"Unitarian Universalism and Good Citizenship"

Reading #1

Truly, I live in dark times

            By Bertolt Brecht

Truly, I live in dark times!
The guileless word is folly. A smooth forehead
suggests insensitivity. The man who laughs
Has simply not yet had
The terrible news.

What kind of times are they, when

A talk about trees is almost a crime

Because it implies silence about so many horrors?

That man there calmly crossing the street

Is already beyond the reach of his friends

Who are in need?

In the old books it says what wisdom is:
To shun the strife of the world and to live out
Your brief time without fear
Also to get along without violence
To return good for evil
Not to fulfil your desires but to forget them
Is accounted wise.
All this I cannot do:
Truly I live in dark times.

Reading #2

Whistlin' Away the Dark

            By Johnny Mercer

Often I think this sad old world is whistling in the dark.
Just like a child, who, late from school walks bravely
home through the park.

To keep their spirits soaring and keep the night at bay.
Neither quite knowing which way they are going,
they sing the shadows away,

Often I think my poor old heart has given up for good.
and then I see a brand new face,
I glimpse some new neighborhood.

So walk me back home, my darling,
tell me dreams really come true.
Whistling whistling here in the dark with you.

Often I think my poor old heart has given up for good.
and then I see a brand new face,
I glimpse some new neighborhood.

So walk me back home, my darling,
tell me dreams really come true.
Whistling whistling here in the dark with you

Our two readings this morning work in counterpoint to each other.  In the first, a poem by Bertolt Brecht, we heard the cry of a solitary individual, feeling powerless, upset at living in a world in which hunger and suffering are criminally rampant. He laments that he can't return good for evil, or force himself to live a lifestyle that might reduce suffering in his little corner of the world.  So far he has been personally lucky, but he cannot ignore the suffering around him, even among his friends.  So he cries out, "These are dark times!" You may identify with Brecht's poem, written around 1910.  Sometimes I do.

The second, very different reading comes from "Darling Lili" an upbeat American musical from the 60's.  These lyrics recognize that it's a sad, old world," but they also proclaim and celebrate that it is possible to respond like children who, together,  "whistle in the dark" not really knowing where they're going, but managing to walk bravely home through the park even when they're afraid.  The key word in those lyrics is "together." Alone it is easy to grow discouraged, to feel powerless.  Alone,  it's easy to feel like giving up.

Difficulties faced together, though, are a different matter. Together we are stronger at facing the odds, less easily afraid and less easily discouraged.

The image of whistling in the dark together and making it home, remind me of religion, believe it or not. In the real world life's no children's walk in the park. Life is all unfamiliar territory, it can be dangerous and it can sap our strength and our courage.  Religion binds us together in community, gives us our melody in the form of love and gratitude, and inspires us to whistle in the dark as we seek our way home to the light.

Last week we talked about the questions that arise at Yom Kippur, a time for reflection and asking Oneself questions: "Are the things I do each day in line with the person I want to be?" "Where am I? Where am I going?  These questions are especially helpful to ask when the going gets rough. Look around, think about where you are and where you're headed…. There is a wonderful, cautionary saying by Confucius that fits here: "If you do not change your direction, you are likely to end up where you are headed."

This morning's sermon is, in some ways, a continuation of last Sunday's when I stressed our responsibility to honestly and vigorously seek out life's deeper meanings and encouraged us to ask how we can act in concert with those meanings in our public and private lives. The first step in that process is to take a reflective and honest look around at issues define the quality and morality of American public life, and ask where we are and where we ought to be headed -

There are many issues on the table at all times that have the potential to impact the overall quality of American life and that make visible the quality of our moral fiber, and our compassion as a people.  Today I will mention three arenas of concern that are currently part of our national public conversation.

The first involves health care. I'm sure many of you have your own versions of the following story. Not long ago someone I know was riding a bicycle down a steep, wooded trail when he hit something and crashed. My friend, who is in his early twenties, sustained a bad cut - about 10 inches long and very wide down the outside of the calf.   Bleeding heavily, and frightened, he rode his bike to his mother's house.  She tried to stem the flow of blood with towels. Neither mother or son even considered going to the emergency room at first because he didn't have health insurance. Only when it seemed he was in danger of bleeding to death did they finally seek professional treatment. The cut took forty-four stitches. Forty-four stitches, - yet they had tried to handle it on their own.  He works at a minimum wage job and will pay back the $2500 it cost over time.

$2500 is a small price to pay for life saving medical attention - the miracle of modern medicine is real. But it isn't right, in a country with this much wealth that more than one forth of the American population lacks health insurance for at least one month during any given year.  The medically uninsured includes almost 10 million children. I cringe to think of sick children who aren't being taken to doctors when they should be, and the elderly who have to choose between their food and their prescriptions. More than 80% of the uninsured are from families with at least one employed member. The uninsured do health care, build homes, drive taxis, serve fast food, cut grass and harvest crops.  About 2/3rds are under 35 years old. 

 This country allows our unchecked market forces to squeeze our economy for maximum profit without regard to human consequences, without regard to our espoused values - without regard to compassion.

The cartoon Dilbert, made a wry reference to our medical system:  "Eat one live toad first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day."  On most days the Dilbert system would work for many of us in America, but it's no plan to build the health of a people in 2002.  We can, we should, do better. This is a failure of more than the imagination  . . . You may have noticed that Boston's janitors are fighting to be brought on full time instead of part time. Our corporations intentionally hire part-time workers, when they could hire full-time, in order to avoid paying for benefits and health care. The result is a non-living wage that forces workers to take two jobs and still barely be able to get by. Many workers that used earn a living wage, such as newspaper reporters and college professors  have in recent years been recategorized as "independent contractors."  This allows them to be paid piecemeal for each job or course and makes them ineligible for health or pension benefits. These moves that are so harsh on individuals in the work force, strengthen the bottom line for corporations.

Another issue that confronts us everywhere is globalization. John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO – says “Globalization refers to the process of creating a unified global economy through the breaking down of barriers between national economies. It is a process that is driven both by the imperatives of the market and by the actions of policy makers.” Globalization puts great faith in allowing market forces to generate maximum profit for the transnational corporations that comprise the world market. As we've seen already, this can be terrible for the worker at the same time that it's good for the company. Many corporations are now larger than the whole economies of many nations. 

As the globalization process unfolds, transnational corporations are using their enormous reach and resources to lobby hard for policies that strengthen their transnational bottom line.  We need to be very wary, because the well-being of employees or nations is only incidental in their consideration.  The primary loyalty of corporations is the bottom line.

The front page of yesterday's Globe ran an article detailing luxury items  that Tyco International CEO Dennis Kozlowski illegally charged to his company accounts- he has stolen over $600 million from Tyco.  The article detailed items like $3000 bed sheets, a $6000 shower curtain, a $2000 wastebasket, $6000 pincushion.  Out of curiosity,  I looked up CEO Kozlowski's income on the internet. His legal earning were over $62 million in 2001.  I would have to work nonstop for 1560 years - until 3562 -  to earn what he earned in one year - yet all that money did not satisfy him, and he will go to prison for his greed.  The Tyco web page says they are a global company that manufactures, distributes and services products and systems for a broad spectrum of markets. Situated in over 150 countries, their web site boasts that Tyco products are used everywhere every day, ranging from defense industry systems, medical equipment, electronics, communications, fiber optics, plastics, adhesives.  Their earning for the 3^rd quarter are reported to be 9.12 billion. Tyco is located offshore in Bermuda.  Many corporations have relocated in Bermuda to avoid paying US taxes.  Again, that makes sense from a corporate point of view, but not from the vantage point of the quality of human life.  The process of globalization is going to have to be monitored very carefully.

UUA president, the Reverend Bill Sinkford introduced a workshop on globalization in Quebec City this summer. He said globalization is a critical issue and that UU churches, and that he feels, in spite of our small numbers, we UU's have an important role that we were made to play.

The Wall Street Journal, he said, published an article that some colleges are seeking to admit higher numbers of Jewish students in an effort to increase the average SAT score of their student bodies. (Jewish students apparently score very well on the SAT.)  The article included a little chart put out by the Educational Testing Service which showed that Jews were second highest on the chart.  The highest SAT scores by religion are earned by Unitarian Universalist students. Rev. Sinkford made this point: Unitarian Universalists are well educated and bright.  If any religious group has the range of skills necessary to take complex information and distill it into bite-sized chunks that can be understood by the general public so that they may react to these important issues on good information and respond appropriately, it is Unitarian Universalists. This is a task he urged our congregations to take on.  With that in mind, I am trying to learn what I can and purchase materials that explain various globalization issues, and the dangers of certain policies.  I have approached the Social Action Committee, and they have agreed to co-sponsor with me, an occasional discussion about globalization-related issues after church. 

And lastly, there is the matter of Iraq… Just yesterday morning Army General Tommy Franks answered questions about  Iraq at a press conference. Franks said with confidence that American forces are ready for war.  He acknowledged that President Bush is seeking support for a US effort against Iraq,  but, he also made it clear that, with or without a coalition, he expects we will attack Iraq in January or February. We can defeat them on our own. The timing will be based on tactical advantages not coalitions or dialogue with other countries. We will wait for the cooler desert air that will allow our soldiers to wear more comfortable clothing.  Also, the longer darkness at that time of year will give us enormous advantage because of our sophisticated night vision equipment that is worth waiting for.

This is all justified in he President's new national security strategy, released yesterday.  Apparently every president is required by law to present their own national security policy to congress. Our new foreign policy for the first time justifies pre-emptive action, saying it is appropriate against hostile states and terrorist groups developing weapons of mass destruction.  It also declares that the US will "never allow US military supremacy to be challenged the way it was during the cold war."

As for the UN, President Bush warned yesterday: "If the United Nations Security Council won't deal with the problem [of Iraq], the United States and some of our friends will." He asked Congress for sweeping authority to use "all means he determines to be appropriate, including force" to disarm Iraq and dislodge Saddam Hussein. Globe columnist EJ Dionne, said that asking Congress for what amounts to a "blank check," effectively asks Congress to cut itself out of the essential debates. In his column he wonders whether asking tactical  questions about the wisdom of an attack will become politically dangerous now that the president has simplified the choice to being either with him or against him."

Adrienne Rich said once that "War comes at the end of the twentieth century as absolute failure of imagination, scientific and political."

In response, UUA President Bill Sinkford has signed a document, with over 40 other religious leaders and heads of denominational bodies, urging President Bush to exercise caution, emphasizing that we "expect our government to reflect the morals and values we hold dear, pursuing peace, not war; working with the community of nations, not overthrowing governments by force; respecting international law and treaties, while holding in high regard all human life." That document is on the Parlor table.

My colleague Mark Belletini says, "…almost all of the congregations I can think of (whether they are liberal or conservative does not make much difference) stand in the prophetic tradition. That's right, the prophetic tradition."

"The ancient Middle Eastern concept of a prophet was not simply someone who had a vision of things to come. But rather, a prophet was someone who dared to proclaim social warnings to the powers that be. Warnings about the savageries of war. Warnings about planned social plans that would throw whole populations into poverty. Warnings about corrupting alliances. Warnings about refusing to create systems ensuring that all people would be treated honestly and fairly. A prophet proclaimed the truth whether anyone liked hearing it or not, or whether they would respond or not. A good prophet probably did not expect you to take his or her word without proof…but rather, a good prophet expected that you might have to learn the hard way. Nonetheless, the authentic prophet needed to speak the truth no matter what the consequences were."  (Mark Belletini)

We are at a crossroads on many levels.  Each of these pressing issues - health insurance, globalization, and Iraq, is on the front burner right now. Let us not ignore the important issues of our day or assume that they are too big for us to have a voice.   The questions "Who are we as a people?"  "Where are we headed?" and  "Are the actions we are taking in line with the people we want to be?"  are our responsibility to ask.

I hope as the year progresses our Social Action Committee will swell and discover ways to give us a voice. I hope we will not be afraid to speak the truth to power as the occasion warrants.  Let our love and gratitude for life inspire our song.  This is a time for the prophetic voice our churches to be heard.