A Call for Hope, Courage and Compassion

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed –
Let it be that great strong land of love

Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme -
That any man be crushed by one above.

– “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes (1902 – 1967)*

America has arrived at the critical crossroads of this presidential election down a long path of fear. We, who are among millions of American Christians pushed aside by the extremism of the past quarter-century, declare that the Spirit of the Lord is upon us to speak a word of courage and hope in the midst of this national campaign.

As the campaign enters its final weeks, we have been outraged as the Republican Party, in vicious smears and lies, has used religion as a subterfuge for fomenting racial prejudice against the man we believe can lead America out of its prison of fear, Sen. Barack Obama. In recent days GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has incited crowds to speak racial epithets against an African-American journalist, and to shout "Kill him!" in response to the lie that Sen. Obama "pals around with terrorists."

We say: Enough! We hereby denounce tactics of racism, falsehood and fear as perversions of our American heritage and ideals. We pledge to confront and resist the fomenting of hatred wherever we find it in this campaign. And we implore the McCain-Palin campaign to stop such attacks immediately.

Most of all, as people of faith, both clergy and laity, we declare that we find in Barack Obama:

• A man of faith who respects and encourages religious diversity.

• A servant leader who, both as an organizer and a legislator, has understood the real problems of the American people and worked diligently to address them.

• A communicator who has demonstrated calm wisdom, sound judgment, creativity and a grasp of complex issues.

• A candidate who appeals to the noblest aspects of our natures.

• A president who would redeem and restore the image of America in the world, calling us to be once more a symbol of freedom, generosity and compassion.

*Excerpt from “Let America Be America Again” from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes, published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Copyright © 1994 the Estate of Langston Hughes. Courtesy of Poets.org, http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15609