From Birmingham Jail, MLK's Challenge to Us Today

Martin Luther King Jr's Letter from Birmingham Jail is often touted as a defining milestone in the Civil Rights Movement. Indeed, it is a stunning portrait of the human spirit. MLK is literally behind bars, yet writing with a spirit of freedom and vision unknown to many of his contemporaries. He wrote with the kind of boldness reminiscent of the Apostle Paul, who also knew something about writing of freedom while behind prison walls.

I had the great privilege to visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham, AL, just a couple weeks ago. I urge anyone who can go to take the time to visit. Contained inside are the actual prison doors of the cell in which MLK wrote his infamous letter. There also on the wall hangs the reason for the letter--if you are unfamiliar with its history, you might think the impetus for the letter was probably some rantings by the KKK or other segregationists. Instead, it was a letter from lukewarm, moderate white church leaders, most of whom were probably somewhat sympathetic to the issues of the Civil Rights Movement. Those church leaders basically told MLK to calm down and relax. He was pushing too hard as an "outsider," they said. The methods of nonviolent civil disobedience were too disruptive. They argued he should work for change more slowly and accept what isn't perfect in the meantime.

You can find a copy and transcript of the letter here. It stings to read it. And for good reason. I cringed when I saw a Catholic bishop (my own denomination) as one of the signers. There were Protestant, Catholic and Jewish signers.

It took me a while to find this letter online. Either my internet research skills are lacking or else there aren't many traces of it to be found. The latter is understandable. Who wants to be reminded of being on the wrong side of history?  It was MLK who penned the masterpiece--that's something to celebrate. He was the hero who faced incredible adversity to lead one of the most stunning movements for change the world had ever seen. Who wants to be known as the group that tried to discourage one of history's greatest leaders during a time when he needed support the most?  It's not exactly something to put on one's resume.

But before we are quick to judge the lackluster faith and disappointing hesitation of the white church leaders, we must realize this is a perennial issue. This was not a unique circumstance that was only seen in 1963 Birmingham. Today, right now, there are people in my community, my church, my family and my world who tell us to slow down in our pursuit of justice and peace. They tell us not to make too many waves. They tell us that true progress happens gradually. And sometimes they are right. But the problem is that if we waited for these voices to give us the green light and tell us "now is the time for action," odds are that time would never come. In many circumstances, on many issues, there is never a moment when change is easy and comfortable. Sometimes being told to slow down is nothing but an excuse to stall indefinitely, and I sincerely wonder if those folks who say it really want change at all.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

 -Martin Luther King Jr.

The following are four areas of great moral importance in the U.S. demanding immediate action where we are often told the same things those eight pastors told MLK:  Slow down. Work for gradual change. Accept it if solutions are not "perfect." There are other issues in addition to these.

Racism. Despite the gains of the Civil Rights Movement, racism is a clear and ever-present reality in the U.S. to this day. It results in black bodies lying dead in the streets, in mass incarceration, in denial of opportunities and systemic poverty. We need change and we need it now! Yet, people tell Black Lives Matter and other activists the same things that these moderates told MLK--slow down, your methods are too disruptive.

Healthcare. The U.S. spends twice as much as any other nation per person on healthcare but ends up ranking only #37 in the world by the World Health Organization. Millions have no access to the system and many thousands have lost their lives or have gone into bankruptcy trying to pay medical bills.

The math is simple: We pay more. We get less. No corporation could survive for long with that business plan, yet this is how we as a people fund our healthcare. It seems hard to believe that anyone could deny these obvious facts, but millions of dollars of insurance money and hard lobbying have done what they were intended to do: They have created fear and warped perceptions. They have convinced many of us that "it can't be done," even though nearly every other developed nation on earth has figured out how to do better for less.

So where is the leadership to change this? All we hear is "Now is not the time." "Don't push too hard." "Change happens gradually." You might think we hear that from conservatives who are against universal healthcare, but those statements are often coming from left-leaning political leadership. A lot of people give those Democrats the benefit of the doubt and assume they are doing all that can be done for healthcare at the moment. However, given the incredible expenditures on healthcare lobbying, you have to start wondering if these moderates have any real intention of changing our healthcare system at all. You have to speak your vision and name your goals out loud before you can achieve them.

Climate Change. Scientists are clear that there is a very 12 year window for the human race to avoid catastrophic climate change. Yet, even the most aggressive proposals to reduce carbon emissions seem to fall far short. Case in point: Germany recently announced it would phase out all coal powered plants in 20 years. We may not need completely eliminate all fossil fuel consumption to meet our climate goals, but it is disheartening when we are told "it can't be done any quick." Why not?  Of course it can. Other places are moving quicker than we are. How can they do it and not us?

Immigration. People say, "just do it legally!" However, there are also forces in play making legal immigration more difficult to achieve for select groups. It is virtually impossible for some people. Desperate people simply cannot wait for laws to change, especially when there seems little chance of that change happening anytime soon. There are families that would never see their loved ones if they waited until every document was in order before crossing. Instead of telling immigrants to wait, perhaps we should be taking decisive action to solve our immigration fiasco which does not respect human dignity. It only creates a vulnerable population who can be easily exploited for cheap labor.

Conclusion

Every reasonable person knows that change does indeed take time and there may be some strategic compromises along the way, at least temporarily. But real leaders come right out and state their vision. They name their goals. They point the way to where they want to go. They weather the resistance along the way. You don't have to guess where they really stand. Ultimately, we have to decide if our actions are more like Martin Luther King Jr.--who we like to idolize--or whether they are more like the eight white moderate clergymen who urged MLK to "show restraint."

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

-Martin Luther King Jr.

The Most Overlooked Reason for Universal Healthcare

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement,
"YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
Galations 5:14

In all the debates over whether or not to have universal healthcare in the U.S., there is one very simple, obvious reason for it that I almost never hear anyone mention.

It's so obvious. That's probably why it is so completely overlooked.

It's right under our noses.

We should have universal healthcare in the U.S. simply because . . .

. . . (wait for it) . . .

Simply because . . . we can!

Yes, it's that simple!

I'm sorry if you expected a more complex answer. But hear me out.

Why not? 

We are the richest, most productive nation on earth. Why shouldn't we enjoy that? Why shouldn't we make life better for both ourselves as well as fellow members of society? Health care is something everyone wants, and at some point or another everyone will need it. Let's do it! We have public parks, public schools and public roads. Why not have public access to health care?

This will, in turn make life better for each of us. Diseases would be better controlled and other conditions prevented. Why should our fellow citizens live in constant fear of health issues and painful decisions over whether to buy food or medicine? Let's be as healthy, productive and happy as possible. Why in the world would we not want that?

There is no reason to make it any more complicated than this.

Instead, we turn healthcare into some kind of game. It is seen as a reward for people who supposedly "work hard" and know how to be enterprising. We link access to health care to employment, even though there are many ways well-intentioned people can fall between those cracks. Through no fault of their own, children are dependent on whether their parents have secured health coverage. Later in life, health coverage could be at risk if you have a pre-existing condition or lose your job. For some people, losing health care coverage is akin to losing their lives. Being in-between jobs should not be a death sentence. Even people who do all the "right" things can find themselves without coverage.

Perhaps it's our Puritan roots coming back to haunt us. If something is too good to be true, then it must be bad, right?? It can't be that easy!

We already have the money. All we need to do is take the money we currently spend on health care and instead put it toward a nationalized system. We can pay doctors and hospitals through a Medicare-for-all system rather than going through private insurance companies. We'll end up covering more people, thus improving the quality of our system, and actually saving money. It's a win-win. It's practically a no-brainer. Otherwise, there is always the over-inflated military budget or tax cuts for the rich which could be pulled back to pay for healthcare. We spend more on the military than the next the 8 highest spending nations. But if we don't even have healthcare for our citizens, what exactly are we protecting with that military budget? We pay a lot in taxes, we should actually get what we want (and need).

Virtually every other developed nation on earth has comprehensive coverage for its citizens. Despite the fact that American "news" sources report that some of those nations are going "bankrupt," none of them are showing signs of changing. The horror stories you hear about coverage in other countries are largely false. People generally love the care they get. The bottom line is:  Most would never opt for a U.S.-style system.

The only obstacle is that it would put a lot of private insurance companies out of business. They are getting rich off of the system we currently have, so they are putting a lot of money into the pockets of politicians, lobby groups and anti-information campaigns to halt the progress toward universal health care. But their gains come at the expense of human lives and human well-being. After all, they make money by denying coverage to sick people. It's simple math: They make profits by getting as much as they can get in premiums and paying as little as they can get away with in actual health care costs. It is an evil system in that it rewards callousness in the face of human suffering. Morally speaking, some industries should never be tied to a profit motive, and health care is a perfect example of that.

Sadly, our current system is not that great. The World Health Organization rates the U.S. as #37th in the world. However, we spend the most by far! Why aren't we getting the best care for our money? This makes no financial sense.

Lack of Social Contract:  Could it be racism?

So many Americans live in fear that their neighbor might benefit from their tax money, they end up biting their own nose to spite their face. They would rather deny coverage to everyone (including themselves) rather than let something benefit their neighbor.

If your family were sick, you would probably want to provide for them. So why wouldn't we want to provide for our fellow citizens? I think the reasons is exactly that: We don't see ourselves as family. America's original sin is racism, as Jim Wallis points out. Here it comes to bite us again. We don't want universal health care because black people might benefit from it, or Hispanic people, or LGBT people, or some other groups that we don't like. We're so individualistic that we barely see ourselves as part of a shared society at all. European countries have a sense of shared culture and heritage so they have fewer problems insuring each other's health care, because they see each other as part of a l venture together—they are going forward as a whole society together, not as isolated individuals.

Wouldn't it be nice to go to any hospital or doctor at anytime and have access to all the care you could ever need without having to navigate a complex system of in-network and out-of-network providers, (assuming you have coverage at all)?

If you got rich in this nation, it's partly because we as a society made that possible through education, infrastructure as well as police, fire and military protection. You didn't earn it "by yourself." We all helped you. So this is one way to pay it back. But more importantly: We're all in this together. Let's act like it!

Is Healthcare a Right or Privilege? Wrong Question.

The question comes up all the time: Is healthcare a right or a privilege? Pope Francis has even weighed in.

I don't think this is the right question.

When people ask whether healthcare is a right or privilege, they are basically asking whether healthcare is either an act of charity or a luxury. And then if it is an act of charity, they ask whether others are entitled to that charity or not. Furthermore, this question implies that the benefits of healthcare go directly to individuals and not to society as a whole.

Sometimes the questions we ask have more power than the answers. A question can frame the debate and imply assumptions about the topic. Without realizing it, most of us answer the question only within the categories that the question gives. The way questions are asked can exert a powerful control over us if we are not aware.

Once asked, the discussion quickly gets derailed in debating the nature of charity itself and whether anyone is entitled to it. These are hot-button issues in US culture that usually promise nothing but gridlock.

I'll use an event from my life to illustrate another way to look at this issue.

My Story

Several years ago, I helped establish the Columbus Catholic Worker (CCW), a center for charity and justice efforts. It was a wonderful experience feeding the hungry, providing clothing to the less fortunate, teaching ESL and offering hospitality to immigrants. Ministry was blossoming in a part of town that was thirsty for Christian love in action. The organization was growing and putting down roots. While it took a village to birth these efforts, the CCW eventually fell under my care and direction. I loved it and felt God's grace pulsing through it.

Today, the doors to this organization are closed. A multitude of reasons converged to bring it to that point, but an often unnamed reason lurking in the background was healthcare. Because of a cancer diagnosis, I needed a "regular" job that came with health coverage. It might have taken several years before the CCW could have grown large enough to offer a salary with health benefits, if ever. I was okay with that. I could live lean for a while. I could wade through and wait out other problems. But I could not wait for health coverage. This organization could have served all of Columbus for many years. It was already having a positive impact on many people. It could have been my life's work. It took a lot of effort from a lot of people to start it, and it's not something that can be re-started so easily. It was hard to walk away from it. 

While I have no regrets about where my life is today, this story illustrates an important point:

I am a citizen who had ideas and energy. I was willing to try out new ideas and take risks. The same could be said of my friends and partners who worked beside me in this ministry. The CCW benefited not just me but dozens of individuals and (dare I say) the whole city. But this work is no longer being done. 

Just imagine how many other people have to scale back--people with ideas, new inventions, innovations and business ideas. They have to limit how much they share these gifts because they are squandering their time and energy securing health coverage. 

We all suffer when we make it difficult for our neighbors to share their gifts.

Americans often live in a Hollywood fantasy that celebrates--and even expects--that others overcome every bit of adversity and still come out on top. After all, it happens in the movies and sometimes in the history books. It does work for some people, and those people deserve to be celebrated. The problem with those stories is that they don't reflect a fair expectation. In real life, real obstacles take a real toll on real people. It's not because people don't have the character, skills or faith to overcome them. Rather, it's just simple math: Someone who runs with a 50 lb weight strapped to his back is not going to run as far or as fast as if he did not have that weight. Yes, the weight may build extra strength and character and force innovation, but it may also come with significant delays, setbacks and failures in the meantime. If someone has a great business idea, I would rather she begin when  she is 25 years old rather than 45. She will bring more wisdom at age 45, but she will also lose 20 years of experience during which she could have been refining her craft rather than working side jobs in an unrelated field.

Everyone loves a good story where people pull themselves up by the bootstraps, fight all the monsters and win.  But it is pure insanity to make the lives of our neighbors as difficult as possible as a game to see who is able to turn that into a heroic quest and win. We are all too quick to assume that if a business venture fails, that it "wasn't meant to be" or that the people just did not work hard enough or have a good enough idea. It could simply be that an environment that is unfriendly to new ideas and ventures is going to result in, well . . . fewer ideas and ventures.

In this country, we are shooting ourselves in the foot. People get angry because a dime of their tax money might benefit someone else. What they don't realize is that when their neighbors are better off, so are they. It's a safer, healthier, smarter, more advanced country we are building. It is a more competitive nation in the world market. Consider my story and multiply it by a thousand. Think of all the businesses, church ministry efforts, nonprofit organizations and other new ventures that are not happening because people either need to either get health coverage or are crippled under medical debt.

If I want to start a business, I don't have to go out and cut trees down to build a road to transport my goods and services. I don't have to build water or sewer lines. I don't have to train employees in basic math, reading or problem solving skills, because we have public education. The only thing missing is that I can't expect the people I hire are healthy enough to work. It is one glaring piece that is missing.

Universal health care means that our country can be more competitive as people take less time off work due to illness, that communicable diseases are treated before they can spread, and that a major obstacle is removed for my fellow citizens who want the space to innovate. 

To me, it's not a "right" or a "privilege" that I can leave my house and take my car on any road I want. I don't think you are mooching off the government because you drive on the freeway or public city roads. It's just common sense that roads are open and available to all, including businesses. I don't spend any time at all upset that my tax dollars might pay for a road to a remote town in Montana or California that I myself will probably never use. For the same reason, I would not be upset at all that my tax dollars would pay for my neighbors to get the healthcare they need to stay alive, healthy and productive (in that order).

It would be so complicated if roads were only for certain people. Imagine if you bought a "road plan' where you could only use certain roads and had to drive extra miles across the city to use the roads in your "plan." Yet we do that with our complicated medical plans that exclude us from so much.

Charity is great. I wish we could make the decision on healthcare based solely on humanitarian reasons and not take into account whether it makes our neighbor more productive. But this is not going to melt the ice in this discussion in this country. Whether healthcare is a right or privilege is not the only question when we go to the voting booth. Providing universal healthcare is simply what a smart country does that wants to stay competitive and advance as a civilization. Like public roads and public education, it provides a basic infrastructure so that we can all share our God-given gifts more broadly and without reservation. It's the next logical step in the growth of a healthy society.

Why Do Americans Keep Saying "We Can't"?

Why do we keep telling ourselves that we can't do things?

I keep hearing it over and over again: We can't have . . . Universal health care. Public education that includes college. Higher minimum wage. Sustainable energy. Humane immigration reform. Safe harboring of refugees.

We can't. We can't. We can't.

Every doomsday scenario is predicted by these naysayers:  The economy will be ruined, taxes will go through the roof, terrorists will destroy this country and the poor will be worse off than ever before! It echoes like a chorus of lions, tigers and bears, oh my! If you believe all the hype, death panels will decide who gets to live and zombies will eat our brains out.

There are a lot of things that are difficult. There is much we haven't yet figured out how to do. But if we value something--and if we want to do it--we should set it as our goal and work towards it. We should at least try our best before coming to the conclusion that it can't be done. 

In his May 25, 1961, address to Congress, President John F. Kennedy said:

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."

President Kennedy gives us an example that we should model today. It is empowering to name a goal and make a commitment to it. On July 16, 1969, the first human being stepped foot onto the moon. Had JFK not made a public commitment to this goal AND then put resources behind it, it is unlikely that it ever would have been achieved. This is what leadership looks like. 

We can apply Kennedy's words to our current national debate on health care, poverty, immigration reform, environmental sustainability and any number of other issues: We should say what we want to do, set a timeline, then focus our attention and resources to achieve that goal. I'm sure many people said Kennedy was ridiculous and that travel to the moon was impossible. Those are the same kinds of folk who today say that universal health care is impossible and that environmental sustainability can never be achieved.

Some of these challenges may be difficult, but most Americans like to believe they are good at doing difficult things. We went from horse & buggies to cars, airplanes and a-man-on-the-moon in a few decades while also fighting two world wars and pulling out of a great economic depression. In light of all that history, it's more than a little embarrassing when our first response today is "we can't."

The problem standing in the way is not a lack of technology. The real crisis is a lack of vision. We can figure out the nuts & bolts of a problem. What we need first is to have the courage to name our goal and make a commitment to it with specific numbers and dates.

When I'm faced with a problem, I don't waste my time whining and moping around saying "it can't be done" without even attempting to put a plan together. Yet, that is exactly what Americans are doing. We should be embarrassed that we have allowed ourselves to be lulled into thinking we can't do so many things that are, in fact, very do-able.

We know they are very achievable because most of these have, in fact, been done before. Other nations around the world are far head of us in transitioning to renewable energy and have long ago settled the universal health care debate. We know it is possible to significantly reduce, if not downright eliminate, poverty: Over a century ago, the vast majority of our citizens wallowed in industrial revolution-era sweatshops, but their descendants enjoyed a middle class lifestyle. Dramatic change in a short span of time is very possible, even though many people said it could never be done.

There will always be naysayers. People who have power and money tend to be conservative by the simple fact that they like things the way they are now. They are hesitant--if not downright hostile-- towards change, simply because they are doing well now. Their power and money gives them a big soapbox with a huge megaphone to project their message. They want us to believe that change is impossible. It's our job not to fall for it.

Let's save "we can't" for things like time travel, light sabers and crisscrossing galaxies at the speed of light. But who knows, maybe some day in the future those will be possible, too. These other challenges are, in fact, very much achievable.