Clergy should speak out more

Kudos and thanks to Rabbi Brad Bloom for his recent column on the health care insurance issue.

I believe he has provided us, the media and our politicians the reality of the situation, the needs of our society, and the responsibilities that we all have in thoughtfully responding and helping to resolve this issue.

I only will add that we and our politicians need to hear more from our clergy about the major contemporary societal issues in their messages and sermons. One of the reasons they don’t is their concerns or fears on how we, the congregation, will respond if we disagree.

In contrast, the media have too much influence on our thinking as they increasingly emphasize differences with too little attention to the legitimacy or truthfulness of their sources.

Our religions emphasize love more than fear. Let’s all follow, praying in our various ways that we do too. I’m also hoping that our politicians will listen to us more than others with selfish interests.

This story was originally published July 3, 2017 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Clergy should speak out more."