The Acceptable Fast

October 4, 2000

"...day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a 
nation that practiced righteousness." -Isaiah 58:2

In the midst of the present presidential campaign we the people are on the 
receiving end of a barrage of unsolicited assessments and promises. The 
Democrats love to paint a picture of American life as being prosperous and 
thriving. How often have we heard that "we" are experiencing an unprecedented 
era of economic growth and a booming economy"? Figures and statistics are 
shouted at us and thrown in our face daily. We are told that "millions" of new 
jobs have been "created" over the past eight years. Of course, the Republicans 
denounce and deny every Democratic claim, although half-heartedly. It's tough to 
criticize the stock market when your own portfolio has thrived. And it's even 
tougher to speak out against corporate greed with your own campaign steeped in 
corporate funding.

Interestingly, election time inspires a sudden passionate interest in women's 
issues, and the plight of minorities among both major political parties. That 
"undecided" sector of voters being the Field of Political Dreams is wooed and 
courted through artfully vague statements and mock concern on the part of our 
Presidential candidates. So-called "debates" are in reality privately funded 
media events, which shamefully lock out third-party candidates, thereby avoiding 
direct challenges to the packaged and polished slogans of the Republicratic 
monopoly.

More and more, the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. The lifelong 
scars of broken families, drug abuse and drug-related crime continue to 
undermine the quality of life in America. Those "millions" of new jobs that the 
Democrats boast of? You can bet that neither George Bush nor Al Gore would want 
their children flipping hamburgers at Wendy's or Burger King. In an age devoid 
of a Cold War, the U.S. maintains a defense budget that could feed the world's 
hungry 1000 times over.

In the book of Isaiah from the Hebrew Bible, the prophet rebukes ancient Israel 
for becoming self-centered, hypocritical and insensitive to the needs of its 
people. "Day after day they seek me" God proclaims "as if they were a nation 
that practiced righteousness".  Ceremonial fasting and empty ritual had replaced 
earnest devotion. Worse yet, the ancient Israelites continued to oppress workers 
ignore the poor and homeless in their midst while still believing that God was 
pleased by their going through the motions of piety.

The sins of the ancient Israelites pale in comparison with the sins of America 
in the year 2000. The world's wealthiest and most powerful nation is also the 
world's most violent. America has the highest per capita inmate population in 
the world, and allows its own children to go hungry in favor of an obscene 
defense budget. States build multi-million dollar sports stadiums mere blocks 
away from crumbling public school buildings. Over 40 million U.S. citizens have 
no health insurance whatsoever. Corporate greed rapes and pillages communities 
abroad for oil and other resources, with little regard for indigenous 
populations. Economic boom? For whom? What per centage of American citizens are 
enjoying a surge of their private stock portfolios? Just a fraction of those 
trying to survive. The worst form of violence is poverty. Yet the United States 
not only permits poverty, but also promotes it.

What then is the acceptable sacrifice, the higher path for our nation? Isaiah's 
plea to the ancient Israelites is straightforward: "to loose the bonds of 
injustice, to let the oppressed go free; to share your bread with the hungry and 
bring the homeless poor into your house. Then shall your light break forth like 
the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly." And so may it be for our 
nation. We need not look to leaders for answers. We the people need only look 
into ourselves, and DEMAND the answers, the truth. The violence of poverty can 
be defeated, and must be. We can tolerate nothing less.