Am I My Brother's Keeper?

God's Politics
Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It
Jim Wallis, 2005

Author Jim Wallis, of Sojourners and Call to Renewal, describes:

I've done literally hundreds of town meetings around the country, and when I get to the subject of poverty, the blaming begins. In the room are usually civic and religious leaders - mayors and city-council members, business executives, educational and law-enforcement officials, pastors and lay church leaders. I often ask who is responsible for the poor children who are falling through the cracks in their community. Immediately, one side says it's the Democrats whose programs have failed, and the other quickly counters that it's the Republicans whose policies have abandoned the poor.

It's very interesting. I ask them who is responsible, and they instead tell me who is to blame. When that's pointed out and I suggest there is more than enough blame for child poverty to go around, I ask who the leaders are in their community. "We are," they finally say. "Then who is responsible?" I ask again. That's when they look at each other and admit that they should be the ones responsible. And that's when we begin to talk about a strategy that might actually work to reduce child poverty, address real community issues like drugs and youth violence, and create safe and stable communities of opportunity and hope.