The last time Election Day fell on Nov. 4, my wife and I voted on our way to the hospital. The nation got another poor president on that day in 1980, and we got a son. In the 28 years since, the rich have gotten extraordinarily richer, the middle class has lost ground, and the poor have fallen off the grid. Few talk about this ethical swamp, because they don’t want to endanger their own place at the trough. Will preachers speak up? Probably not. We, too, depend on the largesse of a few. But if the clergy don’t say it, who will?
(Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of “Just Wondering, Jesus,” and the founder of the Church Wellness Project, http://www.churchwellness.com. His Web site is http://www.morningwalkmedia.com.)