Who Will Speak for Them?

The Book of Amos in the Bible could be speaking about our current situation in this country. Amos was very critical about four major sins: Mistreatment of the poor, false pride, inhumane treatment of other people, and insincere worship. If we were to look at these four areas separately and examine them in relation to the Bush administration’s policies, the picture would not be too flattering. From budget cuts for food stamps and housing subsidies, to the war in Iraq, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, this administration has repeatedly acted in ways that are anything but Christian. Simply professing to be religious and participating in religious activities is not enough; their actions do not demonstrate what they profess to believe.

The Religious Right is guilty to a degree too. They focus on single issues like abortion, but remain silent about poverty, capital punishment and unnecessary war. Even worse, many of them pit their evangelical beliefs against those of other Christians in an effort to make others look bad and themselves better. Isn’t this the false pride Amos speaks about?

Thankfully, more mainstream Christians on the left, middle and right are beginning to speak up about the problems that effect people living in this country today, especially the problems of poverty and the minimum wage. The Charleston Gazette recently ran an editorial highlighting the efforts of churches in West Virginia to do something about this problem.

”The West Virginia Council of Churches - an affiliation of mainstream Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant congregations - has made adequate pay a priority. The council supports raising the minimum wage to $7.25 by June 2007. (It would have to be $8.90 an hour to have the same buying power the minimum wage had in 1969.)

“Justice for low-wage workers isn’t just an economic or political issue. It’s a religious and moral issue as well,” Bishop Ralph Dunkin of the West Virginia-West Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church said in Saturday’s paper.

These churches already work to help individuals struggling with poverty. Together, they plan to work for changes to policies that make Americans poor.

Their timing is perfect. The lives and work of millions of American families have been disrupted by hurricanes. Others are sacrificed for the war in Iraq. Still others are affected by swings in the economy. The president and Congress have cut taxes for the richest Americans and given away billions of public money in no-bid contracts to friendly corporations. Meanwhile, they pander to Religious Right taboos involving topics such as abortion or homosexuality, while they fine-tune plans to cut health care, child care, child support collections, food stamps and income assistance for old and disabled people living in poverty.”

Amen! The least among us have finally found voices willing to speak out for them. It was a long time in coming, but welcome nonetheless.