I am saddened to know that Elizabeth Warren has ended her candidacy for the Democratic Party's nomination on Thursday. Super Tuesday results closed her progressive path for nomination. With her exit, the Democratic Party's primary contest is now down to two white male septuagenarians.
In her absence, who would pick up the concerns and issues she raised, and fight for it as passionately and relentlessly as she did on the campaign trail? For her, having access to healthcare and education for working families in the US is a must and a right. Her policies on both these issues, if implemented, would address the ever-widening inequality in the US.
From a faith perspective, inequality is also a moral issue. For the church, it is a cause that requires more than charity, but a problem that needs exploration as to why it persists in the US, a nation founded on Judeo Christian values. It may get the church into controversial territory.
Late Roman Catholic Arch Bishop of Brazil, Dom Hélder Pessoa Câmara, says, "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist."
The system in place favors the economically dominant in the world. By and large, they are WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) peoples of the world. Episcopal Bishop, C Andrew Doyle, in his book, Citizen: Faithful Discipleship in a Partisan World, cites from a published paper, "…Americans, as a subset of global citizens, are the weirdest of the WEIRD." The WEIRDs, who make up the system, on their own, are not going to share their privilege or what favors them to achieve equality. They perceive reality differently from others. Bible is clear on its indictment against those who make up systems, which stacked against the poor and vulnerable. "Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor their right and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless." Isaiah 10:1-2. Gospel envisions an egalitarian society, the hallmark of which is equality.
The policies Warren championed on and promoted through her candidacy, to name a couple, education, and healthcare. Addressing these two key issues alone would bring about a turnaround in an ever-widening inequality in the US. Now that we no longer have that candidate on the trail talking about the problems of the working poor and the marginalized, I hope that the remaining candidates would pick up her legacy and run with it.
In her absence, who would pick up the concerns and issues she raised, and fight for it as passionately and relentlessly as she did on the campaign trail? For her, having access to healthcare and education for working families in the US is a must and a right. Her policies on both these issues, if implemented, would address the ever-widening inequality in the US.
From a faith perspective, inequality is also a moral issue. For the church, it is a cause that requires more than charity, but a problem that needs exploration as to why it persists in the US, a nation founded on Judeo Christian values. It may get the church into controversial territory.
Late Roman Catholic Arch Bishop of Brazil, Dom Hélder Pessoa Câmara, says, "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist."
The system in place favors the economically dominant in the world. By and large, they are WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) peoples of the world. Episcopal Bishop, C Andrew Doyle, in his book, Citizen: Faithful Discipleship in a Partisan World, cites from a published paper, "…Americans, as a subset of global citizens, are the weirdest of the WEIRD." The WEIRDs, who make up the system, on their own, are not going to share their privilege or what favors them to achieve equality. They perceive reality differently from others. Bible is clear on its indictment against those who make up systems, which stacked against the poor and vulnerable. "Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor their right and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless." Isaiah 10:1-2. Gospel envisions an egalitarian society, the hallmark of which is equality.
The policies Warren championed on and promoted through her candidacy, to name a couple, education, and healthcare. Addressing these two key issues alone would bring about a turnaround in an ever-widening inequality in the US. Now that we no longer have that candidate on the trail talking about the problems of the working poor and the marginalized, I hope that the remaining candidates would pick up her legacy and run with it.
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