[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 168 (Thursday, December 22, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2635-E2636]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             PEACE ON EARTH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 22, 2005

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to enter into the Record ``Witness 
for Justice #245'' entitled My Christmas List, published on December 5, 
2005, by the United Church of Christ of Cleveland, Ohio. The article 
eloquently written by Bernice Powell Jackson the Executive Minister of 
this Church on 700 Prospect Avenue in Cleveland is a fervent wish for 
Peace. Her wish, her prayer, is one that many of us share with her and 
I hope is in the hearts and on the lips of every minister, rabbi and 
imam when he or she stands before a congregation. Minister Jackson 
believes that for Christians the call to work for peace comes from the 
Prince of Peace. Those of other faiths, she says, are called ``by our 
Creator to work for a world of peace not only at this time of year, but 
all year long.''
  Minister Jackson's first wish on her Christmas list is for peace on 
earth. I join with her in this wish for all of us; but I wish the God's 
peace especially for the least among us for these are the first victims 
when peace is absent. These victims are the women, the children, the 
child soldiers, the soldiers and their families, the poor, the 
invisible, the uncounted, the sick, the forgotten, and those whose 
dignity, even humanity, is not acknowledged--the enslaved, the 
trafficked, and the tortured.
  Minister Jackson's second wish is for young people who are ready and 
willing to take up the struggle for a world of peace and justice. She 
states this article, number 245, is her last Witness for Justice 
Column. She hopes for young people like the ones who struggled for 
civil rights in the U.S., in the anti-apartheid struggle in South 
Africa, in the people power struggle in the Philippines, and in 
Tiananmen Square in China will arise to take on the causes for which 
she has been such an effective advocate. Minister Jackson recognizes 
the struggle continues against poverty.
  I join Minister Jackson in her second wish and add a second wish of 
my own. I wish that we will see the end of extreme poverty in our 
lifetime. I commend the work and advocacy of Jeffery Sachs, Bill and 
Melinda Gates, Bono and Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and 
wish with them that childhood AIDS can be treated, that the AIDS 
Pandemic in Africa can be stopped, that treatable diseases that cause 
blindness in Africa can be eradicated and that people who are too poor 
to live can receive simple remedies like mosquito nets that will save 
5000 children a day in Africa, clean water and enough food to flourish 
not just survive.
  The third wish on Minister Jackson's Christmas List is for health 
care for every American. I join her in this wish. Ours is the richest 
country in the world and yet 45 million Americans cannot afford health 
care. Minister Jackson says the health care system is ``imploding all 
around us.'' It is failing us. As a nation, America can no longer 
afford not to have health care for all Americans. The lack of universal 
health care for Americans represents a failure of our government and of 
our priorities; both must be changed.
  Finally, Minister Jackson wishes for a return of a value which she 
writes ``seems to be disappearing from our landscape--the value of 
integrity.'' Integrity she says is ``a value which can only be earned 
through a life of honesty, fairness, forthrightness and a commitment to 
the common good of all humankind. It is a value which seems to be 
sorely lacking in government, in politics, in media, in business, even 
in religion. Integrity means standing up for what is right and just and 
true, no matter which way the winds of the world blow. It means 
speaking the truth, not words of political spin . . . It means matching 
your words with your life. My Christmas wish is for an increase in 
integrity in our world.'' I join Minister Jackson in this wish with all 
my heart.

                 Witness for Justice #245, Dec. 5, 2005

                           My Christmas List

                      (By Bernice Powell Jackson)

       Every year for the past eleven years I have shared my own 
     Christmas list with you. Most years it has included a wish 
     for even a day of peace in the world--when war ceases, when 
     domestic violence pauses, when guns are laid down in homes 
     and cities and nations. It hasn't happened yet, despite the 
     prayers and the hard work of so many of you. Nevertheless, I 
     believe, that those of us who are Christian are called to 
     work for peace by the Prince of Peace. Those of other faiths 
     are also called by our Creator to work for a world of peace 
     not only at this time of year, but all year long. So my first 
     wish is for peace on earth.

[[Page E2636]]

       As I write my last Witness for Justice column, I wish for 
     young people who are ready and willing to take up the 
     leadership in the struggle for a world of peace with justice. 
     I am reminded that there has been no viable struggle for 
     justice and peace which did not include young people in the 
     leadership in the last century and I am sure that will be 
     true for this century as well. Young people were a part of 
     the leadership in the civil rights struggle in the U.S., in 
     the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, in the people 
     power struggle in the Philippines, even in Tiennamin Square 
     in China. We need young people willing to say war is not the 
     answer, poverty is not the solution and racism can be no more 
     and to do the difficult work of making such a world a 
     reality. That may mean using old tried and true methods of 
     protest like marches and demonstrations and letter-writing, 
     and it might include new 21st century high-tech methods of 
     protest driven by the internet. We need the energy and 
     enthusiasm of young people in the work for peace and justice 
     and my Christmas wish is that each one of us who are elders 
     will mentor a young person to take the lead in this 
     millennia-old struggle.
       My third wish is for health care for every American. If 
     there is one issue which can impact every one of us and which 
     can be won in the next two years, I believe it is national 
     health care. Simply put, the health care system is imploding 
     all around us. Corporations large and small know it, labor 
     unions know it, non-profit organizations know it, retirees 
     know it, those 45 million Americans with no health care 
     insurance know it, the medical profession knows it, and 
     hospital administrators know it. Even the politicians know 
     that the health care system we now have is not working for 
     any group in America except possibly the insurance industry, 
     but unless we DEMAND an immediate change, however, 
     politicians will not do anything about it until it collapses 
     around us. Maybe the total collapse of General Motors or 
     maybe the influx of Asian bird flu into the U.S. with 
     millions unable to afford treatment or maybe millions of 
     retirees losing their promised health care benefits or 
     millions of workers being required to pay higher and higher 
     deductibles will be what propels the collapse of our present-
     day system, but my Christmas wish is that Americans demand 
     that our nation come up with national health insurance before 
     the system collapses not afterwards.
       My wish is for a return of a value which seems to be 
     disappearing from our landscape--the value of integrity. 
     Integrity is a value which can only be earned through a life 
     of honesty, fairness, forthrightness and a commitment to the 
     common good of all humankind. It is a value which seems to be 
     sorely lacking in government, in politics, in media, in 
     business, even in religion. Integrity means standing up for 
     what is right and just and true, no matter which way the 
     winds of the world blow. It means speaking truth, not words 
     of political spin. It means looking out not just for oneself, 
     but for the whole community, especially those who are 
     powerless and can't stand up for themselves. It means being 
     willing to admit mistakes and to ask for forgiveness, knowing 
     that we are all human and fallible. It means matching your 
     words with your life. My Christmas wish is for an increase in 
     integrity in our world.
       My Christmas wish list this year is for health and wellness 
     for every reader, for laughter and joy, for strength and 
     comfort in the days ahead. In the words of the great American 
     writer, Maya Angelou, ``I wouldn't take nothing for the 
     journey''.
       The struggle continues!!!

                          ____________________