I grew up attending a Southern Baptist church in Birmingham, AL. One of my most vivid memories of that time is our youth pastor – a hyper-energetic man named Ronnie – striding around the room urging us not to be “Sunday Christians.” Ronnie was referring to people who acted like Christians at church on Sundays, but abandoned their faith and values for the rest of the week. To me, teenagers who would sing the loudest at Sunday School yet tease me mercilessly in middle school were the epitome of “Sunday Christians.” Here’s the lesson Ronnie was trying to get through our thick adolescent skulls: our faith and values must permeate every aspect of our lives. To limit one’s Christianity to a small portion of one’s life is the height of hypocrisy.

As I observe the Religious Right, I see a lot of people behaving like “Sunday Christians.” Folks like Ralph Reed, James Dobson, and Pat Robertson limit their Christianity to a small portion of their politics. They are perfectly willing to cast their arguments about abortion and gay marriage in Biblical terms. But I’ve not heard a peep from these guys about the Bible and, say, civil rights or poverty. On those issues, they are either silent or supportive of their right-wing corporate colleagues. This is the behavior of a “Sunday Christian” – applying the Bible only when it is convenient.

The Religious Right acts as if the Bible has nothing to say about all these other issues. They are wrong. The Bible contains about 3,000 verses on poverty. (My favorite: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” – Matthew 25:40.) Jesus spent his time ministering to the outcasts of his day – lepers, prostitutes and tax collectors – not currying favor with the powerful. If I sincerely try to apply my faith and values to my politics, I find I must fight for the poor and the oppressed – concerns which are associated with the left wing of American politics. This is why I am a proud member of the Religious Left.

That’s also why I’m proud that Traction is co-sponsoring the American Values Summit, coming up on Friday, March 3 at Duke University. The speakers at the Summit – including Sojourners editor Rev. Jim Wallis, North Carolina NAACP President Rev. Dr. William Barber, and Rev. Rebecca Reyes – share my vision. The Summit will be about treating poverty, civil rights, ecology and other issues as the moral issues they are. These speakers will talk about how they apply their faith and values to a wide array of issues… and how this usually leads them to side against the “Sunday Christians” of the Religious Right.

I’ll be there with bells on. Hope to see you there, too! Register here: www.americanvaluessummit.com/index.html

R e e l P o l i t i k

film

+ drinks

+ action-focused talk

+ you

= change

In FEBRUARY…

Occupation: Dreamland is an unflinchingly candid portrait of a squad of American soldiers deployed in the doomed Iraq city of Falluja during the winter of 2004. Through the squad’s activities Occupation: Dreamland provides a vital glimpse into the last days of Falluja.

Come out Wednesday (2/22) at 7pm to Broad St. Café in Durham (1116 Broad St.) for this powerful film and conversation afterwards about how to get your anti-war on.* Suggested donation: $5.

*Sneak Peek:
March 2nd Drop Beats not Bombs dance party (Traction + NC Peace & Justice Coalition)
March 18th demonstration in Fayetteville on the 3rd anniversary of the invasion of Iraq

Yes, it’s another chance to support our local businesses! You can buy drinks and nosh at the Cafe. Also, Randy’s Pizza is a few doors down and it’s totally fine to bring food from there.

Traction sponsors ReelPolitik to advance progressive causes in the Triangle by entertaining, educating and engaging the community, *especially* folks under 40. See a good flick, meet people, talk policy and activate around issues. And eat. And drink.

Are you one of those people who thinks that voting would be great if the votes were actually counted? Do you worry that your secret ballot is annually vanishing into a secret electronic netherworld? Are you afraid that your votes are being shepherded off to a secure and undisclosed location?

Well, if you live in Wake County, guess what! Your votes just got liberated:

On Monday, county commissioners decided to buy new optical-scan ballot counters. They rejected a proposal for 13 additional touch-screen voting machines.

The decision led to applause from voting activists, who had questioned the touch-screen machines’ reliability.

Why is this such great news?

Two reasons: First, we’re not in Florida anymore, Toto. The machines that Wake County voters will confide in on election day will keep old-fashioned, tried-and-true, unmistakable paper records of every vote cast. (Remember Carteret Co., anyone?)This will make for accurate counts of voters’ choices and will help us all sleep at night knowing that the person who is sworn into office all but certainly received more votes than any of his or her opponents. Plus, if there are questions or irregularities, there’s always a paper trail just waiting to be recounted.

Another reason why this is so wonderful is that it’s the result of a long-fought battle by local grassroots activists (including our own Lanya Shapiro). Not only have Tractivists been out there fighting the good fight, this decision is proof positive that when we bring our passions, skills and tenacity to the table, we can achieve spectacular results!

Ya gotta love it. Happy Valentine’s Day!

The folks at The Green Life have a juicy little bit of corporate Orwelliana for you to chew on just in time for Valentine’s Day. Nestle, the huge foodstuffs multinational, is unleashing a green smokescreen in an attempt to cover up some very non-green practices. The company is launching a new brand of coffee under the label “Partner’s Blend” that is not much more than a PR shield. Now, when critics accuse Nestle of using its large market share to avoid paying a living wage to farmers, spokespeople will just remind the public that “Partner’s Blend” proudly sports a Fair Trade label. However,

The reality of Nestle is that 99.9 percent of their coffee is still not fairly traded, but launching this one product has allowed it to be affiliated with the Fairtrade movement.

Not the kind of people I want to buy chocolate hearts from.

What can you do? Well, for one thing, look around for alternative coffee sources that truly trade fairly. By the way, we have a great little company that does just that right here in Durham. And don’t feel like you should restrict yourself to coffee. When you buy sweets for your sweetheart this week, consider some fair trade chocolate or other goodies. Stores like One World Market on Ninth St. offer delicious options for your favorite Valentine. And if you want to make some activist ripples felt beyond the Durham County Line, visit The Green Life’s action center and send a letter to Nestle. Don’t forget to personalize the message and edit it a bit so it’s coming from you and doesn’t look like a form letter.

500 Dems met in downtown Durham last to watch W’s pathetic state of the union address. About 20 Traction folk were there representing the movement in some flashy new duds (email duds@getTraction.org to find out how to get your hands on the must-have progressive accoutrement of 2006). We all hunkered down to watch Bush’s misplaced smirks and winks while playing Terror Bingo. The Traction crew shouted at the screen in solidarity. I mean really, what a tool. Oh, and did I forget to mention that HOWARD DEAN was there, in the flesh, to kick off the evening! Can we say magnificent? Yes by golly, we can.