk, Christianity and Democracy: an Oxymoron? explored the ramifications, past and present, of religion and politics. Both men, however, unwittingly came to the same conclusion: broad based bipartisan solutions to the problems facing the American people can only be achieved through cooperation among groups with different viewpoints.

Mr. Dahlgren was concerned with health care and long-term financial security which are what AARP sees as the most pressing issues facing our nation at home. Financial security is being jeopardized by the many people who must rely solely on Social Security as their only source of funds. However, he does not see an immediate threat in the bankruptcy of this system. We currently have $150 billion more coming into Social Security than we are paying out in benefits. This will not continue as 77 million people are added to the rolls and are living longer. At this rate by 2020 solvency of Social Security will tip over into insolvency. The interest earned on the Social Security Trust Fund will help it survive, but beginning in 2030-40 there will be less cash coming in than going out. Special interests and obdurate political thinking have resulted in minimal congressional discussion of the Social Security issue. Even the term Universal Health Care has been labeled socialized medicine by some groups in order to stymie discussion. For this reason AARP does not use the term, preferring to call it Single Payer Plan Health Care. The Divided We Fail program is an attempt to ask people to share their ideas, experiences, and concerns regarding health care and long-term financial security by putting a personal face on these challenges in order to demonstrate the urgency of these issues to government officials and challenging them to take action.

Dr. Skillen began his presentation by stating that the basic tenet as stipulated in our Constitution separating religion and politics has eroded and they are melding together now. This has many reasons, not the least of which is what he calls the rise of "secular religions" like Communism and other political systems which have arisen and threaten the existence of Christianity as it has existed for many centuries. In the East emperors declared themselves divine and thus ruled their subjects by a combination of religio-politics. Later, in the West, Roman Catholicism declared itself to be the vicar of the church and exerted its influence the same way. Centuries later when our Federal Constitution was enacted it did not establish a national religion but among our states there was no such restriction. So the Puritans of New England did establish a harsh government in which Calvinist teachings were the law. In certain areas this puritanical doctrine still persists which may be reflected in the immigration debate which we are engaged in today. In the 1840s and 50s the immigration of Roman Catholics into the U.S. in various national waves from Europe encountered enmity from Christian Protestants who had preceded them as immigrants. Now an immigration from Mexico and Central America, primarily Catholic, is encountering the same enmity from a mix of previous immigrants. Both the right and the left argue and debate this "special identity" of Americans even though our open society allows religious freedom.

Skillen then examined the Biblical tradition of the Chosen People and the Messiah who should pick up the sword and spread the prophecy of the New Jerusalem. Among Calvinists and other groups, settlements claiming to be fulfilling the phophecy were established in Scotland and South Africa, each claiming to be the fulfillment of that phophecy. Also related is the settling of Israel although in that case their claim to property is based on the return to previously occupied land. These various people were called zealots but with no special privleges. In every case God was the final authority which is the root of an open society. What is the task of government? In the political field everyone should be treated the same. What is Christianity? If you are a Christian you should not have any special privleges. A democracy as practised in ancient Greece was not an open society even though Greece is called the cradle of democracy. It was Rome which developed the first practising democracy as we define the term, the reason the Roman Empire flourished and spread so rapidly.

In a Q & A session which followed, Skillen claimed that in the U.S. state identities have disappeared which is very different from what existed in our country from its founding to the pre-World War II era. Everyone is now just an American, but many also claim that the federal government is in the way, the reason some want to cut back federal programs. The one program which is always spared is military spending which allows the U.S., in conjunction with the 140 countries with which we have military ties, to promote democracy in a messianic way reminiscent of the Roman Empire. Our foreign policy promotes democracy worldwide but with the caveat that the U.S. must always be in the leadership role. As a consequence we now live in a prepared-for-war state of mind constantly and Bush defends this role in the guise of spreading democracy and fighting terrorism abroad rather than on U.S. soil.

In answer to a final question the speaker said that our two evangelical presidents (Carter and Bush) were not successful because being evangelical does not guarantee success. Running as a solo never works in government. Consensus is necessary for a working democracy. The larger public good and respect for law are also necessary for an open society, which is a true democracy. One election does not create a democracy as has been proved in Iraq. In closing Skillen appealed to voters to think of which candidate would promote public justice for all as they choose who should be elected.