During tonight’s presidential debate there were several very good questions that I thought were answered very poorly. As soon as McCain and Obama started to give their answers I found myself engaged in an internal conversation with them: “No, don’t say that!” or, “Come on, this is your chance to separate yourself from the status quo.” I was left disillusioned again and wondering what I would say if I were asked the same questions.
Question #1 (from the Internet). “Since World War II, we have never been asked to sacrifice anything to help our country, except the blood of our heroic men and women. As president, what sacrifices will you ask every American to make to help restore the American dream and to get out of the economic morass that we're now in?”
Tim’s Answer. This is a great question and will probably be overlooked tomorrow by the pundits, news reporters and talk show hosts. This is the primary mistake we made in the ongoing conflict in Iraq. We never asked our country to sacrifice. We have simply hired a band of mercenaries to fight and sacrifice their lives for us. The American dream has been reduced to the notion that we can buy our way out of any problem.
I agree with Sen. Obama that “Go out and shop” is not sound advice for running a war or a country. But, we have a huge problem in America: our fleeting effort to be “the greatest nation in the history of the world,” as both candidates continue to espouse, is inextricably linked to the quest for increased personal wealth and an ever-growing rate of consumption. If elected president I will call for Americans to lay down their greed and sacrifice their gluttonous appetites for the good of the planet. Some of us need to learn to live not just “at our means,” but “below our means.” We ought not to spend just because we can.
Some examples: 1) we, as a country, have the means to end poverty and preventable disease in Africa, but we don’t have the will; 2) we’re willing to spend 700 billion on Wall Street, but we can’t find the 25 billion it would take to put every child on the planet in school; 3) we could end sweat shop practices and see that workers are paid fairly at home and abroad but that means we would have to pay more for our clothes and food. These, and other similar issues of social injustice, will never be made right without sacrifice. Finally, I would ask Americans to sacrifice that which is so holy to them, the American dream itself. In losing our selfish desires we might again find our collective soul.
Question #2 (from the Phil Elliot in the audience). “How will all the recent economic stress affect our nation's ability to act as a peacemaker in the world?
Tim’s Answer. Another great question that will likely escape the majority of commentators tomorrow morning. This is a critical issue with regard to foreign policy and I’m stunned at how badly each of the other two candidates botched it. Both of my opponents understand peacemaking to be a role of the military. One focuses on Iraq, the other on Afghanistan. Both of their answers to this question were limited to military options. We don't have to cross too many borders to know that the reason America has such a bad reputation throughout the rest of the world is because of a long history of negatively perceived military actions including Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Central America in the 80s, and Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.
It is time for change -- real change. It is time for the world to see us not as a military superpower, but as a humanitarian superpower. I propose that Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has an efficient, effective and ethical model for us to learn from. Among other things, MCC has been helping farmers grow tomatoes in the Middle East and has been digging wells in Africa for decades. They have continued to help the poorest of the poor regardless of political ideology. Example: in Israel they have come to the aid of both Palestinians and Israelis. This is peacemaking! For MCC there are no walls, borders or lines, only people in need. Unfortunately, because of the military action in Iraq the mission and outreach efforts of agencies like MCC will be impeded for decades due to the negative view of Americans in the region.
If America wants to be a peacemaker (and a superpower for that matter), let it partner with Muslim Africa, not in the pursuit of more oil reserves, but in an effort to eradicate preventable disease from the continent. Just imagine the positive effect this would have in the worldwide Muslim community. Would that take a large financial commitment? Certainly, but it would not compare to the expense of another protracted war, and, God forbid, the lives that would be lost on either side of a military conflict. Blessed are the peacemakers.
Question #3 (from the Internet). "What don't you know and how will you learn it?"
Tim’s answer. Did I just hear my two worthy opponents completely dodge the question in an effort to give a pointless closing statement? This is a brilliant query and deserves a thoughtful answer. [Big sigh, long pause] Why is it so unthinkable that a political candidate would admit that he doesn’t know something or that he has ever made a mistake? Where is the sanity in implying that one doesn't have anything to learn? When did we start believing that a strong leader never hesitates when asked a question? Why do we think a sign of weakness is not knowing the answer to every problem?
I'm reminded of two ancient proverbs that have been guiding pieces of wisdom for me. “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise person listens to advice.” “He who answers before listening – that is his folly and his shame.”
Hmm, I’d have to answer this question with a lyric from Bono, “The more you see, the less you know; the less you find out as you go; I knew much more then than I do now.” You see (and this is why you’re bound to choose one of the other two over me), I’m here to tell you that I am less and less sure of myself with every year that goes by. And don’t be fooled, the culture is less and less sure of itself with each new year. The culture is in the midst of massive discontinuous change and we’ve only begun to experience the cultural shifts at hand. The next president of the United States must have the capacity to lead not with a five-year strategic plan, but with the ability to ask questions, be transparent, work “on the ground” with real people and real problems, invite creativity and adjust, adapt and flow with the changing culture.
The age of predictability is over -- check the stock market. I am a lifelong learner, a student of my students. I would seek to create, as Parker Palmer suggests, a “learning space” where information is not disseminated, but people meet each other as co-teachers and co-learners, across states, across country, across borders. Is a representative democracy even possible at this level? Probably not, but that’s why I’m sure I can’t count on your vote on Tuesday, November 4.
Click here for an entire transcript of the second presidential debate.
"Blessed are the Peacemakers", and "he who gives to the poor, lends to the Lord". I would love to know that our government would practice these two things. After the first and presidential debates, I am sad we have to choose between these two. If Bono were running, I might vote for him instead of the other two.
Posted by: Ivan Garcia | October 12, 2008 at 09:06 PM
I know I'm a little behind things, but I would have voted for you today had I known you were running :-)
Posted by: Linda | November 04, 2008 at 04:05 PM