Inserting Progressive Faith Values into 2024 Elections via Letters to the Editor
As a faith tradition, Unitarian Universalists focus on the urgent need to advance justice in our communities. We are compelled to transform our world in pursuit of shared principles.
For some of us, speaking out publicly may be daunting, but we are compelled to promote progressive values from a faith perspective -- especially to work in solidarity with those marginalized communities suffering from injustice under the status quo. (Here’s a more thorough account of that need and our calling).
Letters to the editor of your local paper(s) or online media are one key tool with which you can inform, influence and inspire others in your community. For most of us, it takes some effort, practice, and guidance to develop a bold, effective, and informative letter to the editor.
Regardless of which group you’re in, UU the Vote urges you to consider making letter-writing a consistent habit, and consider multiplying your impact by teaming up with other local congregants. It’s a craft that improves and becomes easier with practice and this is a key moment to elevate.
The UUA Side with Love Organizing Strategy Team recently published a guide to help UUs get comfortable with writing persuasively and getting published. See: Writing Words That Inspire: How to Craft and Publish Compelling Letters to the Editor
Along with all the universally-applicable guidance offered in that resource, some elements to consider including in your letters when writing from a faith-based perspective:
What in (y)our faith tradition compels you to action? Motivations could include:
Core tenets of our tradition/faith (or multiple faiths)
Actions of your congregation
Countering those who claim faith as a basis for regressive policies or advocacy
Quotes from notable UUs
Your lived experience
Experiences within our community
Stories from our past faith leaders or organizational actions
Responsibilities of your role
Scriptures & sacred texts
When writing from a faith perspective, consider using these elements:
Denunciation - Name the evils and injustices we are compelled to correct. For example, “We must uncover, reveal, and name the sin of complicity and the implicit violence we engage in as we struggle with the issues of racism and oppression.” -Rev. Susan Suchocki Brown
“Our faith insists that any system that works to erode our full humanity is unjust and harmful, and must be dismantled,” UUA Side with Love Organizing Strategy Team
Annunciation - Presenting compelling visions of a more just world and advocating for actions, policies and systems that get us there.
Examples:
“A world where everyone is cherished and treated as sacred. A world that promotes the restoration of humanity, believing that we are all worthy and capable of redemption, rehabilitation, and radical inclusion. Where the economy and government promotes equity, the improvement of quality of life and the common good. A world that acknowledges the intrinsic ways that we are interconnected and accountable to one another across bars and borders and co-responsible for our collective future.”
“Every single human is endowed with inherent worth and dignity… Unitarian Universalism urges us to dedicate our hearts and our life forces toward creating a world in which every single person has the ability to live free and thrive.” - UUA Side with Love Organizing Strategy Team
“ Our survival and our salvation depend on liberation for all.” - Rev. Patricia Jimenez
In addition to noting relevant work from your local or state UU groups, we invite you to mention national activities by UUA campaigns like these:
UU the Vote defends voting rights, nurtures democratic participation and works to advance justice through the democratic process
UPLIFT works to advance LGBTQ+ rights
Create Climate Justice gives UU climate and environmental justice activists tools for education, collaboration, and organizing.
Love Resists Activates people of faith to resist the harm inflicted by criminalization and create safer, more just, and welcoming communities.
Activating Your Congregation
While writing and submitting your own letters is always good, consider instigating a congregation-wide letter-writing blitz to multiply the impact. Whether you can choose an “issue of the month” to address or simply create a structure to get congregation members committed to writing, a small group can grab the attention of newspaper editors and the public with a wave of letters.
To help inspire people who may be less confident writers, consider pairing new writers with more experienced “writing buddies” who can review drafts to offer improvement, along with adding encouragement and incentive to follow through on plans.
Of course, if your congregation has people working directly on an issue, mention it. Such letters can be a great tool for growing interest in your congregation as well as impacting issues.
Sample letters addressing 2024 elections
Note: these are merely to provide examples, not serve as templates. We encourage you and your congregation to focus on the issues you care about most. As we discuss in our tip sheet, editors will typically choose their own title, but providing one makes it more likely to be framed the way you wish. If a letter will represent your congregation, be sure to choose one point person for both submission and follow-up.
A Call to Defend Democracy
To the Editor,
In recent times, I’ve been horrified by unmistakably authoritarian tactics demonstrated by politicians who seek to reverse our progress toward a more inclusive democracy. Justice, equity and the right to engage in the democratic process are core principles of my Unitarian Universalist faith, and I’m compelled by these values to defend democracy against these attacks.
For me, it is not about supporting a particular political party. It’s about working to defeat those who would restrict or deprive citizens of our ability to vote, and even subvert elections after we vote.
There’s no denying that people promoting hate, intolerance, and white supremacy have put our great nation in danger. Revitalizing democracy and defeating the forces of hate will depend on millions of people - all who are committed to protecting our democratic tradition - to come forward and lead.
For those who share a similar perspective and concerns, I encourage you to see the national campaign, UUtheVote.org, which provides a wide range of training, networking events and volunteer opportunities to folks here in OurHome and in every part of the country. I hope you’ll join me.
Linda Garcia,
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of OurTown
(If you are a part of a congregation or UU justice action network, you can include it after your name)
Stop Dehumanizing the Most Vulnerable Among Us
To the Editor,
As a person of faith, it hurts me to see political candidates again running ads appealing to the worst human instincts, using racism to provoke fear and hatred against people who seek refuge from violence that endangers their lives and families.
“They are bringing crime. And they are rapists and that’s who’s coming across our border,” barked the Republican nominee for governor of Arizona this week. This kind of hate speech and talk of immigrants “replacing” white people is not just despicable--it’s deadly--as we’ve seen in El Paso, Buffalo, and other cities where mass murderers explicitly cited false white supremacist narratives of politicians as their motivation.
Such smears also are demonstrably false as well as immoral. When the FBI last analyzed immigration and crime rates, cities resettling the most refugees per capita saw both violent and property crime rates fall in nine of the 10.
As a Unitarian Universalist, I embrace the inherent worth and dignity of every human being as a core value. I urge all people of faith and those who believe in treating people with dignity and humanity to speak out boldly (I’ve been inspired by many fine resources offered at UUtheVote.org). Dehumanizing vulnerable human beings is an intolerable tactic and should be called out whenever we see it.
Here’s my replacement theory: every politician who stoops to scapegoating immigrants, the poor, and the powerless must be replaced by a person who possesses basic decency.
Note: use local or in-state examples whenever possible
Recommended Resources
Writing Words That Inspire: How to Craft and Publish Compelling Letters to the Editor
This guide will help you prepare, write, and submit your letter for success.
For anyone who enjoys hearing and seeing the material, see our Side With Love Skill-up on Writing Effective Letters (webinar recording)
Progressive people of faith can be a powerful political force by Susan Frederick-Gray and Jo Murphy