I went to see Reverend James Lawson speak today on campus, and I was pretty excited about it. The man, nay legend, was expelled from Vanderbilt University in the 60s for training both blacks and whites how to organize sit-ins. Martin Luther King even said that he was "the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world."
And he certainly had some great things to say. Pretty controversial, and I'm pretty sure we would not see eye to eye on everything, but I have deep respect nonetheless. I will let you in on a few very brief highlights from his talk. As always, I was taking the best notes I could, but don't count on the fact of me getting word for word what was said.
-Jerry Falwell is a biblical racist. He teaches that people of color are inferior and servants of the dominant, if not directly, through all of his political stances.
-Conservatism is the new label for racism. Clergy and religious alike hide behind the label, and knowingly or unknowingly support poverty and racism.
-Poverty is not the fault of bad choices. Most of poverty in America is structually inherent.
-Family initiatives are not protecting families. Poverty is attacking the family unit, though.
-Certain people in our country are advocating a theocracy through their policies. Can't we see that the Islamic theocracy we are "fighting" against isn't working?
-War is not a virtue. Violence is not a virtue. Why are so many religious so blindly following the war? Once the bombs have stopped falling, the problem is still there.
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When we desert the creative forces within ourselves for forces of manipulation and domination, we desert the very nature of the potential of our own lives. So that's some of the points. Just relaying them to you, not saying that's what I believe. In fact, I really wish I had an opportunity to ask a question. He expressed disapproval for Tennessee offering tax breaks for Nissan should they move to Tennessee. He argued that the wealthy were just getting wealthier while the poor were trapped into low wages. My question to him: Is not Tennessee trying to fight poverty by providing jobs to Tennesseans? Is not a low paying job better than no job at all? Several times Lawson made the argument for higher prices and for fixing the trade deficit to provide jobs for Americans. He said that these things would fix poverty in America. Really? It might help those who have jobs better off, but at the same time employers would be unable to afford the quantity of jobs they currently have and we would see an
increase in unemployment, which will lead to an overall
decrease in the standard of living for the poorest people. Higher wages do not equal less poverty. It just doesn't work like that. At the same time, I admire his courage and ideals for wanting to fight the gap between the poor and the wealthy. I believe God hates that gap. I find it interesting that he claims that conservatism is the label for a new racism, and I really see it now. Conservatism right now stands for war, big business, and fighting homosexuality. All issues of eliteness and separation. How do they regain face? How does something that for a lot of people represents Christianity also to other people represent oppression and hate? There's a disconnect there. I love the last point that I highlighted. In order for us to solve these problems, we must rise above our first instinct and use our creative forces. The solutions are there, we just have to imagine for a little bit.
