Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Common Good News Issue X.13 A Leader with Courage

A Leader with Courage

Dear Friends:

Acts of political courage are not all that common these days. That’s why County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s presence at a rally in downtown Chicago last Friday calling for an “End to the War on Drugs” was a singular event.

Showing up might seem to have been a no-brainer. She was given the opportunity to make the case for saving the County money and lives: “The War on Drugs has failed to eradicate drug use, instead it has resulted in the incarceration of millions throughout the nation and annually 100,000 (8,500 at any one time) here in Cook County.”

“Nearly 70% of those are held on non-violent offenses—many for drug possession charges…yet we have only 8,500, or 16%, of the jail population in drug treatment programs. The cost is too great to continue fighting this war on drugs with so little success. Rather than investing in detaining people at the jail for $142 per day, we must invest in treatment, education, job skills training.”
Her numbers pertain to Cook County. But the facts of the War on Drugs as a failure are national, even global. We have spent over $1 trillion since Richard Nixon initiated the War in 1971; drug markets have not been curtailed; the United States has become a prisoner nation, putting more people in jail than any other country in the world; and treatment programs have gotten short shrift.

Given these facts, why are most of our political leaders so unwilling to talk, and talk straight?

New York Times columnist David Brooks in his new book, “The Social Animal,” tells us that rational arguments come in a distant second in choosing political affiliations and setting public policy. This is true of all of us—right, left, or middle. It is mostly our emotions, biases, and unconscious fears that determine the party we will choose and how we will vote. If that is true generally, how much more so when it comes to drugs, which have been cruelly and cynically conflated with crime and race for at least the last one hundred years in this country? On few other issues is it so easy to exploit our deepest fears no matter the facts.

My heart goes out to all who grew up in families where alcohol and other drugs were a problem, and don’t want their kids to fall victim to the same pathologies. I can imagine nothing worse than losing a child to drugs. But just as abstinence programs have not proved effective in deterring teenagers from having sex, why do we think that driving drugs underground is a better alternative than candor, education and, when necessary, treatment?

At the rally we learned that the current generation of young people is not buying into the drug war. Listen to Madison Mullen, who has just graduated from Frances Parker School and will attend American University next fall:

“I stand before you as a member of a generation that refuses to be used as the excuse for this Drug War…we are tired of fear being emphasized above reason….In school, we are taught to expect that our leaders want that which is best for the American people. But we are learning now is that politicians are so concerned with re-election that they overlook human rights abuses within our borders.”
Fortunately,Toni Preckwinkle does not fall into that category. At the end of the rally, I found myself not only grateful for her mettle but also wondering whether Rahm Emmanuel will show comparable courage. Together they could make quite a team.

Sincerely,

The Rev. Alexander Sharp
The Rev. Alexander Sharp, Executive Director

THINKING THEOLOGICALLY ABOUT THE COMMON GOOD

PCG Editor and Theologian-in-Residence Larry Greenfield writes on the relation of biblical texts, current events, and the common good. This week in, Becoming a Slave, he writes,

Given the sex scandals that seem to plague American political life – to say nothing about the preoccupation with sex in American popular culture – who would be surprised if most Americans would think the Apostle Paul was referring to sex when he crusaded against becoming a slave to unrighteousness? Continue Reading...

LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS

PCG staff and board members report on policy initiatives. This week in, No Congratulations, Laura Dean F. Friedrich writes,

We had hoped that the June 22, 2011 special session of the IL General Assembly would bring a different conclusion to the not-quite-settled 2012 state budget. That, to our great disappointment, does not appear to be the case. Continue Reading...

BIBLICAL WORDS: LECTIONARY STUDIES

Biblical scholar Jay Wilcoxen advocates for the plain and direct sense of the Lectionary readings for each week.

STUDY BIBLES

Jay Wilcoxen reviews the expanding genre of Study Bibles, a new review each month.

  • The HarperCollins Study Bible
    “The most distinctive feature of the HarperCollins Study Bible is the collaboration between a major publisher and the professional scholars of the Society of Biblical Literature. Each member of this partnership brought a distinguished and venerable heritage to their common enterprise. ”

PCG NEWS

Noteworthy PCG events, opportunities and press.

  • Re-cap of Rally to End the War on Drugs
    Last Friday, June 17, 2011, marked the 40th Anniversary of the War on Drugs, a term first coined by President Richard Nixon on June 17, 1971. Protestants for the Common Good worked with a number of other organizations in the Chicago area to sponsor a rally calling for an end to this failed initiative.

TAKE ACTION

PCG believes that it is imperative for people of faith to participate actively in our political democracy. Learn how to become an advocate.

Read PCG’s 2011 Public Policy Summary

Read about the results of PCG’s legislative work during the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly. While our work on the state budget, in concert with the Responsible Budget Coalition, did not produce the desired conclusion, we can celebrate several other important legislative successes, particularly in the areas of criminal justice and the environment. Contact Laura Dean Friedrich if you would like more information about our policy advocacy work.

Visit PCG on Facebook and Twitter

Protestants for the Common Good is on Facebook, and we’d love for you to “Like” us. Use it as a way to keep up to date on events and action alerts, to see interesting news articles and blog posts, and to stay in touch with other fans of PCG. We’d love for you to invite others to join, make comments and post relevant articles or links, and let us know what you think by emailing Michelle, chelleholder@thecommongood.org. In addition to “liking” our facebook page, for those of you who use Twitter, you can now follow PCG.

PARTICIPATE

Please join in the work of Protestants for the Common Good and our coalition partners by attending the following events.

Chicago Casinos: A Safe Bet?
Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Chicago, IL: Sponsored by the Better Government Association and the Union League Club of Chicago, this panel and discussion will focus on the gaming expansion bill that just recently pass out of the Illinois General Assembly. A panel of proponents and opponents will discuss whether a casino is a smart way to address the state’s fiscal situation, whether the state should own and operate casinos, and just what the expansion bill entails. After the panel discussion, there will be a lengthy Q&A period with the audience. The event will be held at the Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson Blvd., with registration beginning at 5:00. The program begins at 5:30 p.m. and will last until 7:00 p.m. The program is free and open to all; registration online is required. For more information, see the BGA event page.

CONTACT US

The Common Good Network welcomes responses from readers about individual articles or the newsletter as a whole. We also welcome submissions from our readers. Take a moment to tell us what you think. Please email your suggestions, comments, and submissions to cgn@thecommongood.org. Protestants for the Common Good relies on its members and readers for much of its support. If you are able to contribute, please do so.

© 2010 Protestants for the Common Good. All Rights Reserved.

Feedback • Subscribe • Unsubscribe • Donate

empowered by Salsa

Posted via email from Brian's posterous

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)