We in the Vincentian family are still struggling with moving beyond direct service to advocating or lobbying on behalf of the poor. But evangelical activist Jim Wallis in a recent interview on the program Speaking of Faith may be calling us beyond lobbying to being “wind-changers”.
“I often talk to people who are going to lobby on the Hill about this or that. And I say here’s how you recognize a member of Congress. They’re the ones walking around with their fingers up in the air. And then they lick their finger and they put it back up and they see which way the wind is blowing.
“You can’t change a nation by replacing one wet-fingered politician with another. You change a nation when you change the wind. You change the way the wind is blowing, it’s amazing how quickly they respond. And so you look at Selma, Alabama, and how that led to a Voting Rights Act five months later. Johnson had told King just before Selma, it’ll take five years to get a Voting Rights Act. King said, I can’t wait five years….
“I was focusing on trying to put poverty on the agenda for this election in a way it hadn’t been before. And we’re making some progress. We’re now thinking of having something six months after the election where we invite the new president — whoever he or she is — to come and announce their bold plan for a serious poverty reduction that will involve all of us in the context of the faith community. I want to see national efforts — this nation, for example, is not very far away from the people saying do something about health care.”
Windchangers who mobilize public opinion seem to be more significant than lobbyists. Can we in our own circles be agents of systemic change and raise consciousness of the needs of the marginalized who still live in the stable Jesus was born into.
How can we in the Vincentian family be “wind-changers” and get poverty on the agenda in this election year in the United States or in any other election in other countries?
Tags: Advocacy, Featured
