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Mods
and Rockers So what if the future of a progressive policy agenda — things like tolerance of diversity, support for environmental protection, tax fairness and actual regulation of corporate activities — depended on the resurgence of so-called moderate Republicans? You know, Republicans in the tradition of Abraham Lincoln (remember him), trust-buster and national parks advocate Teddy Roosevelt, and Oregon's own Gov. Tom McCall — who among many accomplishments here at home was one of the first prominent Republicans to call for Richard Nixon's resignation. Is the idea of growing and nurturing moderate Republicans in political "terrariums" around the country a crazy notion? Not really. If you throw away the rose-colored glasses, and take a look at the long-term Congressional and political landscape, a progressive-leaning agenda is not going to pass in Washington, D.C., very soon — no matter how things turn out in the presidential election. We critically need to find ways to undercut the unbridled dominance of Tom Delay and the Republican extremists. What better way than to give the Christian Coalition crowd a little competition in their own party. Look at how Republicans successfully split our natural base through the use of so-called wedge issues — they've been doing that with impunity for 25 years. Now it's their turn. So if you accept the strategic argument that having a Republican wedge is good for our agenda, what are you prepared to "stand for" (handy tip: holding your nose is an optional accessory)? I am personally and strategically "comfortable" with the following:
John Kerry picks Senators John McCain (R-AZ) or Chuck Hagel (R-NE) as his running mate. McCain and Hegel are both GOP mods and fellow Vietnam veterans. (I know you know McCain, but did you know he is also as good as it gets right now on the environment?) Kerry wins. We're happy on Nov. 2 and yet harbor no illusions — we keep rolling along with smart state organizing strategies to build progressive power that lasts. This one is harder: Rooting for Republican Senator Arlen Specter to beat nut-wing Patrick J. Toomey in the April 27 Pennsylvania primary. (Keep in mind, I can't stand Specter for his treatment of Anita Hill and many more votes down the line over the years.) But Specter actually is a moderate blocking point for Bush's craziest judicial nominations in a likely still Republican-controlled Senate, so this is one lesser of two evils choice I'll take. Calling Arnold Schwarzenegger an environmentalist. Arnold is so far taking cues on the environment from his brother-in-law Robert Kennedy, Jr., an environmental advocate with Riverkeeper and the NRDC. The new head of Arnold's California EPA, Terry Tamminen, is advocating a Hydrogen Highways proposal and talking to some of the "big box" retailers about the possibility of putting large arrays of solar panels on their big, flat roofs, electrolyzing water and having stations in the parking lots. Is this a dirty hydrogen smokescreen or the real deal? We'll just have to see. But it's a pretty serious improvement over Arnold's predecessor Gray Davis — and soon perhaps a political problem for George Bush. Other Republican moderates to watch (and maybe root for) on this front are Govs. Mitt Romney (Mass.) and George Pataki (N.Y.). Bookmarking www.logcabin.org.This is a national group of Republicans (Log Cabin invokes GOP stalwart Abe Lincoln) opposed to radical right domination of the Republican Party that stands on the front lines of today's most important battleground for gay and lesbian civil rights. Is supporting this group with your political donations more important than other checks you might write this year? Maybe so. In their own words: "The GOP must choose between fairness and freedom or intolerance and exclusion. Log Cabin works tirelessly to make sure the Republican Party chooses the right path. Ending up on the wrong side of history will cost the GOP for decades to come. So we tirelessly strive to achieve liberty and equality for all Americans." So that's a look at the Mods. Next time, we'll preview the Rockers. Groups like Music for America, Rock The Vote, The National Hip Summit and Convention and The Rolling Thunder Tour, who are, in the words of my pal Jessica Tully, mixing up a new brew of "hip hop, Birkenstock and alt rock" to promote new forms of community and civic participation. Dan Carol is a Democratic political strategist and a founding partner of CTSG (www.ctsg.com),a progressive political consulting firm based in Eugene and Washington, D.C.
Searching
for insight
To see it or not to see it. That was the question. For several weeks, friends and I have had ongoing discussions about whether or not to see The Passion of the Christ. Some of my friends say the message of Mel Gibson's movie reignited their compassion and love for their fellow beings. Others found the violence distasteful. I vacillated for several weeks between the expectation that the movie offered spiritual insight and philosophical objections to portrayals of violence. I haven't always objected to violence in movies. There was a time in my life that I wanted to see every Vietnam story that came out on the big screen. I thought that if I experienced the pain and sorrow of the Vietnamese people and our soldiers who fought there, I could somehow atone for the sins of our country. After I started a sincere spiritual search, the desire to see violent movies stopped. As a follower of Jesus' teachings, The Passion put me in a quandary. Understanding Jesus' ability to love in spite of unbearable hate is crucial for my own spiritual journey. I am humbly grateful that Jesus was willing to go through the crucifixion in order to help me, 2,000 years later, to understand my unstoppable relationship with Divine Love/God. Often, I've searched the Bible and scoured over the story of the Passion for insight into how to heal like Jesus, love like he did, and even think like he did. The Bible says "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." Like many other sincere seekers, I pray to understand and accept for myself the goodness and purity of that Chirst-like mind. For me, this means that anyone has the right to practice in some degree the healing power of Truth or what I call The Christ. So, after much contemplation, in a "if this will help me understand how to love better moment," I made a date with myself to see the movie.
The theater parking lot was practically empty for the noon showing. I sat in my Subaru feeling very sorrowful. This was not an experience I was looking forward to. It wasn't hard for me to visualize the images of pain and hate that were coming to my thought and of Jesus' humiliation and defeat in being nailed to a cross. I gave gratitude to the presence of Divine Love that is always with me and reminded myself that the loving presence of God never abandoned Jesus. God is with me in my darkest moments, whispering messages of love, victory, and the permanence of heavenly Life. I felt such gratitude for the sacrifice Jesus made so that we could all understand that violence and fear don't have dominion. The resurrection proved them powerless. As I opened the car door, I asked, "How can I love like Jesus loved?" Then my cell phone rang. "The chicks are in," my husband said. "What?" "The chicks are in. I've picked up the kids from school and we're headed over to the feed store to pick out baby chicks. Do you want to come?" He and our girls had been patiently waiting through the winter to get baby chicks so we could have fresh eggs. The dichotomy of the situation was a bit startling. The crucifixion or baby chicks? I sat for a moment wondering if going with my family was a cop out. But then, I had just asked "How can I love better?" Maybe my husband's call and asking me to meet them was the answer to my prayer. I told him "yes."
At the feed store, hundreds of baby chicks, bunnies, and ducklings snuggled under heat lamps for warmth while the girls bounced from cage to cage unable to decide because of their immediate love for every chick. The picture of all of them together was so innocent, so harmless. It was as if God said, "If you want to know how to love, look here." The verse from the Bible written by Paul when he was in prison came to my thought: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Phillipians 4: 8 I stood in the feed store allowing myself to embrace all the qualities of goodness and love. The humility, meekness and humanity that Jesus had are really innate, simple, and natural to all of us. Perhaps the message from Paul was that in order to love, I needed to embrace and affirm all the good that God has already created. We left the feed store that day with five baby chicks. I haven't thought about Gibson's movie lately, but when I've been pressed to react to a thoughtless remark or act, I work to remember and acknowledge my simple natural desire to love like Jesus did. Shelly Richardson is a member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Eugene and a frequent contributor to www.spirituality.com.This quarterly submission to EW by the Eugene/Springfield interfaith community is sponsored by TRIM (Two Rivers Interfaith Ministries). For information, call 344-5693.
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