The Stuff That Dreams are Made of

“Then, after doing all those things,

I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.”

- Joel 2:28 (New Living Translation)

There’s not much in the way of explanation I can offer for not having posted since May. I’ve been living in a state of perpetual motion and busyness over that time. I’ve had ideas, but the daily affairs of life have pushed those ideas into the back seat.

While I haven’t had much time to express my thoughts in writing, thoughts and ideas have been coming to me in a medium that’s been unfamiliar to me since my childhood. In the past month I’ve had two very vivid dreams. Perhaps, as the Bible says, it means that I’m now an old man.

I’ve shared what I saw and in these dreams with my wife, Nancy, and a few other people. This morning Nancy told me that she thought it would be a good idea to share them on this blog. I’ll share the first one with you today and the other either tomorrow or early next week.

I believe they have meaning, not just for me, but for others as well. I’ll leave it to you to interpret them. Feel free to share your thoughts about them by way of comment.

The first dream began outside a large church, built for multitudes. It had the familiar steeple. From all appearances it appeared to be very mainstream. It looked a lot like a church Nancy and I once attended in Kansas City. It also appeared to be strong, made of large limestone blocks. It was very impressive. At first I saw the church from a distance, then somehow the cornerstone of the building caught my eye. It read, “To the glory of God; peace and freedom for all humanity.”

At first things appeared to be very peaceful. Then, in an instant, it all changed. As I looked in either direction, north and south, from the entrance of the building, I saw long lines of ambulances with their lights on and sirens blaring. They were all going in one direction, coming from north and heading south. The horizon, both near and far, was filled with them. It was an overwhelming sight. Each ambulance stopped at the church entrance. As they did, wounded and dying people were carried on stretchers and placed in the ambulances. I could hear the moans and screams above the sound of the sirens and could see blood running down from the circular drive in front of the church, then flowing into the gutters.

I felt powerless. I couldn’t stop the procession, which went on and on for what seemed to be an eternity.

I began to weep and then was transported into the sanctuary. It was almost as if I was being taken inside to see what was causing the procession outside. As I entered the sanctuary I could see men who appeared to be dressed from head to toe in very unusual clerical robes. They were bright and colorful, reds, blues, greens, yellows, purples, dotted with images of birds and snakes. The material was wispy and flimsy, giving these men, who I assumed were leaders, a very feminine appearance. Even the hoods covering the tops of their heads and their eyes were made of this flimsy material. The only thing different about them from the rest of the material was that they were jet black. I looked down at their feet, expecting for some reason to see sandals. Instead, I saw they were all wearing hobnailed boots. Each of these men was playing an instrument of one kind or another. They weren’t the traditional instruments one would normally associate with worship, like trumpets, cymbals, and stringed instruments. They were banging on tin drums, blowing furiously on kazoos and flutaphones, and plucking on some sort of one stringed instrument. As they played, they also stomped their feet and gyrated wildly around the sanctuary. The sound was so discordant it pierced the air. The rhythms were so discordant that they drove those observing into a state of fearful frenzy. It was painful to listen to and even more painful to watch. The most disturbing thing about what I observed was that the leaders seemed to derive great pleasure from the pain they were inflicting on those entering the sanctuary. As the pain got greater, the discordant sounds and frenzied dance reached a crescendo. I could not tell whether or not the leaders were aware of the bloody scene taking place at the entrance, or even if they cared.

I then found myself outside the church once more. The line of ambulances proceeded, unabated. The wounded and dying moaned and screamed. The blood continued to pour from the entrance to the gutters in the street. It appeared that the procession would go on for a long time.

I began to weep once more and heard a voice saying, “The cup of iniquity is full. I am winnowing, I am winnowing, I am separating the chaff from the wheat.”

Then, the dream ended.

I’m not offering it to sensationalize. I’m only offering it now so that I can record what I saw and felt before it becomes a faded memory. Also, as I said earlier, I’ll leave it for you to interpret.

I’ll share what I saw and felt in the other dream with you either tomorrow or early next week.

Love in a Time of Cruelty

“You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.”
- 2 Timothy 3:1-3 (New Living Translation)


I read last night that Don Imus is filing a hundred and twenty million dollar lawsuit against CBS, his former employer. According to his attorney a clause in the contract he signed with CBS gave him full contractual permission to say many of the outrageous things he’s said over the years.

Legal experts seem to think he has a pretty fair chance of winning at least the forty million dollars in contracted salary in some sort of a settlement with CBS.

I guess that enjoying the pain and distress of others pays, and it pays handsomely. CBS knew this, as did MSNBC when they brought Don Imus on board. ABC was aware of this twisted business adage when they hired Rosie O’Donnell. Everyone involved, from the on screen purveyors to the honchos in the boardrooms, were part of a marriage of convenience. The net result was that the airwaves have been crackling with cruelty and the profits have been skyrocketing.

I’d like to think that the recent sackings will end the mayhem, but I’m not that naïve. You see, Rosie and Imus were but two in a fraternity/sorority of malice for money. Someone else will replace them. There will be one for the right wing and another for the left to ensure balance. However it plays out, one thing is certain - an updated iteration will follow as surely as the hurricane’s winds only changes direction once the eye passes.

It’s not like this is all new to us. These recent episodes are just links in a long chain of smut storms that have plagued us for as long as I can remember. There were the Dixiecrats in the late forties, followed by the Klu Klux Klan in the fifties. In the sixties it was the Black Panthers and the Weathermen, followed by Stokely Carmichael in the seventies. In the eighties, Democrats expressed their contempt for Ronald Reagan; in the nineties, Republicans, the Moral Majority, journalists, and right wingers savaged Bill Clinton. The page turned again at the dawning of the new millennium with Democrats, environmentalists, feminists, leftists, and journalists vilifying George Bush.

Each episode comes under the rubric of free speech. “It’s the price we must pay for the right to free speech,” we’re told. And who am I to argue, especially when it pays so well. Cruelty wins elections. Cruelty has the magical power to turn ledgers from red to black. Cruelty gets its practitioners noticed. Sometimes it even makes them famous.

To make matters worse, things are heating up rather than cooling down. People seem to hate more than they used to. Perhaps it’s an illusion, brought on by the mechanisms of free expression we’ve invented. Perhaps we’ve invented new and wondrous ways to express the venoms that infect us. Nowadays we’re wired like never before and we’re letting people know what we think.

What is it about this cruelty that makes it so successful? I don’t know. About as close as I can come is that Harvey Cox’s observation of media preachers like Jimmy Swaggart is eerily accurate. It describes our current climate all too well. The names and philosophies of the players change, but the hate emanating from the root is all too familiar:

“I think that Wright is correct that Swaggart was in touch with something fearsome but real in all of us. But Swaggart was also an unprincipled megalomaniac, a cruel and mean-tempered man whose rambling sermons attacked “faggots” and Catholics and the leadership of his own denomination with equal ferocity. I do not believe, however, that in saying no to Swaggart’s version of Pentecostal Christianity, as many Pentecostals do, one can deny the spiritual forces he was able to conjure. Denying them does not make them go away. Nor does exploiting them for sordid purposes mean that they cannot also inspire generosity and compassion. I think that Swaggart is a warning signal to the tired mainline churches, pointing to genuine spiritual energies most of them have forgotten. But to Pentecostals he is also a warning signal, a reminder that the fire from heaven can burn and destroy as well as purify and inspire.”

There’s a real temptation here. We can tune in. We can also enter the fray and pile on along with Imus, Rosie, Swaggart, and others like them. It’s fun; it’s entertaining. But I think it’s a temptation we must resist. We need to tune in to Someone else. Living by the precepts of I Corinthians 13 may not increase our earthly wealth, but it certainly will enrich us in ways we can only imagine now. It will also shift the poles of power in our lives from negative to positive. In the light of recent events, that would be a welcome change indeed!

Hoisting the White Flag

“Shall I tell you what the real evil is? To cringe to the things that are called evils, to surrender to them our freedom, in defiance of which we ought to face any suffering.”

- Seneca

Other than reading about the tragic events at Virginia Tech, I’ve been out of touch with national and international news for the past month. I’ve been preoccupied with family affairs. A lot of water has passed under the bridge of history in that time. France will have new leadership in a couple of weeks. The DOW has surged to over 13,000. Boris Yeltsin died a few days ago. Rosie O’Donnell is leaving her daytime show. Katie Couric’s ratings are plummeting.

It all reads like the first chapter of Ecclesiastes. Politicians plea for votes. Money changes hands. People die, even famous ones. Celebrities self-destruct. It’s all so timeless.

There’s very little I read about in the news that’s really newsworthy. As Solomon wisely said, he’d seen it all before. So have I.

In Iraq, too, some things remain as they have for the past four years. There’s violence in the streets and innocent people are dying.

Something needs to be done to break the cycle, someone needs to win this war. A week ago Democratic senator Harry Reid gave us all the answer. On the 20th of this month he declared the war in Iraq lost. He tried for a few days to distance himself from the statement, but he couldn’t. He’d said what he said and that was that.

Republicans were furious. Democrats closed ranks. And, al Qaeda felt strengthened.

Now, this is news that really matters. The United States is on notice from its majority party that it’s time to surrender. The war is lost; it’s time to come home. And, they may get their wish.

Why does this matter? It matters for three reasons. First, the Democrats are now mounting a political offensive built on the foundation of capitulation that might well succeed. Second, Usama bin Laden and the terrorists have skillfully manipulated America’s political left to the brink of surrender and find themselves on the cusp of a cataclysmic victory. And third, the Republicans don’t seem to be offering any counter-strategy for victory for the free world.

There are a few exceptions for the Democrats, the most notable being Joe Lieberman. In this morning’s Washington Post he made the following observation about the Democratic Party’s legislative strategy:

“This reaction is dangerously wrong. It reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of both the reality in Iraq and the nature of the enemy we are fighting there.”

About the only counterweight the Republicans have is a presidential veto.

The terrorists must be dancing with glee. Victory indeed seems to be within their grasp.

This couldn’t be happening at a worse time for America. This is deadly serious business. We need to come together, but unfortunately we’re pulling further and further apart. As Israeli peace activist Ami Isseroff noted a couple of months ago:

“Unfortunately, it is equally true that everyone except those in the Bush administration ignores the disastrous consequences of a U.S. defeat in Iraq, not only for the US, but for European countries who depend on Persian Gulf oil, and for Arab allies of the US. The U.S. administration is playing politics with Iraq. They are denying the obvious facts, because the obvious facts are politically catastrophic for the Bush administration. Everyone else is playing politics with Iraq, in the mistaken belief that a U.S. defeat there will somehow give them an advantage. Everyone is working an angle instead of looking for a solution.”

The most frightening thing about all of this is the fact that if we don’t find a solution to this, the terrorists will certainly implement one of their choosing. And, I suspect it will look something like this:

“The problem of Iraq is not insoluble. I promise you that in five years, and if not in five years then in fifty, order will be restored to Iraq, in one way or another. However, the problem cannot be solved by ignoring it or by standing on the sidelines and watching, like spectators at a fire or rubberneckers at a road accident. If the U.S. leaves, then no doubt others will take over. The people of Iraq will live in peace and harmony, enjoying the benefits of a Mukhabarat (secret police) state, probably under the joint protection of Syria and Iran. Nor will this Middle Eastern paradise be confined to Iraq. With the collapse of U.S. influence in Iraq, Syria, Iran and their new-found Iraqi allies will be at liberty to spread their enlightened rule for the benefit of the editors of Daily Star in Beirut, and Al-Jazeera in Doha. As for the U.S. Democrats, they will be able to gloat that $10 a gallon gasoline is the fault of the Republicans.”

If, or when, that happens, I can assure you most solemnly that there won’t be room for elections, stock markets, or obituaries. I suppose there may even be a silver lining to it all. Rosie and Katie won’t be the centers of our collective attention either.

How Long, Oh Lord?

Revelation 22:1-2 (Contemporary English Version)

“The angel showed me a river that was crystal clear, and its waters gave life. The river came from the throne where God and the Lamb were seated. Then it flowed down the middle of the city's main street. On each side of the river are trees that grow a different kind of fruit each month of the year. The fruit gives life, and the leaves are used as medicine to heal the nations.”

This is truly an age of terror for America. The rage and hate in the air are palpable. It’s apparent on our highways as we commute to and from work. It’s apparent on our airwaves and it’s becoming more and more pervasive in our neighborhoods. The smallest perceived slights all too often bring new terms to our lexicon; hence we now have road rage and drive-by’s and father-son sniper teams and gangsta’ rap and shock jocks to deal with as part of our daily lives. Less than ten years ago our schools appeared to be safe. They appeared to be institutions of learning and life, but now our collective memories are filled with names like Columbine, Pearl, Mississippi, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and now Blacksburg, Virginia. So, in this age of terror it’s twelve lives cut short here and thirty-two there. It’s innocent children caught in the crossfire of rival gangs. It’s classrooms bathed in blood.

Of all the frightening components to this arc that has joined one century to another, the most terrifying of all is the power the individual has gained to randomly inflict pain and misery on the many. Some of these individuals have grown up living lives privilege, like Osama bin Laden. Some lived their formative years in America’s suburban cul de sacs. Some spring up from families trying to claim their part in the American dream. They hold one thing in common – rage. It may spring from a real or perceived slight or from a desire to rid the world of infidels. The rationale for the evil is almost always expressed in a crude fatwa or a rambling manifesto.

In the aftermath of the evil we’re trying to make sense of it, but few answers come, and those offered don’t seem to help much. I find no solace in hearing that this latest iteration of evil was just an isolated act, nor do I find any comfort in our feeble attempts to analyze the minds of the killers. The acts are becoming less isolated and more and more commonplace. The actors have acted out their gruesome thoughts and that’s that. I doubt we’ll ever really know why. It’s all so incomprehensible and those upon whom the evil is being inflicted seem so powerless to stop it.

And so in the end we all will find our ways to go on with our lives until the next random act of terror paralyzes us all once again. The cycle of mourning and explanations will follow just as surely. The purveyors of hate will crawl out of the woodwork and picket the mourners. The philosophical lines will be drawn, left versus right. Laws will be enacted; politicians will make promises. Little will change, though. The foundational issues, the issues of the heart which trigger these evil deeds, will remain every bit as constant. As the prophet said, it’s the heart that is deceitful, desperately wicked, and un-knowable.

Yesterday afternoon I spent an hour or so attending a service organization luncheon at Emporia State University. As I approached the Memorial Union I noticed a group of senior citizens gathered at the entrance. I’m not sure why they were there. Some may have been visitors. Some may have been grand-parents of students. Others might have been professors. There were also students scurrying from one place to another, trying to make a class in economics or English composition perhaps, or just making their way to meet a friend at an appointed place. Some looked sullen and downcast. Could a poor result on an exam have triggered that? Some looked joyful. A fellowship or a scholarship offered, possibly? Some appeared to be contemplative. Most appeared to be hurried. I couldn’t tell the good from the bad or the chaff from the wheat. How could one? How could one sort out the ticking time bomb from angel of mercy? There’s no way to tell at first glance.

Our local newspaper asked a day or so whether or not something like the tragic events of Monday could happen here in the Heartland. Most agreed that it probably couldn’t. After all, Emporia is too nice a town and Emporians are too decent a people. I hope and pray that’s true, but I can’t help but think that Blacksburg, Virginia is a nice town and its people are eminently decent too. They didn’t deserve or expect what happened, but it did.

Holy Writ says encourages us not to fear the terror by night nor the arrow that flies by day. I know it’s wise advice, but I find myself still asking the age-old question. “How long, Oh Lord, how long.” At a time when the brutish things seem to command the world’s stage and attention, when the good seems so elusive, I find myself longing for citizenship in that city nestled by the clear, crystal waters. I long for healing and restoration and the time when peace and harmony will be the order of the day. That day will come; I’m certain of that. But, in the light of the events of the past few days it seems so far off.

Bristling With Hostility

“In contemporary American culture, the religions are more and more treated as just passing beliefs – almost as fads, older, stuffier, less liberal versions of so called New Age – rather than as the fundaments upon which the devout build their lives. (The noes have it!) And if religions are fundamental, well too bad – at least they’re the wrong fundaments – if they’re inconvenient, give them up!”

- Stephen Carter – “The Culture of Disbelief” (1993)

There have been a lot of discussions about censorship and free speech over the past few days. Imus is in the national news. Here in Emporia, commentary about Somali refugees on the local newspaper’s internet forum has prompted heated discourse about free speech and its limits.

Free speech is often messy. The lines between decency and filth aren’t always as clear as they were in the Imus case or in the cases of child pornography. Almost all of us know that we don’t have the free speech right to libel another person. We know that we don’t have the right to yell fire in a crowded theatre when there is no fire. But what about the person who publicly calls another a fool? What about the person who says he doesn’t like Somalis? What about the person who says he doesn’t like another’s religion? Should they be censored because they say unpopular things? At what point do we cross a line and censor all thought that’s not in keeping with the current “mainstream?”

I looked back through my archives and found the following piece from August, 2006. I wrote then about a judicial decision that all but censored Prison Fellowship Ministries from the public square. It was subtle; it was legal. But was it right? It seems there’s a great appetite in this country to squelch opinions and beliefs that aren’t considered “mainstream.”
The original essay follows.

Sometimes bad news comes under the radar like the attack on Pearl Harbor. In a June 2, 2006 decision, Robert Pratt, Chief Judge of the Des Moines, Iowa circuit, ruled against Prison Fellowship Ministries in a lawsuit that had been filed against the ministry by Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The net effect of the ruling was to declare Prison Fellowship’s faith based ministry unconstitutional. Judge Pratt has given Prison Fellowship sixty days to vacate its work, pending an almost certain appeal.

Judge Pratt’s primary rationale for the ruling was that:

“The program was “pervasively sectarian,” requiring participants to attend worship services, weekly revivals and religious community meetings. Participating inmates also were ordered to “engage in daily religious devotional practice.”

Barry Lynn, American’s United for Separation of Church and State’s executive director, couldn’t contain his joy over the rendered decision:

“There is no way to interpret this decision as anything but a body blow to so-called faith-based initiatives.”

The decision, if upheld, will have a major impact, there’s no doubt about it. For example, out nation’s prison recidivism rate is, according to Prison Fellowship’s president Mark Early, currently running at fifty percent. With 600,000 inmates being released from prison annually, it means that we can count on 300,000 doing something within three years to merit re-incarceration. The recidivism rate among those inmates who have worked their way through Prison Fellowship’s program is, while it’s still functioning, running at eight to eleven percent. The potential of that number is enormous. Think of it. Prison Fellowship’s number, applied to the current release rate, could mean that thousands fewer former prisoners would find their way back into the prison system. It could also mean that thousands and thousands fewer Americans might become victims of crime.

And this is the kind of decision that Barry Lynn is hailing! Apparently, higher recidivism was a much more favorable outcome in his mind than excoriating a fellow Christian. Its anti-faith bias is much in keeping with the 2000 Santa Fe School Board vs. Doe decision that brought this withering dissent from Chief Justice William Rehnquist:

“The Court distorts existing precedent to conclude that the school district’s student-message program is invalid on its face under the Establishment Clause. But even more disturbing than its holding is the tone of the Court’s opinion; it bristles with hostility to all things religious in public life. Neither the holding nor the tone of the opinion is faithful to the meaning of the Establishment Clause, when it is recalled that George Washington himself, at the request of the very Congress which passed the Bill of Rights, proclaimed a day of “public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.” Presidential Proclamation, 1 Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1789—1897, p. 64 (J. Richardson ed. 1897).”

While I have no doubt that Prison Fellowship will survive this battle, regardless of the outcome of the appeal, I’m troubled by this decision. I read the full transcript of the decision earlier today and I can now see clearly just how hostile our courts and culture are becoming to religion, particularly Evangelical Christianity. Having read the decision I can now see that, beyond the logistics and rationales for recent anti-faith decisions, some within our judiciary and other organizations (Americans United, for example) are using the nation’s courts as a testing ground to decide which religious beliefs are normative and which aren’t. The circuit court in Des Moines made what amounted to a theological decision, enshrining its view of normative religion and subtly declaring that Evangelical Christianity was not in the mainstream of any religion, particularly Christian religion. Lest you think I’m a conspiracy theorist I’ll cite some examples directly from the decision. The first, written early on in the decision follows:

“Throughout this Memorandum and Order, the Court will describe Prison Fellowship and
InnerChange’s theological position, as reflected in its public statements, curriculum, and in practice at the Newton Facility, as Evangelical Christian rather than simply Christian or Non-Denominational Christian.”

About a page later the following judicial opinion was rendered:

“As will be evident from the facts set forth, the religious nature of the InnerChange program is not only distinct from non-Christian religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Native American practices, and Judaism, for example) as well as atheist or agnostic practices, it is also quite distinct from other self-described Christian faiths, such as Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, and Greek Orthodoxy. Evidence shows that the Evangelical Christian message is also distinct from the beliefs held by self-described Protestant Christian denominations such as Lutheran, United Methodist, Episcopalian, and Presbyterian, again, to name only a few.”

What was so egregiously out of the mainstream of current Christian thought? The court cited Prison Fellowship’s statement of faith:

“We believe in one God, Creator and Lord of the Universe; the coeternal Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We believe that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, died a substitutionary atoning death on the cross, rose bodily from the dead, and ascended to heaven where, as truly God and truly man, He is the only mediator between God and man.

“We believe that the Bible is God’s authoritative and inspired Word. It is without error in all its teachings, including creation, history, and its own origins, and salvation. Christians must submit to its divine authority both individually and corporately, in all matters of belief and conduct, which is demonstrated by true righteous living. We believe that all people are lost sinners and cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven except through the new birth. Justification is by grace through faith in Christ alone. We believe in one holy, universal, and apostolic Church. Its calling is to worship God and witness concerning its Head, Jesus Christ, preaching the Gospel among all nations and demonstrating its commitment by compassionate service to the needs of human beings and promoting righteousness and justice.”

“We believe in the necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit for the individual’s new birth and growth to maturity and for the Church’s constant renewal in truth, wisdom, faith, holiness, love, power, and mission. We believe that Jesus Christ will personally and visibly return in glory to raise the dead and bring salvation and judgment to completion. God will fully manifest His Kingdom when He establishes a new heaven and new earth, in which He will be glorified forever and exclude all evil, suffering, and death.”

Once you’ve read the statement of faith I hope you’ll find it eerily reminiscent of statements the Christian Church has made throughout human history, such as the Nicene Creed, which follows:

“I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

But, the court didn’t stop there. It ended with this flourish, which was enough to make what little hair I have on my head stand on end:

“Evangelical Christianity tends to be anti-sacramental, which means it downplays the traditional sacramental Christian events—baptism, holy communion or Eucharist, marriage, ordination, etc.—as appropriate ways to interact or meet with God. Along with initial adult conversion, contemporary Evangelical Christianity emphasizes religious experience—the actual experience of God in the believer’s life. Evangelical Christians, therefore, are receptive to overt, actual displays of this experience much like those manifested in Pentecostal Christianity. Additionally, for Evangelical Christians, everything that happens in the world is understood through and interpreted by religious language. For many Evangelical Christians, the belief in creationism and suspicion of evolutionary theory is also present. Finally, the Evangelical Christian stance toward religious institutions is one of suspicion. This is most obviously seen in the worship style. Whereas traditional, organized religious groups, such as Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox, and Lutherans, employ a structured, highly liturgical style of worship, Evangelical Christian worship is free form with individual pastors given authority to determine how services are planned. For instance, Evangelical Christians have embraced contemporary music forms and multi-media presentations.”

I’m sure that Judge Pratt would insist that he made his decision in the matter based on the merits, and would be able to provide enough legal smokescreens to prove his point. I don’t for a moment believe him, nor do I believe in the good will of Barry Lynn and the folks at Americans United for Separation of Church and State. What the decision says, clearly, is that anyone else who takes their faith as seriously as Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Intelligent Design proponents, and others who actually have the temerity to believe in “actual, overt displays” of faith in the public square will have no standing in this nation’s courts. They’re heretics, living and thinking in direct opposition to the prevailing religion, whatever the courts determine it to be. Not only is the decision rendered by Judge Pratt bristling with hostility, it’s bristling with the kind of theological insanity that could effectively shut religion out of American public life and policy.

Censorship in the Heartland

“If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.”

- Benjamin Franklin

In yesterday’s edition of the Emporia Gazette, Christopher White Walker, the publisher, weighed in on some of the public comments that have been made on the newspaper’s website in the past month or so. This is how he put it:

“We want people to be able to post on The Gazette Web site and have thoughtful discussions on community issues, but using the newspaper’s site to make random attacks on people is not OK.”

“We hope the community realizes that this Web site extends beyond our community and is really a bulletin board to the world. We have posted online news for 10 years and the site is heavily viewed by businesses and people wanting to locate to Emporia as well as people who want to stay in touch with their former home.”

“We have to wonder what kind of impression is left by the negative posts.”

“Our staff is looking into ways of handling the negative posting issue and we hope to bring some balance to the posts.” (emphasis added)

“In the meantime, we hope posters will use some restraint and we encourage positive posters to join in the discussion.”

I’ve read some of the commentary and in fairness to Chris Walker I understand his concern. Quite a bit of what was said was personal and negative. I disagreed with much of it, but to think that the solution to the problem lies in squelching public discourse is, in my view, foolhardy. Censorship, whether it’s imposed from without the newsroom or within, is nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction founded in fear. It does nothing to foster the common good.

The story that activated the sometimes heated discussion was about a Somali woman who recently ran her car into a local restaurant, injuring two men in the process. Some used it as a platform to lash out at the Somali refugees who have relocated here. Others, like me, saw it as a public safety issue. This is the second time in six months that a Somali has run a car into a building. It sure seems to me that we’ve got a public safety problem that cries out for fixing. In addition, we have a growing resentment being expressed by a vocal minority against the Somalis. In a city where median incomes are extremely low, people coming to town from another country to potentially take jobs away from someone else at the bottom of our economic ladder is a regrettable, yet understandable outcome of the short sighted municipal policy the city has pursued for years. The problem of how to assimilate the Somalis into our mainstream isn’t going to go away with the flick of the wrist or denial. The problem is very real and the chickens of benign neglect are starting to come home to roost. Denying that reality or attempting to stuff it into a closet so that it will be hidden from view is a task only a tyrant would take on.

But that’s exactly what Chris Walker’s trying to do. His solution is to ignore the problems because they might give a negative impression of life here in Emporia. He wants to censor out negativity so the bad news doesn’t get past the Taliban vintage tank at exit 130 which guards Emporia from the world outside. It simply won’t work. Does he really think that someone visiting isn’t going to see the payday loan shops, the dilapidated rentals, the closed storefronts? Does he really think visitors won’t be able to feel the tension crackling in the air? Does he really believe that he has the power to change the current reality by denying that it exists? Apparently so, because he now wants to explore ways to “handle” the negative discourse. That’s nothing more than a cleverly disguised euphemism for censorship.

It’s the worst possible response.

Proto-communist Vladimir Lenin once said that “free speech is a bourgeois prejudice.” Everything that followed under communist rule reflected that evil, iron handed worldview. From Lenin to Stalin, from Mao to Pol Pot, communist leaders have squelched dissent and public discourse through fear, intimidation, torture, and murder. The infamous gulags and lobotomies became the preferred instruments of social policy. Anyone who dissented in the communist world was dealt with harshly. The architects of communism claimed that the tactics were necessary to make utopia a reality. The end result was a society built on fear, repression, and millions of deaths.

Tyranny almost always begins with a desire for just outcomes. In its infancy the hallmarks are the cries for bread for the poor, justice for the aggrieved and communal harmony for all. In its maturity it has developed all the mechanisms of tyranny. Dissenters are dispossessed. Free thinkers are lobotomized. Conformity is rewarded. Truth is pulverized. It all begins with one step – squelching the free expression of ideas. Once that’s taken, it’s Katie bar the door.

The answer to our problems here in Emporia lies in bringing them into the light of day, then fixing them. Truth is always better than deception. Free expression for all is always better than monopolized opinion controlled by a few. The city of Emporia doesn’t need folks like Chris Walker sanitizing the news. His views, or the views of his staff, aren’t the only opinions here in town, nor are they necessarily the most valuable. The public here has a right to express itself and nothing Chris Walker says should, or can stop that.

I’m now tempted to give Mr. Walker a layman’s view of the first amendment to our constitution, but I’m not sure it would do much good. I’ll just close with some insights from others who, through history, have valued freedom of expression. Perhaps they can get through to him

“Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground.”
- Frederick Douglas

“All newspaper and journalistic activity is an intellectual brothel from which there is no retreat.”
- Leo Tolstoy

“If the book be false in its facts, disprove them; if false in its reasoning, refute it. But for God's sake, let us hear freely from both sides.”
- Thomas Jefferson

“Censorship can't eliminate evil; it can only kill freedom.”
- Garrison Keillor

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
- George Orwell

“Freedom rings where opinions clash.”
- Adlai Stevenson

“Censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak just because a baby can’t chew it.”

- Mark Twain

Fire and Rain

Hosea 6:2-3 (Contemporary English Version)

“In two or three days He will heal us
And restore our strength that we may live with Him.
Let's do our best to know the LORD.
His coming is as certain as the morning sun;
He will refresh us like rain renewing the earth in the springtime.”

It seems that new opportunities have come in the aftermath of defeat. Since last week’s election I’ve been asked to apply for a seat on the city’s human relations commission. I completed the application and must now wait on the city to approve me or someone else for the vacancy. I’ve also had lots of calls about forming a grass roots coalition, the one I alluded to in my interview with KVOE and the Gazette on election night. I’ve requessted, and gotten, IRS approval to form a collation. Tomorrow I’ll be meeting with Professor Michael Smith at the university to go over the nuts and bolts of forming and growing the Coalition to Advance Reform for All Emporians (C.A.R.E).

My hopes are high!

The wellspring of that hope is my faith. I believe that God wants change, that He wants the best for this city. That’s more than enough to sustain me.

There is a significant revival going on at the church I attend. Attendance at Victory Fellowship Foursquare Church has nearly doubled in the last year. The thing I find amazing is that we’ve become very attractive to the same types of people who were attracted to my city commission campaign – the disillusioned, the disappointed, and the disenfranchised. The fire and the rain are falling!

I’m just about half way through Harvey Cox’s book, “Fire from Heaven.” Professor Cox, who gained fame as one of the proponents of the “God is dead” theology back in the sixties and seventies, has had a change of heart. The source of his hope is the incredible explosion of the Pentecostal movement that began with the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles at the turn of the twentieth century. From that humble beginning a movement that is now a half a billion members strong has swept over the world. Cox believes it rivals the Reformation in its impact.

What is it that’s so attractive about this movement to so many? Cox put it this way:

“As I have pondered these questions from a more pedestrian perspective, it has occurred to me that there is also another way to think about why the movement has had such a widespread appeal. It has succeeded because it has spoken to the spiritual emptiness of our time by reaching beyond the levels of creed and ceremony into the core of human religiousness, into what might be called ‘primal spirituality,’ that largely unprocessed nucleus of the psyche in which the unending struggle for a sense of purpose and significance goes on.”

In laymen’s terms, the Pentecostal movement, in its multitudes of expressions, has hit a central nerve in the disillusioned, the disappointed, and the disenfranchised. It’s a movement filled with life and expectancy, shaking the status quo. This movement of the neglected subculture has had a profound impact on the sociology, politics, and spirituality of the United States, Latin America, South America, Africa, Russia, and Asia. Yet, as Cox noted, there is no memorial, no great cathedral, no man-made marker acknowledging its Azusa Street roots:

“A carved plaque with an occasional bouquet of cut roses is hardly the memorial those early saints would have wanted. Instead, the Azusa street memorial is something they could never have foreseen. It is a spiritual hurricane that has touched nearly half a billion people and an alternative vision of the human future whose impact may only be in its early stages today.”

The movement is not without its problems. Here in America the biggest of all has been gaining too much respectability.

In its formative stages Pentecostalism was attacked because it embraced racial harmony and integration. It was also derided because its practitioners spoke in tongues, danced, and prophesied. Respectable folk called them “holy rollers.” Religious scholars called them un-learned, or ignorant. Things are different nowadays. Success has, in some cases, led parts of the Pentecostal movement from being a vibrant subculture to becoming a sadly stagnant branch of the mainstream they’d left a century earlier.

This is much like politics in America. Actually, it’s even closer to home. It’s much like the politics here in America’s heartland. The status quo has been acceptable here for some time and we now bear the scars purchased by that benign neglect. There’s a lot of suffering going on here in idyllic Kansas. The politicians and the city fathers can deny it all they want, but the signs are everywhere.

But, while the powerful and influential deny the reality, a new, living reality is emerging to contest the status quo. The dry bones are beginning to rattle. In time there will be sinew and flesh rising from the ranks of the disillusioned, disenfranchised, and disappointed. The fires of spiritual and social revival here in Emporia have been kindled. The waters of refreshing have spilled over the banks. The current reality is not enough to satisfy. To paraphrase Dr. King, “We won’t settle any longer for the stale bread of the status quo we’ve been fed, nor will we be satisfied with the spoiled meat of benign neglect.” The time for change has come!

Grassroots!

“I am entirely persuaded that the agitations of the public mind advance its powers, and that at every vibration between the points of liberty and despotism, something will be gained for the former. As men become better informed, their rulers must respect them the more.”

- Thomas Jefferson

The 2007 city commission race here in Emporia is over. Bobbie Agler, Jeff Longbine, and Kevin Nelson are our commissioners elect. The Gazette put it this way:

“Emporia voters ventured into the “northwest territory” Tuesday, electing Bobbie Agler, Jeff Longbine and Kevin Nelson to the Emporia City Commission. All three men are businessmen who live in northwestern Emporia.”

That says a lot about our state of local affairs.

I wish them well. I’m ready to support them and I’m also fully prepared to challenge them. The issues that brought me into this campaign a year ago haven’t magically disappeared since yesterday’s election. There’s much work to be done. The twin issues of high poverty and slum lords haven’t gone away. Our property taxes are excessive, and still climbing. Economic development is still as stagnant today as it was yesterday and businesses are still leaving. Payday loan shops are beginning to dominate the downtown corridor. There’s every bit as much disillusionment today as there was yesterday.

Jeff O’Dell from KVOE News asked me if I was going to run in the next election, which is about a year and a half away. I told him that I’m going to hold my options open in the long term. In the short term I’m going to begin developing a grassroots coalition of the disillusioned, disappointed, and disenfranchised. Last night’s turnout was only 20%. As I watched the incoming results with other candidates the most frequent comments revolved around that disheartening number. Most said they just didn’t understand it. I told everyone that while I couldn’t justify the low turnout, I could understand it. When people feel that their voices aren’t being heard and that the interests of one part of the community have a stranglehold on power, they just tune out. They’d like to see change, but they’ve been through this so many times it’s become difficult to either believe that change is possible or that there’s even hope for something better. To them, Bette Midler’s words, “Why bother,” ring alarmingly true. That’s the reality of Emporia right now; the numbers bear that sad truth out.

So, where to from here? The practical logistics of this coalition of the disillusioned, disappointed, and disenfranchised must now follow. First, it means working on voter registration, particularly in the Hispanic community, which is grossly under-represented. It’s going to take a massive, grassroots effort to make that a reality. Second, it means developing slates of reform candidates. If the Chamber of Commerce, the powerfully connected, and the business community can put forth slates of approved candidates, so can the disenfranchised and disillusioned. Third, it means keeping the issues that matter before the public. One of the things I’m proudest of in the campaign was the fact that I was the voice for change in this city and brought the issues into the light. That effort will continue. Fourth, it means descending on city hall in two ways. First, there is a need to get people in front of the commissioners. I still have vivid memories of the day the commissioners were considering eliminating the taxi subsidy for elderly, disabled, and poor. The sight of people pushing walkers, carrying oxygen bottles, and pleading their collective case stood in such stark contrast to the powerful, who seemed all to willing to consider abandoning them at a time of need. The only thing that changed that was a massive public outcry. We need much more of that now. The second mechanism is public petition. We have the right to petition our government that right needs to be exercised. Among the issues that need to be looked at is the funding of the Regional Development Authority and a full internal audit of the city’s financial records over the past ten years. There are questions that need to be raised. Why is it that, when city departments plead with the commission to prosecute slum lords, that the request was deferred time and time again? Why does funding for the Regional Development Authority, which now gets a quarter of a million taxpayer dollars a year and yet hasn’t brought a business into Emporia in close to ten years, supersede pay raises for public safety personnel?

This much and more needs to be done from a grassroots level. City government here in Emporia has not been responsive to its citizens. We must now make it responsive.

You may be wondering about the portrait used in the introduction to this post. The man portrayed is William Wilberforce, one of Britain’s greatest statesmen. He was elected to parliament in his youth during the eighteenth century and fought for close to fifty years to eradicate the scourge of slavery from the British Empire. It took him twenty-two years to convince parliament to outlaw the transport of slaves to the New World and another quarter of a century to outlaw slavery in the British Empire altogether. Almost fifty years! He was often vilified as an religious zealot or branded as a traitor. There must have been times when Wilberforce felt like the village idiot. There must have been times when he felt like surrendering to the status quo. I suspect if he’d been a Roman Catholic instead of an Evangelical he might have become the patron saint of lost causes instead of St. Jude. But, he persevered. He believed in the rightness of his cause and refused to give in. In the end he won, and the world is immeasurably better for his effort

The issues here in Emporia may not seem as momentous as those of Wilberforce’s day, but the issues that I’ve raised are, in their own way, parallels. Wilberforce refused to surrender to the status quo, and I won’t either. I’m not sure if I have two generations of life left to me, but I intend to use whatever time I do have to fight for those things I believe are right. The causes are too important for me to just shrink away like some potted plant. I came into this battle for the long haul and it now appears that it will indeed be a long, uphill fight for the right. So, the engagement, the dialogue, the door to door canvassing, the voter registration, the challenging, the listening, the organizing, and petitioning now begin.

I’ll see you on the front lines!

Who's Really Doing the Spinning?

“A politician is an animal which can sit on a fence and yet keep both ears to the ground.”

- H.L Mencken

The Emporia city commission race is just about over. The election will be held this next Tuesday.

I spent a bit of time today putting up signs in locations where some mischievous soul has been taking them down about as fast as I can get them planted in the ground. I’ve found it quite amusing. I lived for a while near Chicago where folks deceased for fifty years or more still vote. In Massachusetts where I grew up the slogan has always been, “Vote early, vote often.” Here in the “Heartland” folks pilfer the opposition’s signs.

Since Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, Rasmussen, and Opinion Dynamics don’t poll in our election I have no idea about the outcome. The one thing I do know is that the issues won’t magically disappear the day after the election.

Steve Sauder, our local media magnate, endorsed two candidates this past week. He stopped short of endorsing a third, but did say that I was the politician in the group, a guy who only says the things people like to hear for personal political benefit. Just about everyone I’ve talked to says that his insults amount to a supreme compliment. I suspect, then, that his rhetoric may have me on the road to sainthood.

For the past three nights there’s been some gunplay in our neighborhood. We call, the police come, and the perpetrators disappear into the night. The police understand that there is something going on, possibly a turf rivalry or some sort of a dispute over a bad loan. They’re hoping to catch them by the weekend.

I’m sure I’ll be accused of pandering by some in this race or others with vested interest in its outcome for even mentioning the gunfire. Their logic probably goes something like this, “Since it’s not happening in my neighborhood, it’s not happening at all.” That’s the sort of twisted A form proposition politicians have hoodwinked the good people of Emporia with for some time. Aristotle is probably turning over in his grave. I’m tempted not to report the shooting at all. If I give it some time it will in all likelihood migrate over to their neighborhoods and then we’ll get a real political response.

I sent one last pre-election letter to the Gazette. I hope it gets published, but in case it doesn’t I’m asking that those who read and agree disseminate it far and wide.

The City Commission election is less than a week away. I’m proud of the campaign I’ve run.

I especially want to express my heartfelt thanks to those who’ve supported me financially or shared encouraging words, fresh ideas, and for their prayers. I’ll always treasure that!

I’ve outlined the issues this city faces because I care deeply. Some have said I’m the consummate politician, spinning for electoral benefit. Nothing could be further from the truth. The issues we face are very real, not spin. There are over 5,000 of us living in poverty. That’s reality, not spin! Our property taxes are excessive, and still climbing. That’s reality, not spin! Businesses are leaving Emporia and our median household incomes are 27% below the Kansas average. That’s reality, not spin! Slum lords are profiting at the expense of Emporians living on the economic margins. That’s reality, not spin! Hispanics represent 22% of our population but less than 10% vote because they feel disenfranchised. That’s reality, not spin!

This city will never get from where we are to the bright promise the 21st century holds for us unless we accept the facts we currently face. That’s reality, not spin!

I’ve campaigned for a seat on the city commission because I love the people of Emporia. I have an abiding faith in their goodness and the goodness of the God who made them. I’m convinced that with servant leadership the citizens of this good city will respond to the current challenge and embrace the hope that’s set before them.

That’s why I’m running. I believe the time for a change of direction has come!

I’m asking for your vote on April 3rd so that I can partner with you to be a voice for change, energy, and a brighter future.

With Warm Regards



Phil Dillon

A Time to Butt Heads

“Hang on tight, spur hard, and let ‘er buck.”

- Cowboy Proverb

The various candidate forums will be held over the next couple of weeks. It’s time to butt heads. More appropriately, it’s time to butt heads without being butt heads.

I’ve had several conversations lately with folks who want to know what I would do about “them” if I’m elected to the city commission. It’s a question that’s framed to take me through a political minefield. Without actually saying it, the questioners are asking what I would do about the growing number of Hispanics, some of whom are here illegally, who work for some of this town’s manufacturers. If I’m so pro-development, the reasoning goes, I must surely be for getting rid of “them.” So, if I support “them,” I must be against economic development.

This is my position. I’m pro security! I’m pro immigration! First, as a city commissioner I would have no power to build a two thousand mile fence stretching from Texas to California. If it were in my power to deal with our borders I believe we can find, as America has in the past, a much saner, just, and cost effective method of fixing the problem. As for Emporia, I have absolutely no desire to support building a wall around this city to keep “them” out.

It’s been said so often now that it’s become a rallying cry for the world’s huddled masses. This is a nation of immigrants. I’m a first generation American myself. The Pilgrims, many of whom were escaping religious persecution, were immigrants here in the seventeenth century and their children were first generation Americans themselves. So were the Dutch who settled New York. The Irish came here to escape the Potato Famine and built our railroads, with the help of Chinese immigrants. The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell, a Scottish immigrant. The great physicist Albert Einstein was an immigrant from Germany. And who hasn’t delighted to the music of Irving Berlin, a Russian immigrant.

I have a firm belief that the majority of immigrants escaping the poverty of Mexico and Central America want to be a vibrant part of that great tradition. I also have the firm belief that this country can solve the illegal immigration problem without descending into demagoguery. That’s my position. If it loses me votes, so be it.

I have other positions as well. I outlined them for the Gazette and they’ll be published sometime next week. They follow, unedited.




Candidate Profile/Political Positions


Name: Phil Dillon
Age: 64
Occupation: Very actively retired from FedEx (Logistics)
Education: Bachelor of Arts (Communications/Linguistics)
Master of Arts (Biblical Theology)
Personal: Married to my wife Nancy for twenty years. Three children (Jarrod, Beth, Michael), three grandchildren (Ashley, Joshua, Rebeccah). Member of Emporia Lions Club (second vice-president), elected to pastor’s advisory council (Victory Fellowship), writer, community activist.

1. Why are you running for this office?

This city needs responsible, servant leadership, committed to serving all Emporians. Our current leadership has given us high taxes, high poverty rates, businesses leaving, slum lords profiting, and economic decline. I’m committed to reversing that course, revitalizing downtown and bringing 21st century jobs paying 21st century wages to Emporia.

2. If you’re elected, what are your goals?

Give our police officers and firefighters a three to five percent raise
Decrease the city’s portion of the mill levy by 8 to 10 mills in the short term and by 20 mills in the long term.
Actively enforce livability codes
Decrease the administrative cost of city government by 25%.
Revitalize downtown.
Increase median household incomes in Emporia by 20% by bringing in 21st century jobs paying 21st century wages.

3. How will the city commission be better with you as a member?

First, the professional model I worked under for seventeen years at FedEx was the servant-leader. In practice that meant that organizational charts were inverted, with managers serving front-line employees who in turn served FedEx’s customers. That model has made FedEx one of the most successful and admired business enterprises in the world. Second, I have the professional results. I took a high cost logistics operation on the east coast and reduced inventory investments by over $4,000,000 and increased service to FedEx’s customers from 65% to 98% on time. My career was filled with examples like that.

4. What do you think is the biggest issue facing the city and how would you resolve it?

The biggest issue facing Emporia is economic decline. Our median household incomes are 27% below the Kansas average and 37% below the national average. Our poverty rate is a staggering 17.9%! Businesses and jobs are leaving Emporia. This vicious cycle must be broken. It begins with tax policy. The city must immediately reduce its portion of the mill levy by 8 to 10 mills and set an intermediate goal of reducing the levy by another 10 to 12 mills. This can be done through sound management, consolidations within administrative departments, and fiscal discipline. We must also use the available seed capital in the industrial development account and the sale of Lake Kahola wisely to support educational opportunity scholarships, parks, infrastructure, 21st century business ventures and 21st century jobs. This is the pro-development, pro-taxpayer approach that will increase median household incomes, decrease poverty, and revitalize this city. Some say this approach is too ambitious, that Emporia doesn’t have the skill-sets necessary. I don’t believe that! We have a great university and technical college. We’ve got decent, hard working people. Emporia can again be a truly first class city. We need to change direction and begin the long march forward.

5. What should the city commission’s priorities be when it plans a budget?

The primary role of city leadership is to be servants and this ethic should be reflected in the budgeting process. The priority should be service. The outcome of that process should be a budget that is lean, efficient, and provides the services all its citizens pay for. This model would go a long way toward regaining the trust and good will of Emporia’s citizens.

6. Looking to the future, what are three things you’d like to see happen in the city commission?

First, I’d like to see property taxes decreasing. Second, I’d like to see economic and cultural revitalization, borne of a vibrant partnership between the city, our institutions of higher learning, civic groups, churches, religious organizations, economic and commercial developers. Third, I have a dream that Emporians now living on the economic margins will one day be able to claim their share of the American dream and become stake holders in the 21st century ownership society.

St. Patrick's Day in the Heartland

I took Nancy’s brother James downtown this afternoon to watch Emporia’s version of the St. Patrick’s Day parade. As it is every year it amounted to about 10 pickup trucks draped in Kelley green crepe paper and a few motorcycles. There were a few bagpipes, which, according to Irish legend, were given to the Scotch as revenge. Two of the commission candidates, Tom Myers and Jesse Solis, made their appearances. I’d thought about joining the parade myself, but felt that it wouldn’t have been proper for me to celebrate Ireland’s patron saint by politicking.

I just read Scott Rochat’s piece in the Gazette about the day. A few struck me as particularly appropriate:

“Everywhere you go, it’s quite easy being green. People wear green shirts, or sport green buttons, or even drink green beer. Oh, yes, there’s a vague memory of some man named Patrick who threw the snakes out of Ireland (would he mind visiting Washington)?”

About the only words missing were, “Would he mind visiting Emporia too?”

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to one and all! Hoist a pint of the bitters and enjoy being a member of one of the great fraternities in the world!

Voodoo Economics, Emporia Style

“The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets.”

- Will Rogers

In just about any forum during this election season Emporians have had questions about basic services. Some ask, “Why can’t we get our streets plowed when it snows?” Others ask, “Why do we have so many stray dogs roaming the streets?” There are lots of questions. “Why can’t firemen and policemen get merit raises?” “Why aren’t livability codes enforced?” The questions go on and on. In each case the response of the incumbents like Bobbie Agler and Tom Myers as well as newcomers like Kevin Nelson and Jeff Longbine is, “If the people of Emporia want these things they need to realize that there will be an increased cost for municipal government to provide them.” In layman’s terms, stripped of political nicety, it means HIGHER TAXES!

I strongly disagree with that general assumption. In fact, I believe that one of the first things the city of Emporia needs to do to generate revenue is to LOWER TAXES on both residential and commercial interests!

Back in the eighties people laughed Ronald Reagan to scorn when he said that as President he would lower taxes. After two terms in office, with taxes cut and government revenues actually increasing, “Dutch” had the last laugh.

You’d think that the message would have gotten through here in thoroughly Republican Emporia by now. But, about as creative as some candidates can get is, “Open your wallets and I’ll give you all you want.” In the eighties Reaganomics (or supply side economics) was derided as “voodoo economics.” When I see Emporia’s current reality, with the rattling of the municipal saber of improved services equals increased taxes, I realize what “voodoo economics” is really all about. That’s Emporia’s current reality.

I believe the people of this good city have had enough of the zero sum games the city is playing. They’ve had enough of the high taxes. Many are voting with their feet, leaving town. Our median household incomes and high poverty rates are proof of that. I’ve talked to Emporians who say they’re now ready to leave, that they’ve had enough. I read almost daily of businesses that would like to expand here, but must go elsewhere because the high taxes have bled much of the disposable income from purchasers of goods and services. That must change, and it must change soon!

Some economists say that it’s almost impossible to craft a Laffer curve for a local government. I can tell you what the people of Emporia know all too well. We’re being taxed well beyond the prohibitive range indicated in my introductory graphic. In fact, if there were a place in the graphic for an obscene scale, Emporia’s current tax model would be in that range. Hence, the city is in a downward economic spiral caused in good part by an upward spiral in taxes. This needs to be reversed!

Reducing taxes is the right thing to do. As economists Thomas A. Garrett and John C. Leatherman have noted:

“Because of the inverse relationship between tax rates and tax bases, generating additional revenues may not always be obtained by simply increasing tax rates. A continual increase in tax rates by state and local officials may not guarantee an increase in tax revenues - beyond some point tax rate revenues will actually begin to fall. Thus, within the context of the Leviathan view of government, although governments will attempt to generate as much revenue as possible, additional revenue is not always had by a simple increase in the tax rate.”

To keep increasing taxes and expecting improvement in this city’s economic condition is foolhardy. It’s nothing more than voodoo economics. We can and must do better!

Education - The Key to the Door of the 21st Century

“All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.”

- Aristotle

I spent part of the morning visiting with some of the members of our local Rotary Club. Like the Lions Club, which I’m a member of, their ideal is service. Over the years the Lions has done significant work on issues dealing with sight, including river blindness, sight partnerships, cataract surgeries, eyeglass recycling, and so forth. Currently, Lions is embarking on an ambitious program called Sight First II, aimed at raising $150,000,000 to continue the work already begun on the issues I just outlined. Rotary, our sister service organization, has done Herculean work on eradicating polio. And, like Lions, they have fostered good will, fellowship, and cultural understanding not only here in Emporia, but around the world. I’m proud to be a Lion and I’m sure that the members of Rotary are proud of their work of service as well.

This morning’s presentation was done by Jim Harter, Emporia State University’s Vice-President of the International Education. One of the highlights of his presentation was the growth in international programs here in Emporia, including increases in the number of international students and increases in the number of sister programs springing up in countries around the world. It’s a very healthy development.

After the presentation, Mike Helbert, one of Rotary’s local leaders, asked how I, as a candidate, felt about the city’s role in supporting Emporia State University. I told him that I believed that municipal support for the university’s efforts here is absolutely critical. In previous posts I’ve outlined in detail our current problems – low median incomes, high taxes, high poverty rates, businesses leaving. One of the keys to improvement and economic and cultural revival for this city is higher education. It’s the key to the door of the 21st century.

I’ve been talking to whoever in town will listen about the 21st century economy, 21st jobs, and 21st century wages. At least one of the incumbents has said that we don’t have the skill-sets for that type of economy. I refuse to believe that. We have two top notch schools here – Emporia State University and Flint Hills Technical College. The University has a plan to expand its student base by a couple of thousand over the next few years. I’d like a lot of them to be Emporians. I’d like to assist Emporians who have, for economic or social reasons, been locked out of higher education. I’d like to see a new generation of Hispanics and other minorities become the human fuel for this city’s revitalization.

How can that be done? After all, the city seems to be broke. Here’s how. Right now there are over a million dollars available in an account for industrial development. The city of Emporia needs to find a way to invest a portion of those dollars now laying fallow into educational opportunity grants for needy students. Tie those grants into a commitment for the students to become entrepreneurs here at home. It’s the same sort of thing that rural communities do to bring medical professionals into their towns. Why not do the same for information technology entrepreneurs or those wanting to develop a bio-fuels cooperative or some other sort of 21st century startup venture?

For too long now the city has focused on the manufacturing sector, which has been relocating off-shore in order to compete in the new global economy. That has meant less jobs available in that sector in the United States and lower wages for those who stay. The amazing growth in our economy has been in the sector economists call “knowledge based.” Right now, that sector represents 34% of America’s jobs, and it also represents a remarkable increase in wages for those working in that sector. America’s future lies in bio-tech, bio-sciences, bio-fuels, information technology and new industries that have not yet even sprung up.

Some in the current leadership will argue that such an ambitious endeavor will require new taxes. I disagree. More on that tomorrow.

Stop the Municipal Insanity!

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

- Benjamin Franklin

One of the sad symptoms of economic decay here in Emporia, Kansas is the emergence of “payday lenders.” One of my morning routes takes me from my house, through downtown, and then along Sixth Avenue and Merchant Street to Prairie Street, which is about two miles from downtown. As I do, the payday lenders are the most prominent business ventures I see. There are five of them, and another one or two over on Industrial Road, which is the “growth” area here in town. They, along with the four pawnshops in the downtown area reveal the decline that has taken place. Anyone can see them and realize that something is wrong. Unfortunately, our city fathers must not be doing much walking these days, because they say everything here is fine.

I’ve been saying since the early days of my campaign that we need change here in Emporia, Kansas. We’ve got low median household incomes, high poverty, low wages, high taxes, low voter turnout, and businesses leaving town. The pawnshops and payday loan businesses aren’t there because this city is in the midst of an economic revival. The reason they’re gaining is a foothold is that a significant number of Emporians can’t make ends meet and put themselves at the mercy of predatory lenders. As I mention these things the incumbents cast me as being negative and anti-Emporia.

There’s not a lick of truth in what they say.

In a meeting with firefighters earlier this week commissioner Tom Myers said that Emporia doesn’t have the skill-sets for a 21st century economy. I told the firefighters that I didn’t believe that for a millisecond. Emporians are hard working, intelligent, decent people. They’re eminently trainable. In fact, I believe that the 21st century economy is there for Emporia’s taking. We’ve got the skill-sets and work ethic to get the job done. We’ve got a great university and a great technical college.

Who, then, under these circumstances, is really anti-Emporia? Who is being negative?

There’s only one reason Emporia is not succeeding. It’s inertia in our municipal government. Emporia can once again be a flourishing, first class city. This is the same city that once was proud to say it had an opera house (it sat about a half block from where a payday loan shop now sits). Just a generation ago Emporia’s downtown was vibrant. With a change of direction it can once again be a commercial and cultural star. And, it can be done without competing with development in other parts of the city.

In the weekend edition of the Emporia Gazette, Bobbi Mlynar did a feature on Ottawa, Kansas, which is about fifty miles north of us. Ottawa is in the midst of an economic boom and some Emporians are cashing in. Rather than growing their businesses here, they’re moving up the highway. Why? Simply put, the business environment here in Emporia is prohibitive. People don’t have disposable income and business taxes are high. Jerry McCalla, an Emporia businessman, put his decision to purchase an extension of his business in Ottawa this way:

“McCalla saw the purchase as an opportunity.”

“...(T)hat’s a going, good business in an area that’s growing,” McCalla said. “With everything that’s going in that community, that area will have to grow.”

“So, it was just a matter of here we are losing people in Emporia and they’re gaining companies that are 300 and 500 people they’ll be bringing to town.”

Some have said that I’m an anti-retail, anti-business candidate. It’s simply not true. An anti-retail, anti business candidate wouldn’t recommend lowering the tax levy on Emporians. I have and will continue to do so! An anti-retail, anti-business candidate wouldn’t care about the economic plight of Emporians living on low incomes. I do care about Emporia’s working class. I want them to succeed and the 21st century economy is the place they can. I want to adance educational opportunity. I want retail to succeed here in Emporia and in order for that to happen we must find our way into the new economy, bring jobs that will increase our median household incomes, and reduce the high level of poverty that is the sad truth of Emporia today.

When it comes right down to it, I’m the one candidate in this race that is pro-business, pro-retail, pro-growth, and pro-Emporia. We can succeed! I’m convinced of it. All we need to do is change course and abandon the insanity that has brought us to where we are!

Fire Sale

“If we keep doing what we're doing, we're going to keep getting what we're getting.”

- Steven Covey

Earlier in the week a prominent Emporian took a sideswipe at my campaign. That’s a good sign; it means that my message of Community, Opportunity, Responsibility is taking hold and hitting the mark. In a morning radio spot he said that there’s a commission candidate who “likes to talk about our low incomes and 21st century jobs.” He was only half right. I do talk about our low incomes and the need for 21st century jobs. But, I don’t really “like” to talk about it. I just believe that we have to face the facts and change direction.

In the course of his discussion he also said that we should all “shop Emporia first.” I agree with him there. In fact, that’s one area where my wife Nancy and I put our money where are mouths are. The folks at Sears know this to be true. We recently purchased a large number of appliances there for her mother’s house. The folks at Hill’s Appliance also know this is true. We just purchased a dishwasher there. I’ve purchased jewelry at Stanley’s in downtown Emporia. I buy books at the Town Crier and groceries at Reeble’s Country Mart. The centerpiece of our living room is an electronic grand piano, an anniversary gift for my wife, which I purchased at Flint Hills Music. When Nancy’s not looking I sneak an occasional donut at Willard’s Daylight Donuts or a piece of fudge at the Sweet Granada. When I need a special gift I’m know to frequent Madelynn’s or the Sunflower Nook (which will unfortunately soon close its doors). We also contribute to city projects like the Granada Theatre Alliance, Emporia State University, the Rescue Mission, and our church.

My detractor also said that we need to focus on retail here in Emporia. While I think it needs attention as part of an overall strategy, I don’t believe it should be our main focus. What we need is an infusion of business capital and disposable income. Right now our median household incomes here in Emporia are about the lowest in Kansas ($30,000). That’s twenty-seven percent lower than the Kansas average and thirty-seven percent lower than the national average. Our poverty rates here are five to seven percent higher than the state and national averages. The sad truth is that there isn’t enough disposable incomer in Emporia right now to support the retail first strategy. That’s why we need to focus on 21st century jobs paying 21st century wages.

I walked through downtown Emporia yesterday and this is what I saw. Outfitters, a clothing store, has closed its doors. A block or so from there a hospice support business has ceased its operations. This is all part of a trend. I went to the Flint Hills Mall last night and saw that there are three or for storefronts with “for lease” signs prominently displayed. The fact is, businesses, particularly small businesses, are having a great deal of difficulty succeeding because of the toxic combination of the limited number of disposable dollars available and the extremely high business taxes here. Our residential mill levy is obscene enough. The business levy is twice as obscene as that. A small business with a valuation of $125,000 pays about $5,000 in taxes each year. The 2007 increase on that valuation means an increase of another $500 per year. That number doubles for a business valued at $250,000. The city seems to think that businesses can just keep absorbing the skyrocketing taxes. The truth is, businesses are now frantically trying to sell just to keep pace with the taxes. For example, a business selling a $50 widget or a restaurant selling a $50 meal operating on a margin of 7% would have to sell up to twenty-five additional widgets or meals a month just to keep pace with the taxes. Given that, it’s no wonder that businesses are leaving or failing. It’s the inevitable outcome of bad city policy. If we keep doing what we’re currently doing the final stage of the downfall will be the fire sale. I do not want that!

The way forward is difficult. There’s no doubt about it. But, it can be done. In the early sixties we were miles behind the Soviets in the space race. With each launch failure it appeared we were destined to lose. In the middle of this succession of failures, President John Kennedy committed the nation to landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth by the end of the 1960s. It seemed impossible at the beginning of our national march, but history records that two Americans, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, walked on the moon in 1969!

Fixing Emporia’s problems won’t be easy, but I’m convinced we have the intellectual, moral, and spiritual firepower power to begin our long march. I believe that by the end of the first decade of the 21st century Emporia can be a truly first class Kansas city!. But, in order to do that we must change course. As Steven Covey said, “If we keep doing what we're doing, we're going to keep getting what we're getting.”

Denial is Not an Option

“It’s not easy to steal where the slumlord is a thief.”

- Irish Proverb

This past Wednesday I had a brief conversation with a young man at Emporia State University. He began our dialogue by telling me that my position on enforcing city livability codes was all wrong. “Let the market fix that problem,” he said. Government should have nothing to do with it. If people living in those circumstances work hard they’ll overcome their problems. I’ve worked hard to get where I am in life, and so can they.”

When I hear statements like that I become firmer in my conviction that denial is no longer an option for Emporia, Kansas

The implication of his statement was that my position against this city’s slum lords is tantamount to being against free market capitalism. Nothing could be further from the truth!

While my education was in communications, linguistics, and theology, I’ve also read the works of some great economists. I’ve read Adam Smith, F.A. Hayek, Daniel Pipes, Thomas Sowell, and, most recently, Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto. I’m a passionate advocate for free market capitalism. Like Hayek, I believe that the surest way to serfdom and economic slavery is socialism.

So, does my advocacy of free market capitalism mean that I also believe that government has no role to play in this complex economic dance? No! The city of Emporia has a right and an obligation to act. In fact, the city’s laissez-faire attitude on slum lords has produced the unseemly status quo we now have. The slum lords profit at the expense of Emporians living on the economic margins, the renters live in squalor, and the rest of us pay in high taxes. That’s not 21st century capitalism. It’s the laissez-faire capitalism that gave the world the great depression in the 1920’s. It’s the laissez-faire capitalism that cost millions of Irish lives during the Great Potato Famine of the nineteenth century. It’s the kind of laissez-faire capitalism that condoned slavery in America because of the economic benefits slave owners reaped at the expense of another human being bound in chains.

None of the economists I’ve read have ever suggested that government has no role to play in the economics and sociology of our nation or its states and local municipalities. None has ever suggested that government doesn’t have a role to play when an economy is in free fall. None has ever suggested that an economic policy of benign neglect in the face of millions of needless deaths is sound. None has ever suggested we return to involuntary servitude because of its economic benefits.

This is what free market economist F.A. Hayek said in 1944 about the false choice laissez-faire advocates present:

“The question whether the state should or should not “act” or “interfere” poses an altogether false alternative, and the term “laissez-faire” is a highly ambiguous and misleading description of the principles on which liberal economic policy is based.”

There are times when government has a responsibility to act and one of the tools at its disposal is policy. That’s what livability codes here in Emporia are supposed to be about. If enforced, they don’t inhibit fair, free enterprise. They address a problem.

At the root here in Emporia we have a human problem. Look at the photograph I used in my introduction and ask yourself whether or not you’d live in something like that. Ask yourself whether or not you’d want someone to intervene on your behalf if you were living in such conditions.

Sometimes it’s not enough to simply say “Work your way out of your situation.” There are times when the leverage of public policy is required so that the long trek up the rungs of our economic ladder can begin. The situation with slum lords here in Emporia, Kansas is one of them. The city must act, and if I’m elected to the commission I intend to do my part in that regard!