10 September 2009
Moral Issues
Posted by lljunggren under: Uncategorized .
Well, I’ve been watching the hoopla and the vitriolic rhetoric over health care reform and about how we can encourage children to do well in school. I personally believe that health care reform is a moral issue. I believe that people of faith have a word to speak to our government about how our citizens seek and obtain medical treatment for health issues. To sit on the sidelines is not an option I believe we have. As someone who has occasion to enter hospitals — often through emergency rooms — I see firsthand who sits for hours waiting to see a nurse for triage or a doctor for treatment. I haven’t spotted anyone from the Senate or House of Representatives waiting for hours on end for medical care. I haven’t seen the talking heads on radio or television wondering how many more hours they’ll be in an over-crowded waiting room waiting for over-worked health-care providers. What I do see are faces of tired and hurting people who have no where else they can go to seek help. I see people created in God’s image who might be invisible if they were sitting on the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. To sit on the sidelines is not an option we can afford in a society which claims to be “just.”
I also read the President’s speech to our nation’s school children. While he spoke longer than I do in sermons on Sundays, I am so proud of what he did. He told his own story — admitted his own failings — and called our young people to use the gifts and talents God gives to each one of them. Show up for school. Study. Work hard. Play and have fun. Learn. These are all things my parents told me. Not every parent can or does say that to children entrusted to their care. So, again, people in faith communities have a call to help kids become the person God creates them to be. Using our voices in the public arena is one way to do this. Serving as mentors or tutors or assistants in classrooms is another. I think the President’s message also has merit for parents and guardians, godparents and friends when it comes to participating in faith communities. Show up for Sunday School and Church. Study. Work hard. Play and have fun. Learn. Use the gifts and talents God gives each one of us. Make the world a different and better place. Now’s the time. Blessings, Lorraine
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