The Great Debate

Well, it happened: the health care reform bill just passed, for good or for ill. I don't have a ton of time to write down my reactions to this historic moment (because it is historic, regardless of its outcome) since I'm about to go to bed, but I'll share a few thoughts.

I am not well informed enough on the crazy intricacies of our current system of health insurance, nor the health care reform bill, for me to be comfortable preaching my solutions to our woes. I'm often struck by others who share my lack of knowledge, yet seem to have answers aplenty. And where they may not have answers, they certainly have a reason for why their opponent's solutions will absolutely not work. What disheartens me the most is that often these ideas are rarely fruits of research and reason; they are usually the sound bites from one of the countless talking heads on 24 hour news channels. You want to believe this health care bill is a communist decree from Comrade Obama (or perhaps some of those "social justice" churches)? Turn on Glenn Beck. He'll give you all the "facts" you need. Do you want reassurance that finally we Democrats are cleaning up this horrible mess that GWB and all those dirty, nasty Republicans left behind? I'm sure MSNBC can help you out there.

See, my point is this: we are so far beyond being well-informed that it's almost unbelievable. We are not informed, we are simply opinionated. And as long as I can find someone who will support my opinion, then I am right.

But I guess I'm not talking about health care anymore, am I?

I guess what gets me so frustrated is that in the wake of this bill's passing, I've heard some of the most diametrically opposed reactions. I have friends convinced that this bill stands as the harbinger of our nation's doom. Others see it as a symbol of its salvation. Neither are correct. But that's what we're taught, isn't it? In politics there is either the savior or the antichrist.

And while we're speaking of saviors, let's talk about that aspect of all this hoopla, shall we? I've seen more of my Christian friends disparaging and crying out about this than I have for almost any other issue.

How is it that we allow ourselves to be more united, more vocal, more outraged about the health care bill than are about the literally countless other massive injustices facing our world today? I believe it takes some examination to see why this bill has become the centerpiece of our indignation. And does it deserve this kind of fervency?  Are there, perhaps, other issues that deserve your thought, prayer, money, or Facebook status?

I'm not saying national politics shouldn't be on the radars of believers. Injustice abounds, and the Gospel calls us to confront it (...Glenn). I am saying that we should be more thoughtful in our conclusions, and more prayerful in deciding what we make the center of our thought lives. When opinions come from a talking heads, and "just wrath" is reserved only for partisan politics, it is difficult to come to any conclusion...let alone one rooted in the Gospel.

Bill Strickland & The Manchester Craftsman's Guild

Bill Strickland, originally uploaded by modefstef.

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Jubilee Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. If you haven't heard of it, it's a huge gathering created by the CCO that is made up of college students from around the Pennsylvania/Ohio/West Virgina area. The goal of Jubilee is to get college students thinking about how their faith intersects their everyday lives - everything from their profession to social justice.

The conference usually features a few big-name speakers from the Christian community. Over the last years people like Tony Campolo, Lauren Winner, and Donald Miller have all been among the keynote speakers at the conference. This year, a man named Bil Strickland gave an incredibly moving talk about his organization, The Manchester Craftsman's Guild.

Bill grew up on the north side of Pittsburgh, in a high crime area. He discovered the power of art while in high school, after seeing his art teacher throwing some ceramic shapes in the art classroom. After learning to be a ceramists himself, Strickland began on an incredible journey to bring opportunities to everyone from his neighborhood. He started by teaching kids off the street in a basement of an apartment, and since then his organization has expanded to the vision of eventually having similar arts institutes in 200 cities - 100 in the US and 100 abroad.

Now, this kind of story matters to me, because...well art education will one day be my profession. To hear this man's story of going from the depths to the heights is empowering. But more than that, I think that Bill Strickland gets at something more than just art education. During his talk he focused on the importance of setting high standards and providing high quality experiences to everyone. In fact, one thing he said stuck with me in particular:

"You see, we found out that the only problem with the poor is that they don't have any money. And that's a curable condition."

Too often we don't see the poor as people. We see them as problems. Bill Strickland decided to love, support, encourage, and care for the poor in tangible ways. He and his organization set high expectations for their students, and give them the tools to reach them. And they do.

What if we started seeing people as people again? It's time to get some humanity back in here.

If you want to check out the MCG, the website is:
http://www.manchesterguild.org/indexflash.htm

You can also read a article about Bill here:
http://www.miller-mccune.com/article/a-poverty-antidote-goes-global