Keepin' the Faith

By Courtney Andree | Monday, November 17, 2003

On Thursday, November 6, White House Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Jim Towey visited the Dartmouth campus and to interact with members of the campus press in a round-table discussion.

Unwittingly, the panel was arranged as the political spectrum, with Reviewer Alexander Talcott on the right, Adil Ahmad from The Dartmouth next to Talcott, Jim Towey in a central position with mediator Alex Hanson from The Valley News, and Graham Roth from The Dartmouth Free Press seated on the far-left.Each panel member was allowed to give a brief opening statement, after which Towey responded. Roth started the discussion, questioning discrimination in hiring practices and the federal government's role in this arena. Towey, on his toes, stated, "This isn't about funding religion, this is about funding results. Since government can't love, the government can partner with these organizations and address these issues. I think this can be done constitutionally so faith-based organizations don't have to sell their souls to get the funds."

In a surprising twist of policy-speak, Roth then brought up another one of his concerns about the program. Keeping the issues in perspective, Roth asked, "As a government investment why are we leaning this way when teachers are still paid a woefully low salary?" Many people may have been confused by this comment, since teachers are not often seen in soup-kitchen bread lines, but perhaps ?woefully low? connotes being ?locked? into an unfavorable tenure plan.

Alexander Talcott spoke favorably of the initiatives, bringing forth examples of faith-based organizations that have found their way into the homes of America, citing examples of Alcoholics Anonymous founder and Dartmouth alumnus Robert Smith, the twelve step's relationship to a higher power, and the Salvation Army, illustrating that "faith-based and community initiatives are not scary, invasive endeavors."

Recognizing the precarious position of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, Talcott inquired as to the future status of the program: "You were established by executive order...are you here to stay?" In response Towey said, "When our work's done we've got to close up shop. I could see the day, I could see it in the not so distant future that we may not be needed."

Towey retained a quick-fire ability to respond with counter-arguments. When questioned on discrimination in hiring practices on the basis of religious faith or ideology.

Towey responded, "Planned Parenthood gets $200 million in federal dollars a year and discriminates in hiring...Homosexuals aren't going to go work at Jerry Falwell's soup kitchen."

The discussion maintained a degree of levity, with Towey citing examples based on an earlier audience member's comment on his worries about "publicly funded crazy groups": "What if a Satanic group gets money for a soup kitchen? The answer I always give is, I've never been to a Satanic soup kitchen. I'll bet the soup is hot."

The discussion ended with closing statements. Towey delineated the three staples of Faith-Based Initiatives before the conclusion of the discussion: the first being that money cannot be procured for the promotion of ideology, the second, that anyone that comes through the door must be served (meaning non-discriminative in nature), and the third, that leverage cannot be an issue, meaning that the service is provided unconditionally.

Keepin' the Faith

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