{"id":25,"date":"2008-07-31T12:17:23","date_gmt":"2008-07-31T12:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/progressiverevival\/2008\/07\/americas-mortal-sin-class-bias.html"},"modified":"2008-07-31T12:17:23","modified_gmt":"2008-07-31T12:17:23","slug":"americas-mortal-sin-class-bias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/2008\/07\/americas-mortal-sin-class-bias.html","title":{"rendered":"America’s Mortal Sin: Class Bias. A Solution: Parochial Schools."},"content":{"rendered":"

In my last  post<\/a>, I asked how one decided which is the most important political issue and who he\/she should vote for for president.<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font><\/span> <\/p>\n

I learned from my readings of the Bible to “Love thy neighbor” and that “I am my brother’s keeper.”  <\/span>So as a society, are we practicing His teachings in the political arena and in our individual lives?  <\/span>You can answer best about you own individual lives, but as someone who has been actively involved in politics and government for almost 50 years at the local and national level, I can assure you that society is not doing enough to live up to their values.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

The ugly history of racial, ethnic and religious bigotry has been well chronicled and, in some cases, dealt with effectively.  <\/span>But “class bias” continues to be the unspoken mortal sin in America today.  <\/span>I saw it as a kid growing up in South Boston and I see it even more today throughout our country.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Liberal politicians pretend they don’t see “white poverty” and conservative politicians pretend they don’t see “poverty” at all.  <\/span>It’s not just political callousness that is the problem in our country today, but hopelessness afflicting too many of our young people of all ethnicities.  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

In the U.S. Presidential debate I would plea with the media that one question in particular should be asked:  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Too many parents cannot afford to send their children to non-public schools.  <\/span>Despite all the talk, throughout the years too many of our public schools are failing our children.  <\/span>Please don’t tell me that putting more money into dysfunctional schools will solve the problem.  <\/span>I want to know if you will provide the required resources to allow working class and needy children to attend a Catholic or other non-public school?  <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

But here’s the key.  <\/span>The question won’t get raised, unless you – the public – demand the media to ask it.  <\/span>Just as importantly, let both of the candidates know that you and your family are going to vote not on basis of party, but rather based on who supports your children’s and grandchildren’s futures. Remind them that they can continue to support public education, but you want them to support all America’s children.<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Please write, e-mail or call Senator Obama and Senator McCain and the media.  <\/span>You can make a difference.  <\/span>But you must start now.<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my last  post, I asked how one decided which is the most important political issue and who he\/she should vote for for president.   I learned from my readings of the Bible to “Love thy neighbor” and that “I am my brother’s keeper.”  So as a society, are we practicing His teachings in the political arena and in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1,19,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catholics","category-election-08","category-poverty","category-religion-in-the-public-square"],"yoast_head":"\nAmerica's Mortal Sin: Class Bias. 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Flynn is a best selling author, writer and national public speaker. He is a regular political commentator and is also a frequent political and religious analysts on national and local television, including, Meet the Press, Nightline, ABC, NBC, CTV, PBS Jim Leher News Hour, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, EWTN, BBC, CBS News and many other national newspaper, magazine and radio programs. He has been praised as one of the most insightful and foremost experienced political - religious analysts in the United States. As U.S. Ambassador, Flynn served as America's Envoy to the Vatican, the government of the worldwide Catholic Church. He has also been selected by both Democratic and Republican U.S. Presidents to represent our country at official Vatican events. On behalf of the United States, he assisted the Vatican in the establishment of full diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the State of Israel. He also represented the U.S. efforts that helped win Vatican support for the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, for U.N. peace-keeping efforts in the Balkans, and for U.S.-backed efforts to restore democracy in Haiti. While Ambassador, Flynn also served as the United States representative in relief efforts around the world and helped establish a compact between the U.S. government and the Catholic Church with other religious and non-profit organizations to deliver humanitarian aid to countries suffering from natural disasters, famine, disease, and political unrest. Flynn was first elected Mayor of Boston in 1984, and won reelection twice each time by record margins. In 1991, he won every ward and percent in the city, the first mayor to achieve that distinction in the history of the city of Boston. As mayor, Flynn's day-to-day involvement in the life of the city, his tireless energy and hands-on style led him to be called the \"Mayor of the Neighborhoods.\" He was widely credited with ensuring that all the people of Boston's neighborhoods shared the prosperity of the city's downtown and led efforts to achieve a new sprit of racial harmony to Boston. By the time he left office, a newspaper poll showed that his favorability rating was nearly 80% - and that almost half of the city's residents had actually met him. Prior to serving as Mayor of Boston, Flynn served as a Massachusetts State Representative (1971-1978) and an at-large member of the Boston City Council (1978-1983). He is a graduate of Providence College where he was a Dean's List Student, an Academic All-American basketball player, and the Most Valuable Player in the National Initiation Tournament. He was the last player cut by the world champion Boston Celtics in 1964. In 2000, he was voted South Boston's Greatest Athlete of the Century and one of the best all around high school athletics to come out of Boston. Following a tour of duty in the U.S. Army, he worked as a teacher, coach and probation officer before entering politics. Flynn has written two inspiring books. His first book, a best seller, The Accidental Pope,(which he wrote with author Robin Moore) published by St. Martins Press. The second book is a non-fiction, John Paul II, The Pope and The Man. ,( He has written many articles for national publications. Flynn has a Masters Degree in Education from Harvard University and an honorary doctorate degree from a number of institutions of higher learning.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/author\/rflynn"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/145"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}