Big hub bub here at DK over the weekend about religion and faith. Not really sure what it was about. There are certain key phrases that will keep me from reading an article, and “religion” and “faith” are at the top of the list. I have very little faith in anything.
As an atheist I have had people’s religious beliefs, their faith, shoved in my face all my life. From a school kid being forced to stand up and recite a pledge that included the words “one nation under God” to being fired from a job for not believing in a god.
Oh, and by the way, I was forbidden by my atheist parents from reciting that pledge. Nothing more fun for a 7 year old kid than to be “different”. But, my parents were right.
As I say, I don’t know the details of that diary that got so much attention, but at the very same time I had a diary up about a man of faith, a political candidate of all things, that got very little attention. Now, that got my attention and got me thinking about faith.
I wrote about Jim Keady, a candidate for New Jersey’s 4th Congressional District, who puts his beliefs into action. He is one of the people who has opened my heart to people of faith after being singled out (in a bad way) by them for years. The ways in which he practices his faith astound me.
~ Organizing Nike factory workers in the slums of Vietnam.
~Organizing Nike workers in the slums of Indonesia.
~Marching with unions in Jakarta on May Day before he was arrested, detained, questioned, deported, and banned from Indonesia.
~Helping with recovery efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria hit.
~Cleaning up his hometown after Hurricane Sandy. That’s what was left of the boardwalk.
~ Helping Syrian refugees get to safety after crossing the Aegean Sea in Lesvos, Greece.
He also shows up to support Black Lives Matter, Planned Parenthood, Veterans, Women, Teachers, LGBTQ activists, and he is Union strong!
I am not embracing any sort of god because of Jim Keady’s influence but I am moved to be a better citizen of the world.
I’m not as brave as he is to go all the places he does, and I don’t have the skills to do all the things he does, what I can do is what I can do.
I can write diaries about candidates like him. Progressive candidates who may not be from my state but can help me at a federal level by getting me health care, raising my food stamps, keeping the environment safe and making sure the next generation has a chance to get the same affordable education I did.
I invite you to listen to Jim Keady talk and watch a little of what he’s done and then afterwards, take a look down at your shoes and figure out where and how they were made. Were they made in a way that is consistent with your religion? Your faith? Your beliefs? If, not, what are you going to do about that? I have a suggestion; you can make a small start by donating to Jim Keady’s campaign.
Jim Keady gives me faith in humanity.
