Swords into Plowshares

Father Daniel Berrigan died last week. The social justice movement has lost a great voice and a great leader.

Daniel started his work during the 1960's with the Vietnam War protests. Imagine someone being bold enough today to walk into a military recruiting office, taking recruitment records outside, and burning them. Or at least smashing the computer and erasing the hard drive.

He later, with a group of people, would break into a General Electric plant that was manufacturing missile warheads and hammer on them. “Beating swords into plowshares” as the Bible calls it.

He actively worked against social issues that we socialists could support – anti-war and militarism, capital punishment, bigotry, indifference to the poor, among others. If I remember correctly, he was heavily involved in the protests against the “School of the Americas” - a military institution at Fort Benning, Georgia, where the US trained comprador members of foreign military organizations and anti-democratic organizations how to commit war crimes.

All issues that socialists can support and agree upon.

He opposed abortion as well – it's his prerogative as a Catholic to be opposed to it. But in all the interviews I've seen and listened to of him, he never brought it up as an issue. Or if he did, it was part of the bigger pro-life message that he made as his work. (Let's face it, war is murder. Not feeding the hungry is a slow consignment to death. How many innocent lives were ended in death sentences? Step back for a second and look at his total life's work as being pro-life in a different way.)

At his funeral service during the communion offering, when the bread and wine is brought to the altar for consecration, a hammer and a plowshare will also be offered. It might as well have been a sickle.

I wonder how sympathetic he was towards socialism and socialist ideals.

And I wonder how many Christians, Jews, Muslims, and other religious minded people are sympathetic towards socialism but get a cold shoulder from us for whatever reason we choose to use.

I will admit, I like an old Christian church service with the Latin Mass and Gregorian chant going on. Something relaxing about it.

Then again, reading through the Torah and the writings of the prophets I see many references to social justice and social responsibility. Not exactly something to sneeze at.

So, could we have a united front with religious minded people?

Can a person be religious-socialist?

Could we expand our influence and reach by embracing common ground on specific issues and respectfully disagreeing on the rest?

I had a student say that he was opposed to gay marriage but that trying to outlaw it was stupid because it wasn't going to stop people from practicing homosexuality. And I've heard religious minded people say that they preferred people using birth control to abortion. Not every right winger is a total nut job.

So, we disagree on abortion, but could you imagine the power of having those who actually opposed war, the way immigrants are treated, the way Muslims and other non-Christian faiths are treated, those who are opposed to the misuse of the death sentence and other racial issues join us in an action?

Can you see the numbers growing because not every religious minded person is of the pro-capitalist fundamentalist strain?

Early socialism in America counted on religious support. In the 1930's the Catholic Workers Movement was influential and the work of Dorothy Day was well known. He name even comes up in the occasional high school text book.

Can we get them to join us and be on our side when we are in agreement and when not, be respectful in disagreeing. Life isn't a Fox News shouting match.

I like the idea of turning swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.

Is there fertile ground for us to work with religious activists on some issues?