It Takes a Movement 3

From today’s post at Sojo.net, and I like the focus here on faith communities and on the recognition that access to power is intoxicating:

In Washington, D.C., access quickly becomes an end in itself, with elites simply changing places after elections. Getting your calls returned or being able to get the meetings you want about your concerns can be very seductive. But access without results doesn’t ultimately mean very much. Dr. King learned to navigate the corridors of power in Congress and the White House, but his base was always outside of those places of power. When leaders from social movements get too close to power and are given lots of access, they can sometimes forget the lessons and wisdom of the social movements they have come from. Frederick Douglass knew he had to be a thorn in Abraham Lincoln’s side when he said, “Power concedes nothing without demand.”

Many leaders of various constituencies and sectors who I talk to around the country are ready to mobilize a movement in support of solutions to our pressing needs, whether there is a president or Congress who leads or not. I feel a growing need to create a more independent and critical movement for social justice and change in America. The relational and convening power in the faith community is substantial and has the potential to chart a more prophetic course on behalf of the issues that are so central to us. We will reach out directly to the people in our pews, our parishes, and our communities; empowering ordinary people to resist the cynicism and become real citizens again. We will do our best to create the response, even strong enough to evoke the call. Advisors might not be as needed as prophets are. Biblically, there were always the prophets of the court, who often had supportive words for the king. But, the prophets of Yahweh were more often from the wilderness and often had strong words for the king.