I am like a child in a candy store when my copy of The Sun magazine arrives. (Visit The Sun on the web at www.thesunmagazine.org) I quickly review the contents page to map my approach to this month's issue. Today an essay by Norman Fischer entitled "The Religion of Politics, The Politics of religion" all but jumped off the page at me. Fischer, who according to the contributors' page is a Zen priest and poet, took an unexpected approach to this volatile topic.
Finding myself in some what of a dark gully today, I was please to find Fischer's rather encouraging tone. His article encouraged me to quote him at length for; I'm most challenged when he said:
"We liberals who do consider ourselves religious have been careful to compartmentalize our lives, putting politics on one side and faith on the other. It's time for us to be more forthright and serious about our religious commitments, and to see them not a private aspects of our live, but central pillars that support our public acts. This may mean, first, being more faithful to our religious practice, whatever that may be; and, second, letting others know that our political actions stem from our religious commitments. Though we have no desire to convert anyone, we need to insist on being heard, just as we are willing to listen.
"Whether we like it or not, our political life is now so dominated by religious perspectives that we must all participate in defining what true religious values are, lest we allow others to do it for us. In my view, real religious values -- Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, or otherwise -- always involve peacefulness, generosity, and a willingness to respect views other than one's own."