“Hope is a Value” by Rev. Brandon Johnson

Rev. Brandon Johnson

“Hope” and “change” seem to be the political words of the day! I hear, read, and see these words on the radio, in newspapers, websites, and printed on banners. Seemingly everyone is offering some sort of change and some sort of hope. However, I believe in a hope that rises above the political rhetoric of this day and seeks to claim a border narrative written around justice and equality.

I claim a hope that…
• Offers health care that leaves no one beyond.
• Establishes and sustains a system of education that begins to undo systemic racism, classism, and sexism.
• Begins to look at the cruelty of war and torture while reestablishing basic human rights.
• Holds all of creation in care.
• Caries the mantle of justice to all corners of our society.
• Proclaims that borders and walls are constructed by human hands and often limit justice.
• Recognizes the sin of concentrating wealth and power in the hands of a few.
• Seeks to undo the unchecked power of empire and imperialism.
• Looks to weave love into the fabric of our national life and extend it beyond our physical borders to the border tapestry of humanity.

Where do I get this hope? The answer is from a myriad of places. However, this day and in the coming months I will put my energy behind the Presidential campaign of Barack Obama. This is a result of believing in the person and in the movement.

William Sloane Coffin explained, “Believers know that while our values are embodied in tradition, our hopes are always located in change.” While, this political season “values” will be flung about, misused, and abused, rarely do we hear a candidate claim hope as integral to its worldview. Fundamentally, this hope is grounded in change; this hope is grounded in my faith in God and humanity. This day, this political season, my hope is also found in Barack Obama and his campaign for president. As a result, I will knock on doors, walk the streets, and go to the polls.

Obama offers a hope that is life giving, not political rhetoric re-written to sustain old systems of power and arcane notions of government.

Si se peude! Yes you can! Yes we can!

Brandon Johnson
Santa Fe, NM

“Yes, We Must” by Rev. Sean Dennison

Rev. Sean Dennison

I have heard Senator Obama speak about healing this nation of the ugly wound of racism, and I have found myself saying out loud, “Yes We Can!” I have heard Barack Obama speak about educating all our children and caring for their health and well-being and I have found myself shouting and praying, “Yes We Can!” I have heard Barack Obama call for an end to a foreign policy of bullying with threats and violence, and engaging instead in diplomacy, and I’ve said again, “Yes. We. Can.” In truth, I have often whispered, “Yes, we must.” We must do these things—we must build a nation we can be proud of—we must join together for change.

Barack Obama has urged this nation to return to governing in a way that is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people. He has inspired millions of people to get involved for the first time—to give, to work, to vote. Barack Obama has called us to have faith in ourselves: faith in our ability to change the destructive patterns of greed and waste; faith that this nation can rise to be a leader again—not just an economic or military leader, but a moral and ethical leader that leads through multi-lateral relationships of trust and respect. And again and again my heart has swelled with hope and I have found myself not just saying, not just hoping, but believing that Yes! We! Can!

I am here to tell you that people of faith—people of faith like you and like me—are a part of this movement of hope. We are here because we believe that Barack Obama embodies our values, our principles, our commitment to being part of building a better world together. We are here as people of faith, and we’ve got hope for the future of this world. We have hope, and we are here to put that hope to work for Barack Obama, for our nation, and for our future and the future of our children. We’ve got hope, and we know how to use it. We will use it in November, and we will use it to support the Presidency of Barack Obama. We’ve got hope and we are ready. We’ve got hope and we know that Yes, we can. Yes we must. Yes we will!

Rev. Sean Dennison
Salt Lake City, UT

“Hope as a Strategy” by Rev. Peter Friederich

Rev. Peter Friederich

In his speech attacking Obama at the Republican National Convention, Rudy Giuliani said that “Hope is not a strategy.” Well, he’s dead wrong about that. Since 9/11 the Bush administration has used fear as a strategy. As a strategy to rationalize the use of preemptive military action that has decimated our economy and our standing on the world stage, a strategy to eviscerate our constitutionally-guaranteed personal liberties, a strategy to justify the use of torture, a strategy to manipulate and control us.

I reject fear, and instead choose hope as a strategy. A strategy to develop alternative fuels that will gain us energy independence. A strategy to lead us out of an unjustified war in Iraq. A strategy to provide health care coverage for every American. A strategy to save the middle class and to bridge the ever-growing chasm between the haves and the have-nots. Barack Obama is offering us hope, but he isn’t offering just hope. Or even just “hope and a prayer.” He is offering hope, and a prayer, and a plan. Contrary to what the Republicans would have you believe, he isn’t just “full of empty rhetoric.” (And, by the way, when did it become a crime to be a well-educated, erudite and inspiring speaker?) If you’re not familiar with the particulars of his plans to get us out of Iraq, to promote energy independence, to provide health care coverage for all, to provide tax credits to the middle class, I urge you to visit www.barackobama.com and learn more.

And I urge you to join me in working to elect Barack Obama, and choosing hope over fear.

With love and faith,
Rev. Peter Friederich
Unitarian-Universalist
Swarthmore, PA

“This I believe” by Rev. Brandon Gilvin

I believe in Human Rights.
I do not believe Habeas Corpus is something to make light of in a nomination speech.

I believe that we all have a right to affordable health care.
I do not believe in abandoning the most vulnerable in our society to “market forces.”

I believe in the separation of powers.
I do not believe in an “imperial presidency.”

I believe in a foreign policy that puts diplomacy before violence.
I do not think singing “Bomb, bomb, Iran” is funny. Nor do I think the violence in Iraq, whether it involves Americans soldiers or Iraqi civilians, can be glossed over.

I am not afraid. I have faith that with work, by looking for new solutions, by looking for a “third way” on issues of all kinds, we can build a better economy, a better foreign policy, a better educational system, a better way of doing government, and yes….I dare to say it…

A better world.

Yes. We. Can.

Rev. Brandon Gilvin
Kansas City, MO

“More than Party Allegiances” by Rev. Wes Jamison

Rev. Wes Jamison

This election is about more than party allegiances.  It’s about the future of this country and this world.  It’s far too important to sit idly by and do nothing, or worse yet, allow the rhetoric of fear scare us into quietly agreeing to four more years of the same failed politicial and economic policies.  The next President will appoint at least one and possibly as many as three justices to the United States Supreme Court.  With the justices Bush has appointed, that will ensure a tight conservative grip on the court for at least the next 20 years.  We CANNOT let that happen.  McCain keeps talking about drilling as a means of solving our current energy crisis.  You and I both know that isn’t going to work.  Even if we drill and find a few more pockets of oil within the borders of this country, we won’t see a drop of that oil reach our markets for at least 5 to 10 years.  We need to begin moving toward an alternative now.  T. Boone Pickens has suggested converting our cars to run on natural gas–a more abundant, cheaper, cleaner alternative to gas distilled from crude oil.  It’s an excellent idea for a bridge to carry us while we invest billions in research, something the Bush administration has refused to do.

I went on a forum on faith sponsored by the Obama campaign last night.  The speaker was an ethics professor from Wesley Theological Seminary and an ordained Church of Christ (not UCC, but acapella Church of Christ) minister named Shaun Casey.  He shared a frightening statistic.  During Bush’s administration six million additional people have fallen into poverty in this nation, bringing the rate to it’s highest level since the 1960s.  Currently, as many as 52 million US citizens are without health insurance.  Due to changes in the bankruptcy laws under the Bush administration and the former Republican controlled congress, medical bills can now be charged against a person’s credit.  This means that one major medical event in the life of a family can ruin their credit for years to come, thus preventing them from gaining adequate housing, transportation, and even loans to help their children get through school.  ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.  This has to end.

If you’re already working for the campaign, please, keep working.  Talk to everyone you know, even if you don’t think your state will go for Obama.  We need EVERY vote we can get.  If you live in a battleground state, then PLEASE, PLEASE do everything you can.  We have about six weeks left until the election.  Go to www.barackobama.com and register if you haven’t already done so.  You can generate a list of people who live near you and print off a script to use to either call them or go visit them in person and talk to them about this election.  You can also find Barack Obama’s platform, including his plans for education, energy, foreign policy, and everything else.  Even if you don’t feel confident on the issues, you can read up and feel more confident.  We need every vote we can get, especially in Virginia, Ohio, Nevada, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, and Florida.

We can and will win this election!  Don’t give up hope.   This election is FAR TOO IMPORTANT to sit idly by and do nothing.  We saw what happened when we did that in 2000 and 2004.  Please, talk to EVERYONE you know and encourage them to vote.  If anyone needs to register to vote, send them to www.voteforchange.com and the website will guide them through the process.  Also, if you know of anyone who needs to vote absentee, then send them to that website as well.  They can register to receive an absentee ballot on there.

Grace and Peace,

Wes Jamison,

B.A. Milligan College
M.Div. Emmanuel School of Religion

“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each [one's] life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”
–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow