The constituency of conscience isn’t just me and you. It also includes our elected officials, who themselves can also be counted as activists. Over the past few days, Members of Congress have raised their voices for Darfur by standing up and taking action.
Senator Feingold delivered a powerful message last week at the Religious Action Center’s Consultation on Conscience. His topic: Darfur.
Senator Feingold shared that his commitment to social justice begins with his Jewish roots. The Holocaust and his family history encouraged him not to stop simply at raising awareness but propelled him to activism. He counted everyone in the room (Jewish leaders from around the country) as a key factor for getting Darfur on the conscience of Congress.
Yet despite all the efforts he noted that the crisis still goes unresolved. Last month, the Sudanese government expelled 13 humanitarian NGOs that provide life saving food, water and medicine to the people of Sudan. He urged the activist community to sound the alarm again.
Feingold was “disappointed that many in the international community have carried on with business as usual.” He called for activists and colleagues to let the world know that it is unacceptable to remain on the sidelines with so many innocent lives at risk.
Feingold’s call to not stand idly by must have been heard.
On Monday, 5 members of congress and 3 movement leaders took direct action in front of the Sudanese embassy. Civil Rights leader Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) decried that “We cannot stand by, watch and wait” for the looming humanitarian crisis to hit the fan, we must act now. And act they did. All 5 members were carted away for civil disobedience, but not before they delivered some powerful messages of their own.
The Embassy of Sudan cited the act as a ploy to capitalize off of the region’s “human tragedies.” Monday’s action will not single handedly be the act that ends the Darfur genocide, but it gave some much needed exposure to the situation.
“If we can help raise awareness and create a sense of urgency and get President Obama more involved, then I think it [arrests] was worth it,” McGovern said.
Moving from awareness to activism is the current task at hand for the constituency of conscience.
“Genocide and mass killings are among the greatest stains on our collective conscience” Feingold said. This week the call to the conscience of Congress was answered, let’s hope it resonates and that others answer the call.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Tags: Congress, Darfur, Religious Action Center, Russ Feingold, Wisconsin
