We listened to a bit of the “We Are One” inaugural concert this afternoon. Liz said she felt as if a war had just ended and finally there was reason for hope and celebration. Clearly, millions of Americans are feeling the same way. We’ve endured another “long national nightmare” that will finally end on Tuesday as Americans unite under a new president.
I said in July 2007 that…
All of the candidates running for president in 2008 bring different gifts to the debate over our nation’s future and my endorsement of Senator Obama is not a reflection on any of them but rather because of my faith in the senator’s leadership and ideas. I believe in Barack Obama.
As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I trust deeply in the Constitutional principle of separation of church and state and my endorsement is therefore a personal one and does not reflect on the church I serve or my denomination. But as a citizen I believe that all Americans must engage in the political process as individuals for democracy to thrive. So I choose to add my voice today with millions of other Americans concerned about the direction of this nation.
Barack Obama has shown leadership on the most pressing moral issues of our day – such as the war in Iraq and the global AIDS crisis. During his time in the Illinois Legislature and in the United States Senate he has demonstrated that his values cannot be compromised by prevailing political winds.
Christians, Jews, Muslims – all people of faith in America – share in a deep and abiding love for this nation. But many of us, as William Sloane Coffin would have said, have a “lover’s quarrel” with America. We know things can be better. We know all Americans need health care. We know that no one should be homeless in the world’s richest nation. We know that global warming threatens God’s own earth and that as the stewards of creation we are called forth to protect this planet. We are also called to be peacemakers in times of conflict.
Barack Obama shares these values and when elected president will embody them as he makes decisions in the Oval Office. When that day comes we will be a better nation.
The problems that America faces now are even greater than when this campaign first began. The economy has collapsed and we face challenges not seen since the Great Depression. No president can fix this mess alone. It will take millions of Americans working for a common purpose…that American ideal that tomorrow can be better than today.
At some point our children and our grandchildren will look back and ask what we did in this moment of history. Did we do something to lift a generation out of poverty? Did we work to stop the war? Did we fight to end to global climate change crisis? We are all called to this task, regardless of party or any of the other labels we might try and apply to one another. Each one of us is needed for the world to change.
