Imagine Forward Come to Washington April 14 to Celebrate 40 Years of NETWORK’S Justice Activism with NETW RK Washington Post Columnist E.J
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Imagine Forward Come to Washington April 14 to celebrate 40 years of NETWORK’s justice activism with NETW RK Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, Sr. Carol A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby Coston, Dr. Diana Hayes, Frida Berrigan and others. NETWORK—a Catholic leader in the global movement Go to www.networklobby.org to learn more. for justice and peace— educates, organizes and Please consider honoring NETWORK’s anniversary by invest- lobbies for economic ing in our mission of justice. Use the envelope in the middle and social transformation. of this Connection, or go to www.networklobby.org/donate. NETWORK’S 40TH AnnIVerSarY NETWORK Board of Directors Thank you! Marie Clarke Brill Patricia Mejia CELEBratION Regina Brummel, CSJ Kateri Mitchell, SSA P.S. For Young Justice Seekers: Enter our video contest to win a Simone Campbell, SSS Rachel Pineda trip to Washington to join our celebration! See our website. Cathleen Crayton Ann Scholz, SSNE You Are Invited! Patricia Mullahy Fugere Judith Braitmayer Sharpe Mary Beth Hamm, SSJ Sandra Thibodeux, MMB Linda Howell-Perrin, LSW Dick Ullrich dear members A Donna Marie Korba, IHM Mary T. Yelenick Bernita McTernan Peter J. Zografos December 17, 2011, marked Contents NETWORK Education Program the beginning of our year of Board of Directors celebrating the 40th anniver- envisioning Kit Hinga, SSJ Barbara Lange sary of our founding. During 3 Imagining Forward in Dorothy Jackson, SCN Kathleen Phelan, OP this year we are going to have Challenging TimesELECTION 2012 NETWORK Staff a grand celebration on April In this election year, when many are Communications Coordinator/Editor— discouraged, we can’t afford to become mired Stephanie Niedringhaus 14 at Trinity University here in disillusionment. Challenging times call for a Coordinator of Annual Giving—Margaret in DC. We are also marking new way of thinking! Brevig the year with a special Elec- Executive Director—Simone Campbell, SSS CATHOLICS VOTE FOR THE COMMON GOOD tion 2012 project. cover story Field Coordinator—Jean Sammon As in 2008, many Catho- IT/HR Coordinator—Joy Wigwe 4 America’s Path to Social Lobbyists—Marge Clark, BVM; Mary Ellen lic groups are coming togeth- Justice Rests on Jobs, Growth, Lacy, DC er to create an agenda for the Equity—and Legislative Action NETWORK Associates—Eric Gibble, Matthew Shuster, Claire Wheeler common good. NETWORK Former Clinton White House Chief of Staff John Office/Membership Coordinator—Ann Dunn is leading this group to get Podesta looks at where we are—and where we people around the country to need to go. NETWORK Education Program Staff put together state-based plat- NEP Coordinator—Shannon Hughes voting record forms for the common good. Articles in NETWORK Connection may be These platforms, which will Voting Record of the reprinted. Please include the following on 7 th 112 Congress, 1st Session the reprints: “Reprinted with permission be finalized in the spring, from NETWORK, a National Catholic So- See how your legislators voted on issues that will be endorsed by people cial Justice Lobby, 25 E Street NW, Suite mattered. in the state and then taken 200, Washington, DC 20001, www.net- worklobby.org.” Please send us a copy of to candidates at all levels of making a differencee the reprinted article. government. In this way we What Does this Voting Record First Quarter 2012—Vol. 40, No. 1 will create a broad move- 15 Tell Us about Elections? NETWORK Connection ISSN 0199-5723 ment for the wellbeing of all. Elections DO matter! And we have a critical one Published quarterly by It is our hope that by being coming up this year. NETWORK proactive we can move away PHONE 202-347-9797 FAX 202-347-9864 from polarizing politics and back page E-MAIL : [email protected] toward the hard work of gov- Board Election Ballot for WEB SITE: www.networklobby.org ernance. 16 NETWORK Members POStmaSter: Send addreSS changeS to NETWORK • 25 E Street NW, Suite 200 We are encouraging all of If you are a NETWORK member, please Washington, DC 20001 our members to host dialogue vote for new members of our Board of Directors using the ballot on the back Annual dues: $50/$60 international. sessions to talk about the needs Copyright © 2011 NETWORK. of our times, what government page. (And if you are not currently a NETWORK member, please join us today!) Ballots must be Cover photo: Joel Carillet can do, and what ordinary filled out and postmarked by February 29 to be people can do to respond. By counted. The words on our cover, “imagine forward,” were coined by Melissa Tantaquidgeon doing this work together, we Zobel, MA, MFA, in her essay about Native believe that we will be a posi- American literature, specifically on as- tive force in an otherwise bleak sisting American Indian youth to “imagine Stay connected with us!! forward” their heritage. A historian and political landscape. Won’t you author, Ms. Zobel is the Medicine Woman join us on this adventure? We www.facebook.com/NetworkLobby for the Mohegan Tribe in Connecticut. She received a 2002 Emmy for her work on the need everyone to make this http://twitter.com/#!/networklobby documentary, “The Mark of Uncas,” and happen. the national Alaska Federation of Natives award for work promoting culturally rel- evant economic development. 2 Connection First Quarter 2012 www.networklobby.org envisioning Imagining Forward in Challenging Times BY SIMONE CAMPBELL, SSS As this presidential election year gets done more to protect programs that about the challenging work of governing started, I hear a lot of comments that serve poor people from federal budget in a tough economy when the difficulties Acause me concern. Many are saying that cuts.” And the response is, “But there is are known and hope must be nurtured. they are not going to work in electoral still great wealth disparity that isn’t being We’re working in a political context that politics this year. While some conserva- changed.” often prefers the political game of polar- tives say they are dissatisfied with the Then I begin to wonder if progressives ization and gridlock to actual governing. presidential candidates that the Repub- only know how to be negative. It is in this context that I think we are lican Party is putting forward, the com- Walter Brueggemann in his second called to be the most engaged and the ments that worry me the most are those edition of Prophetic Imagination says that most faithful to living the Gospel in the of progressives who say they are “sitting a community based in Scripture values world. out this election” because they are “dis- must have the “capacity to sustain long Being faithful in today’s political con- satisfied” with what the Obama Admin- term tension with the dominant culture.” text means bringing the contemplative istration has or has not done. For me, this is a mandate to engage meditation practices that allow us to I usually respond to these comments the dominant culture, but not be sur- listen deeply to the needs of our world with something like, “But we got health- prised that we don’t accomplish every- and to let the creative imagination bub- ble up. It calls on us to imagine deeply new responses to the seri- ous problems of this challenging world. I believe that we must “imag- ELECTION 2012 ine forward.” Imagine positive responses to the challenges of today—responses that are not “knee-jerk liberal” but rather grounded in today’s reality. We need to be positive and creative in responding to the political world. Today, for example, I look around and see homeless people and large numbers of abandoned houses. How can we imagine a solution CATHOLICS VOTE FOR THE COMMON GOOD that pairs people and houses? We as Gospel people are called care reform that will include 32 million thing that our hearts desire. in 2012 to take a deep breath and engage people!”—and the response to that is, In fact, I think we should see what yet again a political world—all the while “But it isn’t a single-payer plan.” we do as the slow, incremental work that knowing we will never get everything Or I’ll say, “The administration ended engages the pushes and pulls of political our hearts desire. But what we must do the Iraq war!”—and the response is, “But life. is imagine forward in a positive way to it took so long.” For me, if we are going to be Gospel create new answers for our new needs. Or I’ll say, “This administration has people, then we must be active in the Together, we can sustain each other in gone further than any other to limit political life of our nation in all of its this challenging work. We are challenged deportation of undocumented people complexities—and not quit just because to reengage for the sake of our nation who pose no threat to the United States.” we don’t get everything we want. and our planet. We cannot sit out this The response: “But it isn’t comprehen- This year’s election poses challenges election. sive reform, and they are still deporting for us. It is not the heady imaginings of people.” 2008 when “hope” and “change” were Simone Campbell, SSS, is NETWORK’s Or I’ll say, “This administration has slogans that stirred hearts. This election is Executive Director. www.networklobby.org First Quarter 2012 Connection 3 America’s Path to Social Justice Rests on Jobs, Growth, Equity—and Legislative Action BY JOHN D. PO D E S TA In the ancient wisdom of St. Augustine, Obama’s well-intentioned plan to fix the moderate tax increases for the wealthy— Ithere is the City of God, a contempla- economy and help the most vulnerable has only made matters worse.