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From "The Prophetic Imperative"
Social Gospel in Theory and Practice
by Richard S. Gilbert
The Ten Commandments for Social Action:
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Thou shalt always seek to make tangible in action what is intangible in values. To be biblical, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17).
Thou shalt consider thyself a fulcrum to change the world. The Greek Archimedes once said, “Give me where to stand, and I will move the earth.” Thou art a lever to move things to a better place; each action has cosmic consequences.
Thou shall carry a newspaper in one hand and a Bible (or its equivalent for you) in the other. Social action grows out of a value system, be it religious or secular, be it the Koran or the Constitution, be it the Hebrew prophets or Ralph Nader (or Howard Dean ;o).
Thou shalt remember that many are called, but most are frozen. Beware being like Voltaire’s Candide, who, seeing the evils of the world, decided he would simply cultivate his garden. I have nothing against gardens, only against those who spend ALL of their free time there.
Thou shalt resist burnout; thou shalt invest thyself for the long haul, yea, even beyond the next issue. One of my friends hath said the world is changed by those who stay at meetings until the very end. Thou shalt remember that to love justice is not an occasional pursuit, but a way of living. Be thou not summer citizens who quit their work when icy drafts of apathy and reaction cool their ardor. Thy goals will not be achieved during thy lifetime.
Thou shalt do thy homework. Blessed (and effective) are the informed. Ye shall know the facts, and the facts shall make thee powerful. And remember George Bernard Shaw’s dictum: The world’s best reformers are those who begin on themselves.
Thou shalt think globally and act locally. Thou shalt see thy work in thy larger context of meaning and action and do thy own small part well. Think of the cartoon of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza approaching a great modern city of skyscrapers. Saith Sancho to Don Quixote, “Tell me again how we’re going to fight city hall.” By thinking globally and acting locally.
Thou shalt change the world (fight city hall) one step at a time. As it has been said by Lao Tze, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Thou shalt have thy great goals before thee, but thou shalt also have thy objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, and consonant with thy values) thy strategies, thy tactics, and thy time-lines, especially thy time-lines. Thou shalt adhere unto them.
Thou shalt constitute thy group as a community of moral discourse and action. Thou canst not change the world by thyself. Harken unto thy comrades and they will hearken unto thee. Act faithfully and thy comrades will do likewise (hope we always).
Thou shalt be a happy warrior. Grouches seldom change the world. Prepare thyself for a “joyous struggle” (Fred Shuttlesworth as he lay bleeding from a beating in a civil rights demonstration). Keep thy sense of humor, for thou wilt need it in a crazy world. Celebrate life in all thy going out and coming in, yea, from this day forth.
"People who have principles but no programs, turn out in the end to have no principles."
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