Readers Respond

IMPEACHMENT I was thrilled to see the current Tikkun [July/August 2007] with “Impeach” emblazoned on the cover. We, the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP), have great courage and clarity to advance, without shame or apologies , our bold vision of a world based on peace, compassion, generosity, and spiritual principles through our Spiritual Covenant with America and our Global Marshall Plan. At first, I was deeply disappointed that we have not yet taken a stand on impeachment, but realized that the editorials, interviews , and articles are presented as a foundation for discussion and reflection so that we can formulate and decide how we, as spiritual progressives, should approach holding our leaders accountable, just as our nation and community did when trying to heal from the atrocities of Hitler during the Nuremburg trials and as they did in South Africa, during the accountability, of law, true morality, ethics and human rights. Natalie Morrison Madison, WI POWEROFA DIFFERENTKIND It seems to me that many (most?) male theologians would deepen their thinking on the issue of power if they spent a lot more time reading and rereading Judith Plaskow and Riane Eisler. The concept of power as Domination and the Dominating Other is what so many people worldwide are so sick of. But the alternative is not “powerlessness,” as Tony Campolo implies in “God as the Suffering Servant ” [Tikkun May/June 2007]. It is not a choice between power and no power. The alternative to power-as-domination is power of a different kind— the power to inspire, support , and empower rather than to conquer, kill, and destroy. As Eisler puts it, it is the power of mutuality, the power of partnership/respect rather than domination/control. The choice to partner rather than to dominate is not the negation, loss, or limitation of power and, in fact, may increase feelings of power. I would also guess that most progressive feminists still associated even peripherally with Christian theology would be appalled and frustrated by the persistent notion that G-d’s power supposedly comes “through sacrificial love expressed in His death by dying on the cross.” Dolores Williams, Rebecca Parker, and many others have powerfully and Readers Respond LETTERS peace, and reconciliation acts. The principal question on the impeachment of Bush, Cheney, and other administration officials is: Do we wish to maintain our Constitution as a moral and legal foundation upon which we can protect and shape our humanitarian values, principals , rights, and freedoms? Do we plan to work within this existing, lawful framework, or can we simply ignore the fact that this administration has already eroded the Constitution to the point where we, as American citizens, do not have the privilege of Habeas Corpus or the right of privacy or the right to freedom of speech or assembly ? I am not asking us to be anything like Gandhi, who defied unjust laws. I am asking us to follow the “rule book” and hold our leaders accountable. I am asking that we decry to Congress and this administration the crimes and complicity against humanity through torture, invasion and occupation, corporate tyranny and war profiteering, and contempt for our Constitution and the rule of law. Let us take a step toward clarity and away from corporate politics. Let us call for impeachment : Accountability, rule S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7 W W W. T I K K U N . O R G T I K K U N 3 Thissectionincludesletterswereceivefromsnail mailandfromresponsespostedonourwebsiteto specificarticles.Wemayshorten,edit,orchange somewordsforgreaterclarity.Weonlyprintasmall setofthelargesupplyoflettersandemailswereceive .Allletterssenttousareread,butonlyafew canfithereinourlimitedspace. Sendlettersto managingeditor@tikkun.org orto 2342 Shattuck Ave.,#1200 Berkeley, CA 94704 Paid EmploymentatTikkun/NSP: NationalOrganizer The Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP) seeks a full-time organizer to be located either in our office in Berkeley or in your own apartment in D.C. The primary focus of the job: building a visible, vibrant, and loving movement first in the Bay Area and/or the D.C. area and then nationally. This job is for a “people person” with excellent communication and proven organizing and recruitment skills and an ability to articulately convey complex ideas in accessible language. The ideal...