The Soul of the Nation with Jim Wallis

How do you balance the sometimes competing demands of religion and democracy? Religious and legal scholar Melissa Rogers talks with Rev. Jim Wallis on about the fine line that is sometimes hard to distinguish when examining our duty to our religion and our government.

Rogers says, "You think about this pandemic and the way that government and all institutions, including religious institutions had to turn on a dime. ...We need to be both able to partner with government for good. And we need to also be prophetic interrogators ofgovernment too... So I think it's that dual role of cooperating and challenging that we need to perform when we're dealing with government.

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Whitney Parnell, Founder and CEO of Service Never Sleeps, talks with Rev. Jim Wallis in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd about systemic racism, white privilege, and the hope for our collective future.

Parnell says, "White supremacy is the institutionalization of white dominance and power. And racism is the structural upholding of that[...] Being born as a white person, you are born into that system in a position of privilege."

Parnell continues, "Hope is the belief that we can build a better tomorrow than today. And that just helped bring everything home for me ... Every day I can work towards tomorrow being better. And that just helps me feel like this is a manageable way for me to approach this very difficult work each day."

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Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, speaks with Rev. Jim Wallis about our need to focus our outrage on the tragic death of George Floyd and the systemic structures that caused it. She warns against being distracted by Donald Trump's brazen attempt to falsely cloak himself with spiritual authority by staging a photo op in front of St. John's, Lafayette Square.

"I have friends and people that you and I both know who are working so hard to keep the protest for justice engaged and focused on the outrage of George Floyd's death," Bishop Budde says. "That's the work to be done. And as several of our clergy colleagues of color have said to us, 'You know, it's not as if white supremacy was invented yesterday. You may have just come to a deeper appreciation this week, but this is what we've been dealing with for a while.'"

She continues, "Think about the things that need to be done right now, that can be done because of the Kairos moment that we may be blessed with to really move, to push something forward. Every once in a while, you get a window of time and space and serendipity and grace, where you can actually push something forward."

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As we pass the horrifying milestone of 100,000 American deaths to the coronavirus, we’re using the hashtag #Lament100k to urge people to pause — to lament.

Rev. Jim Wallis tells us, "We must stop. We must weep. We must mourn. We must honor. And we must lament."

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Third generation historian John Whittington Franklin discusses the history of African Americans with Rev. Jim Wallis. They discuss how Black history is integral to a larger American historical narrative.

Franklin says, "As Americans, we all need to know each other's history, as well as our own. That's the only way we will be complete."

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