Take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. -- James 3:4-6
The passage from James' letter warns that our words, for better or worse, can turn a ship or light a forest ablaze. At this point in the campaign season, every time I see a political ad I mute my TV or change the station. I know I'm not alone.
But instead of just waiting for November 3, tell the Democrats, Republicans, and the Tea Party that what we want is truth and civility. Instead of name calling, there should be a discussion about ideas and solutions for the greatest challenges of today.
As I watch the degeneration of political rhetoric in campaign ads and cable television, and think about our Truth and Civility Election Watch, Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Nonviolence Pledge" reminds me why this is all so important. Here it is:
1. As you prepare to march, meditate on the life and teachings of Jesus.
2. Remember the nonviolent movement seeks justice and reconciliation -- not victory.3. Walk and talk in the manner of love; for God is love.
4. Pray daily to be used by God that all men and women might be free.
5. Sacrifice personal wishes that all might be free.
6. Observe with friends and foes the ordinary rules of courtesy.
7. Perform regular service for others and the world.
8. Refrain from violence of fist, tongue, and heart.
9. Strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health.
10. Follow the directions of the movement leaders and of the captains on demonstrations.
I was pleased to see the MLK nonviolence pledge on Glenn Beck's website, and to hear that he learned about the pledge during his preparation for his speech at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28. But I cringe when I hear him boast about being a "progressive hunter," and when I hear Beck regularly demonize the people he disagrees with.
I read an alarming report last night on a recent interview with Byron Williams, who was arrested after a July 18 shootout with the police. He had a car full of guns and planned to kill people at the Tides Foundation and ACLU in San Francisco. Williams said in this interview that he sees Glenn Beck as his "teacher," and that he was agitated by the virulent things his teacher had to say about the people at Tides. While it is unfair to blame Beck for everything his audience might do, it isn't unfair to ask Beck to make the connection that King did between the violence of the tongue and that of the fist, and to take responsibility for how he speaks about those with whom he disagrees.
On a personal level, I was reminded of that connection in a conversation with my 12-year-old son, Luke. Last summer, I shared the story of how a far-right radio station and some local churches in Wisconsin tried to get me disinvited from speaking at a Christian youth festival there. All of their attack lines were right off of Glenn Beck's blackboard -- that I was a "communist" and that listening to me would put high school students attending the festival in "spiritual peril." Despite their confrontation and intimidation, the festival hosts stood firm with my invitation, and I traveled to Wisconsin. The evening went very well as I talked about Jesus and our commitment to the poor, the response of the kids was very positive, and many parents (even very conservative ones) thanked the festival leaders for standing up against the intense political pressure from the Far Right.
But the day I left, my son Luke asked this question: "Dad, do the people out there who are mad at you have guns?" To be honest, I had to tell him that some of them probably did in Wisconsin, but I was sure that I would be fine. After I spoke on that Friday night, the first call I received was from Luke, just wanting to know if everything had gone all right and that I was okay. The fear in my son's heart was not unjustified, but such things shouldn't be happening in America today -- but they are.
Let's remind national political leadership that their words matter -- and that we are listening.
Jim Wallis is the author of Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street -- A Moral Compass for the New Economy, and CEO of Sojourners. He blogs at www.godspolitics.com. Follow Jim on Twitter @JimWallis.
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I don't agree. Incitement to violence is a crime.
Semper fi
Faved and Fanned !
We should all ask ourselves, "Why won't Glenn Beck debate Jim Wallis? What's Glenn Beck afraid of?"
Semper fi
Semper fi
Many of the real people making those threats probably felt justified by reading the words written by Rev. Wallis, as well as thousands of less careful people expressing their mindless rage toward Beck, on web forums like this one.
The hyperbole, career-building rhetoric, and disingenuous claims cut both ways.
Absolutely right, but I'm pretty sure you can't blame Rev. Wallis - since he is specifically endorsing non-violence. Also, to be fair, he probably doesn't have too much experience of vitriol coming from the left (what with that being where he is); so it's admirable that the first part of his article actually makes no distinction between either side.
The proof is in some of the comments made on this forum. Several of the most obviously violent ones have been removed since this morning.
It is exactly the same.
I predict the same result, unfortunately.
It only takes a small percentage of a population to destroy a society. If only a small percentage doesn't want to play the game anymore, the game cannot continue.
For that matter I don't think most Americans wanted to play in WWII, but Japan got them into the game anyway.
Then, when the violence occurs, the perpetrators in the thug-based media simply back away and disavow any relation between what they said and what someone else went and did. "Oh, no! That wasn't US!"
Standard right wing technique. It works great! Read about it: "The Coming of the Third Reich" by Richard Evans, if you don't believe me.
Unfortunately, I think we are as gullible as our German friends and will fall for it just as badly as they once did. The future is not bright. I don't need shades.
...some of us aren't interested in arguing matters that are easy to decide for one's self, for anyone who can see, hear, and think for him or herself...
If you don't know that Glenn Beck has a serious antisocial attitude problem, intermittently, anyway, you aren't paying enough attention.
Beck may not know or understand, himself, how dangerous he sometimes is - he really seems to believe he's a good man, doing the Lord's work... I suppose this point is arguable, as it's uncertain... But it's an uncertainty better cleared up by independent research, than argument - we can each, ourselves, go watch his show, and decide.
It doesn't take much such research to find out, for one's self, that Mr. Beck is - centrally, and professionally - a compulsive liar. He lies over, and over, and over again - and when he's caught lying, and confronted, he can't admit he's told a lie - that's how serious and sick a compulsive liar Mr. Beck is.
Again, there's no need to "argue" any "position" on this matter; Beck's show is recorded, and therefore, anyone can see for themselves.
Why do Beck's fans defend him from obviously accurate criticisms? You could argue that he's worth attending to, for his ideas, despite his personal issues, but you're not... I guess I shouldn't expect those who rush to defend Beck, to show better sense than he does himself...
On the other hand, I do see a lot of behavior where someone on the right will commit some egregious act or utter some unconscionable comment, then scream about their opponent doing just exactly that...when that is simply not the case. Standard Goebbels technique, nothing less.
To the extent that the left is 'demonizing' the right, it is because they are demons.
Don't spend much time looking at MSNBC or the ignorant, hateful rants on HuffPo, I gather.
History shows us that the side that shoots first, ALWAYS loses. You have already shot first.
History shows lots and lots of authoritarian thugs, ahem, 'taking out' their less belligerent neighbors. Ruthlessly. Remorselessly.
The right wing nuts certainly have a preponderance of firepower. Frankly, I think eventually they will use it and we will have an authortarian state.
But take heart. Natural selection works. If we don't work out, someone/something else will. I just don't know who, right now, will emerge. China. India. Africa. Little green guys from Mars, maybe.
The interesting thing, now, is that we are witnessing a step change in our human environment, because we now (since 1945) can eradicate our own species. What worked in human society for millenia cannot work now, because the result now will be extinction.
Natural selection will have to respond to this step change and do it very quickly if the human species is to survive. Unfortunately, changes required for survival are needed in a timeframe measured in decades, where, normally, natural selection occurs over many generations, if not hundreds of generations.
So we really are at a deciding point in our species' history...But as the Bible says, "The meek shall inherit the earth." After reading Altemeyer's "The Authoritarians" I finally understand how that could be...
I agree;-)