By D.J. Gribbin
From his bench on the Supreme Court, Justice William O. Douglas made it clear that "we are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being." That was 1954.
Nine years later the Court banned school prayer, and our society began to slowly and systematically purge virtually every religious symbol and expression from public life.
Not surprisingly, the amorality that developed over the ensuing decades brought a plague of social ills. Teen pregnancy, illiteracy, drug use, crime, out-of-wedlock births, and welfare dependency all have skyrocketed since America's leaders decided that God should play no role in her governance.
The American form of government rests on our Constitution. This document was "made only for a moral and religious people," according to John Adams, who added, "it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Yet, one need only listen to the radio, read a newspaper or watch television to realize that our nation forgot these key principles. We no longer strive to be either moral or religious, and we must wonder if the American experiment will work when Americans can no longer collectively agree on what is good, wholesome and true.
As Christians working to influence the rules of governance under which we live, we must ask ourselves one pivotal question: How do we restore our fellow citizens' hunger for morality and righteousness with the tools at our disposal?
The leadership of the Christian Coalition began the process of answering this question by polling the collective intellect of our state leaders. Gathering together in four separate meetings across the country, we held a number of small group discussions exploring the best way to restore dignity and righteousness to our public institutions. Together we came up with a plan.
Organize for accountability
The key to our plan is getting people to hold our government accountable. In 1824 Daniel Webster reminded his colleagues that government is "...made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people."
Democracy works. Government responds to the people, and it responds to those who clamor the loudest. Unfortunately, we have been out-clamored by those who view the world vastly different than we do. With the approach of the 21st century, we can delay no longer and must reassert ourselves in the political process.
Using the tools and expertise gained during the 1996 presidential election cycle, Christian Coalition is preparing for the largest grassroots organizing initiative in American history. In 1997, we will identify 5 million pro-family voters and organize one-third of America's 175,000 precincts.
This unprecedented level of grassroots organization will allow us to:
- •Train 30,000 activists;
- •Respond to local, state and federal regulations;
- •Find and raise up the next generation of conservative leadership;
- •Respond in unison to attacks from the media and others on people of faith;
- •Create community development networks of pro-family activists; and
- •Keep voters informed before every local, state, or federal election.
Dr. Richard Neill of Fort Worth, Texas, demonstrated the difference one dedicated individual can make. Neill considered content of the Phil Donahue show unacceptable, and he launched an 18-month one-man campaign against the show by contacting its sponsors.
When sponsors received a letter and transcript or video tape with examples of the type of programing they were supporting, most were horrified. One after another pulled their support of the show. Ultimately, Donahue lost more than 200 advertisers.
Imagine if Neill could have tapped into a grassroots network of 56,000 activists!
Such activism - combined with faithful prayer - is the way we will transform society. We will again be a culture that values life, condemns violence, teaches self-discipline, and rewards hard work.
Let us work together in our communities to restore this nation to its moral and religious foundation.