Reprinted from go.berniesanders.com/page/share/liberty-university
Earlier this week I spoke at Liberty University. For those of you who do not know, Liberty University is a deeply religious institution. It is a school which tries to understand the meaning of morality and the words of the Bible, within the context of a very complicated modern world. It was founded by the Reverend Jerry Falwell, and the vast majority of people at Liberty strongly disagree with me, and perhaps you, about abortion, marriage equality, and other issues.
You might be asking yourself, "Why on earth would Bernie Sanders go there?" It is a fair question within the context of our modern politics.
I spoke at Liberty University because I believe that it is important for those with different views in our country to engage in civil discourse -- not just to shout at each other or make fun of each other.
It is very easy for those in politics to talk to those who agree with us -- and I do that every day. It is harder, but not less important, to try and communicate with those who do not agree with us and see where, if possible, we can find common ground. In other words, to reach out of our zone of comfort.
So I went outside of my zone of comfort. Watch this video of my remarks there and read what I have to say about the ideas of morality and justice as they relate to income inequality and other critical issues facing our nation.
The message I gave at Liberty University is that the moral choice is to fight income inequality, and that the just thing to do is to work to make our society more fair. Below are some of my remarks to Liberty from the video above, but I think it is important to share them with you here as well so that you can share with others how I approach these issues.
I am far, far from a perfect human being, but I am motivated by a vision which exists in all of the great religions -- Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and others -- and which is so beautifully and clearly stated in Matthew 7:12. "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the prophets." The Golden Rule. Do to others what you would have them do to you. Not very complicated.
I told the crowd at Liberty University that I understand that issues such as abortion and gay marriage are very important to them, and that we disagree on those issues. I get that. But there are other issues out there that are of enormous consequence to our country and the world and that maybe, just maybe, we don't disagree on them. And maybe, just maybe, we can work together in trying to resolve them.
Amos 5:24, "But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!"
Justice. Treating others the way we would like to be treated. Treating all people with dignity and respect.
It would, I think, be hard for anyone in that room where I spoke to make the case that the United States today is a "just" society or anything resembling a just society.
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