What do you believe that we as ministers should do as far as taking an active part in the affairs of our government and nation?
I feel very strongly that ministers as individuals can and should acquaint themselves with the over-all workings of government, and whenever possible
become well acquainted with their various representatives in government.
I have a very strong view that, as an institution, church organizations should not involve themselves directly in the political process. But I have the equally strong conviction that as individuals, and not as members of a specific congregation, ministers should become interested in the workings of government and acquainted with the processes and the various procedures that are followed whenever we're dealing with legislation. They should be aware of how administrative procedures are followed by the executive branch at all levels of government. Of course, I realize that this is a very difficult thing because you have so many pressures and demands on your time that it's very difficult to keep pace with all of the changing issues as they evolve at every level of government.
The least the minister should do, however, is to be aware of what is going on in that unit of government closest to where he lives. If all citizens would do
their part to make local government the most responsive and responsible unit, we would have a lesser amount of involvement from the central government.
Congressman, we know that you are pretty well acquainted with Seventh-day Adventists. What conviction do you have about Adventists and their relationship to their communities and their civic responsibilities?
It's my view that the over-all image of Seventh-day Adventists is excellent. There has been, however, a tendency for many of you to sort of isolate yourselves from regular community happenings. In my congressional district the individual Adventists that I know have taken this criticism seriously and have sought to develop the maximum in interaction between themselves, as individuals, and their respective communities.
You really do seem to have the answer to the world's problems, but you've had a tendency to keep it pretty much to yourselves. This is not unique. There is a tendency for people to communicate only with those people with whom they're comfortable. I think this is a common fault of most organizations. They tend to just talk to themselves. I say this with the hope that each individual Adventist might develop a sort of "operation out
reach" do something more to convey to his neighbors the denomination's objectives, and in so doing project some thing of his own personality to other
people in the community.
I am not an Adventist, but my family is. I am a Lutheran. I might add that I've seen a major movement by the leadership of your church in this direction the past few years. I was one who was to a degree reluctant to accept the fact that my wife observed Sabbath on Saturday. But as I became more and more acquainted with Adventists as individuals and would go to church with my wife, I found myself increasingly comfortable with everything they had to say, and more importantly, the number of good things they were doing for people and subsequently the community at large.
You are talking now to an audience of 15,000 Seventh-day Adventist ministers, not only in this country but in countries around the world. How would you suggest that they relate to the world about them and to the political world in particular?
Basically I would suggest that you continue to do what you are doing, but some how you need to get your fine message out to more people. Frequently I refer to your international missionary work as the "Seventh-day Adventist peace corps operation." It has proved itself wherever you've had such activities. There's no better way that I know of to attract people than the medical and the educational emphasis that you include in your program.
I don't mean to place the spiritual advocacy that you have in a secondary position of importance. I am suggesting that they should go forward simultaneously. But I do believe that if you are to win people to your point of view somewhere along the line you have to convey to them that you have their interests very much at heart. And I think if you mend the body of an individual through medical assistance, or more importantly, help them through your excellent emphasis on preventive medicine, you can't help but continue to add to your over-all acceptance and credibility.
Your stop-smoking program has, I think, been very effective. It's a very low-key approach, and I think it's among the most successful. But you must realize that you are involved with very strong competing economic interests, particularly with the tobacco interests and all of the taxation associated with it. Nevertheless, I can't help believing others are coming to realize that that which you have advocated in the interest of health is having a profound influence on society against the very intense competition of the basic economic and political interests involved.
You suggest that we let more people know what we're doing. How can a church group do this without projecting the image of "blowing its own horn"?
In so many ways the Adventist Church and its people do tend to operate essentially as I do—on the theory that "there's no telling how much good one can do if you don't care who gets credit for it." And it's quite possible that I as a politician am as guilty of not conveying to my constituency all of the
things that I, in fact, do for them routinely but do not go out and publicize. It's a very fine line, as I'm sure you realize. If you try to convey the impression that you need to be recognized for all the things that you do, then you sound as though you are bragging; and yet if you don't tell people, as we say in
the political world, you find that their memories are very short. So somewhere in between is the real answer.
I happen to believe that it would help your cause very much if you were to inventory the basic problems in this country, the basic problems in the world, and then in some way relate to the populace at large how you are specifically addressing yourself and your organization to these problems. I've talked to Pastor Fagal of your Faith for Today television program about it. I suggested you might dramatize some of the examples of how you've been able to really make a contribution to people in your international missionary programs. If this kind of image can be projected to people through whatever means of communication that we have available to us, I can't help believing that it will be a plus. But it will have to be in a low key—a very factual, very positive manner of presentation.
You mentioned our concern and emphasis in the field of preventive health. What do you see in the future for health education in this preventive medicine concept? What is the trend in government now? Do you think this is going to broaden any?
I strongly believe in the emphasis on and need for preventive medicine, but have great reluctance about government getting further involved, because
there is then a tendency on the part of people to look to government for the solution. I am one of those that is a strong believer in the fact that this society has advanced to the point of having the highest standard of living primarily because of the fact that it's been the private and the volunteer or independent sector that has handled the bulk of these kinds of programs. And the government's role should be one of minimizing its involvement and maximizing its efforts toward seeing that the private sector organizations and institutions can themselves meet this responsibility. The pressures toward socializing our institutions are immense. Unless it is checked we will have less freedom of choice, less competition, and a decline in the quality of our health delivery systems.
We seem to be in a rather paradoxical moment in our nation's history. In some ways we have more freedom than ever before, and yet we are aware of much more government incursion into our freedoms. Since Adventists have staunch interests in protecting civil and religious freedom, what can we do
about this?
Well, in the first place, freedom isn't free. Everyone has to pay a price if we want to preserve our liberty. And that means maximizing our commitment. So
what can you do? The most important thing that I can suggest is that as Adventists you do much more than you have in the past to communicate and develop an interaction with other people in the community in which you live. Wherever I've seen Adventists get involved they have been a positive influence for good outside of just their individual- and church-related activities. You are a beautiful and highly respected people.
One of my concerns in this area of freedom is that the press has a tremendous power to sway public opinion today, the problem being that any one individual can only comprehend so much. There's a limitation on the time that each one of us can devote to this information-gathering effort, and we are
quite dependent on what we are being fed from our news media. Sometimes it seems our news is being deliberately slanted. All of us need to be aware of this fact. The sophisticated individual will and should read more than one newspaper or magazine for comparisons to see what I mean.
But under no circumstances should this be controlled by government, because one of the most important ingredients in a free society is the need of
maintaining a free press. So I don't advocate for one moment any restrictions on freedom of the press, but it does seem to me that our prime time commentators need to be held a lot more accountable and responsible than they are. A coordinated public opinion effort demanding balanced and objective reporting is what's needed.
One last question, Congressman. What do you see in the future for this country, and how do you feel about it?
As you know, I'm not among those who are prone to accentuate the negative. There are a number of negative factors in society. But I'm also of the
opinion that it almost takes a crisis before people take on a new sense of direction and commitment to meet the challenges of change.
I happen to believe the message that a lot of the young people were trying to get across a few years ago may very well be coming into being. They were trying to tell us that bigger isn't always better, and I see more and more people shifting away from that concept. It used to be that a bigger automobile was a status symbol. Today the big automobile is increasingly recognized as a symbol of something adverse to the best interests of society.
I see new directions in transportation. There's going to be a whole new transportation policy in every section of the country. I think you'll see smaller automobiles. There'll be more and improved transportation systems in those areas where the population is very heavy. I also believe that the concept of decentralization and returning the government back to the people is gaining ground and support. A revitalized, responsive, and responsible Federal system of government, as intended by the framers of our Constitution, is what the people want and should have.
I am concerned about the international situation. I see a tremendous trend toward nationalism, but this isn't necessarily all bad. It's in our national
interest and in our interest as fellow human beings to see that the quality of life is improved for the people of the world.
If we don't convey to other people in the world that freedom is the way and the life, if we sit by apathetically and just assume that things are going to fall
apart, they will fall apart. But I am one of those who believes very strongly that we, as individuals, can do much more than we are now doing, and we have the tools with which to carry it out. We have communication capabilities we never dreamed were possible. Consider how effective some of the missionary organizations like yours have been in so many places, with very little in the way of communication or transportation equipment. Then imagine what could be done if we maximize our efforts through improved communication-transportation systems.
The synchronized orbiting-satellite communications system of our space age permits transmission to any area of the world. Transistor solid-state
radios have revolutionized the potential for input to heretofore inaccessible areas of the globe. Air, sea, and surface transportation systems are expanding rapidly and with tremendous flexibility and reliability. In this Technological Era the capacity of dedicated Christian workers to carry out their mission has never been greater.
There are many worlds to conquer, many challenges that can be converted into opportunities for problem solvers. The future appears bleak to many.
To me, the future of this country is what we as individuals make it. We can be doom and gloomers or we can meet these crises head on, with a firm resolve to do our share rather than "letting George do it."
This past year saw our great country survive an unprecedented Constitutional crisis. I sincerely believe it has had a sobering effect on our people. I
see them becoming more involved and aware. They are prepared for a new sense of direction. I'm optimistic about the future.
