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| Deb Harley sang as the audience arrives. |
A dramatic and charismatic sixty-something man with a big smile and a fiery big heart pinned to his sleeve, Lerner began his talk on February 15th, by moving his podium closer to the audience so he could be a part of the group. Why, he asked them, have people embraced fundamentalism when it actually goes against their own economic interest? It’s Lerner’s belief that it is only right-wing churches, synagogues and mosques that offer them spiritual relief from the materialism surrounding them. He is convinced that members of what he calls the secular Left are elitist and have driven decent people who crave meaning in their lives into the homophobic right wing of America. "We need a new definition of productivity, efficiency and rationality in America not judged by money or power, but by kindness, love and generosity."
He told Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Buddhists and "non-religious spiritual people" gathered at St. Joan’s that this doesn’t mean going back on principles, but it does mean developing an approach to the religious right which affirms human values we all have in common. His new book, "The Left Hand of God: Taking Our Country Back from the Religious Right" outlines the strategy, and he expects a new movement, The Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP), to carry out the plans.
In the early 1980’s, Lerner helped found the Institute for Labor and Mental Health dedicated to dealing with the mental health issues of working people. He conducted a multi-million dollar research project involving over 10,000 people which focused on work and family life. He found that most people felt trapped in a dog-eat-dog world where they needed to use and abuse people to get ahead. They had few if any friends because they felt no one was "there" for them, and they traded relationships for personal material gain.
But they also felt guilt about these things. "They felt dirty being part of this world," Lerner says. And they turned to religion. Unfortunately, the only religions which welcomed them espoused a right-wing philosophy that blamed and still blames the spiritual crisis on "demeaned others." Two generations ago the demeaned others were Jews in Germany; today the scapegoats are gays, lesbians, immigrants and, yes, liberals and the media. Lerner’s eight step program from his book aims to help people struggling to find a spiritual life discover a better existence based on love and kindness.
Rabbi Michael Lerner has spent much of his adult life defining this ethic. A Jewish scholar who focused on ethical theory while leading the Students for a Democratic Society at Berkeley, he was later sent to prison for inciting an anti-war riot in Seattle. (The conviction was later overturned.) In the years after this, he struggled to build Jewish institutions which embodied both a commitment to social justice and a deep involvement with Jewish learning. His research at the Institute for Labor and Mental Health convinced him that liberal and progressive forces would never be able to actualize their vision until they could address the spiritual crises in most American lives.
Lerner founded Tikkun, a movement and magazine dedicated to rectifying global poverty and addressing the spiritual crisis brought about by materialism and selfishness. Admirer and writer Andrew Cohen says he is "a combination of radical and uncompromising politics and the profound common sense of deep humanism, all grounded in a passionate and inspired spirituality." On the other hand, he has been criticized by many in the Jewish community for taking a stand in favor of the rights of Palestinians and for his "positive Judaism" which promotes religious pluralism. In making it clear that he understands the spiritual needs of right-wing fundamentalists, he also has been chastised by the secular Left which assumes he is compromising his liberal principles. He counters by saying people have a spiritual hunger for meaning, and many Americans have a desire to transcend the individualism and selfishness of the competitive marketplace and connect their lives to a higher reality which is as important as any interest in money or things. Lerner says the anti-spiritual Left has not provided a place for them. "Liberals don’t have a clue about what is going on in society," Lerner says. "They don’t realize that the reason people turn to religion is to find meaning. There is a need for the spiritual Left to help them find that meaning."
Judging from the response at Joan of Arc, a number of the spiritual Left will be there to help with the cause. Dozens of the more than 350 people who attended the lecture flocked to buy Lerner’s book and signed up to become members of the Network of Spiritual Progressives. He spoke with individuals for more than an hour after his lecture and answered more questions about his eight step program.
Just as Newt Gingrich had a contract with America, Lerner proposes a covenant with America: (1) a covenant with families, (2) a covenant of social responsibility and (3) personal responsibility, (4) values-based education, (5) health care for all, (6) environmental stewardship, (7) a safer world, (8) a church separated from state and science.
As outlined in an interview with the grassroots journal, Garlic and Grass, he gave one example of what he means by social responsibility. He advocates an amendment to the Constitution which would require every corporation with an income of $50 million a year or more to get a new corporate charter every ten years. And that new charter would only be granted if the corporation could prove to a jury that it has had a satisfactory history of social responsibility over the past ten years.
In his commitment to a safer world, Lerner suggests attending a spiritual demonstration to be held in Washington, D,C. on May 18th, where participants will call for a global Marshall plan to eliminate poverty, homelessness, hunger, inadequate education and inadequate healthcare. The Network of Spiritual Progressives is calling for countries to dedicate 5% of their gross domestic product toward this end. "That’s our program for homeland security--not dominating others, not controlling others, not using violence against others."
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