October 20, 1999
EDITORIAL:
Proposals support 'least of these'
___Jesus heaped his most lavish praise and reserved his most severe criticism upon his followers according to how they treat poor and vulnerable people. "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me," he declared, later admonishing, "Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me" (Matthew 25:40, 46).
___Sometimes, following this admonition is intimately personal. We can feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, house the homeless, clothe the naked and visit the prisoners in our own communities. We can know these people by name, if we care enough. Our interactions with them change our lives, just as they change theirs.
___At other times, however, we can serve the needs of the "least of these" on a global scale. Such is the case with two U.S. foreign policy situations that await presidential and congressional decisions. By encouraging our country to uphold righteousness, we can protect the weakest and most vulnerable residents of our globe.
___In the first case, the State Department has named seven regimes as "countries of particular concern" regarding religious freedom. They include five countries, Burma, China, Iran, Iraq and Sudan, as well as the ruling Taliban of Afghanistan and Serbia, which is a province of Yugoslavia.
___Robert Seiple, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for religious freedom, labeled these seven regimes as "particularly severe violators" of religious liberty. In so doing, he followed procedures mandated by the International Religious Freedom Act, which became law last year.
___Now, President Clinton has about three months to take action. His options range from diplomatic protest to economic sanction. Decisions regarding six regimes are relatively easy, noted Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., chairman of the House International Operations and Human Rights Subcommittee, to which Seiple reported. They "already are under severe sanctions for reasons other than religious persecution," Smith noted.
___The true test of U.S. resolve revolves around the seventh regime, China. The Chinese government has a notorious record regarding religious liberty. It has persecuted Roman Catholics, Protestants in house churches, Muslims, Buddhists and other religious groups. However, China is a potent political/military force and the world's largest economic market. From a political perspective, these two factors can cloud the issue. Militarists don't want to destabilize Asia, much less the Pacific Rim. Economists don't want to jeopardize the global economy, much less U.S. multinational corporations.
___Still, people of faith should urge strong, appropriate sanctions against China as well as the other regimes. We should urge our country, which champions religion as the "first freedom," to stand up for religious liberty for all people everywhere. To do less would be to turn our backs on "the least of these," including Christian brothers and sisters.
___In the second case, President Clinton has asked Congress to cancel 100 percent of the debt owed to this country by 36 of the world's poorest nations. "Unsustainable debt is keeping too many poor countries and poor people in poverty," he told the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
___This debt-forgiveness proposal isn't Clinton's idea. It's the centerpiece of Jubilee 2000, a worldwide project designed to free impoverished nations from debt and promise a brighter future for the world's poor. It's based on the Old Testament concept of Jubilee, in which debt was to be forgiven every 50 years.
___Of course, most Americans were raised with a pay-your-bills mindset. Yet we still provide for bankruptcy, a litigious form of jubilee. The international debt incurred by many poor nations prevents them from building the infrastructure needed to provide essentials--food, medical care, education and transportation--for their people. We may disapprove of some of their leaders and political philosophies. But the bottom line is impoverished people have no hope for better lives if their national debt is not alleviated.
___These two proposals will not meet with political consensus. Conservatives favor the religious persecution measures. Liberals support debt elimination. But as we stand on behalf of the world's persecuted and impoverished, Christians can support both.
___ --Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
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