WWBRD? What would Bob Ray do?
Three news events spotlight our nation’s lingering moral questions
EVENTS LAST WEEK in Chicago and Washington and at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport provide stark reminders that our nation’s leaders have seemingly forgotten a biblical command around for the ages.
It is one Robert Ray followed during his tenure as Iowa governor, which ended some 42 years ago.
Ray was front of mind as I digested the news last week. His service contrasted with the haunting picture the three easily missed events presented of who we are as Americans and who we are becoming.
IN WASHINGTON, the Trump administration went to the Supreme Court Friday night and asked for an order that would allow the government to avoid providing food assistance for poor people through the SNAP program until the federal government shutdown ends.
As if hunger ever takes the week off. As if the White House ever felt compelled to wait for permission before acting as the president sees fit.
Moral malnutrition among our leaders seems to run deep.
IN CHICAGO, on November 5, federal ICE officers entered the Rayito de Sol child care center and arrested an employee, then went room to room looking for other employees — all while frightened children watched.
Federal officials claimed the woman lacked authorization to work in the United States. Witnesses disputed that and said the woman told officers she has legal documents showing she is allowed to work in the U.S.
Whatever the case, the officers did not show any arrest warrants. Nor was there any evidence the woman was one of those murderers, drug dealers or violent thugs the president vowed to deport.
THE THIRD SCENE PLAYED OUT in sharp contrast to the other two.
Mourners filled Sacred Heart Cathedral on Friday for the funeral of the Rev. Guillermo Trevino Jr., 39, an energetic priest at Catholic parishes in West Liberty and Columbus Junction, two communities with large Hispanic populations.
The native of San Antonio, Texas, died of complications from undiagnosed diabetes after returning home from Rome, where he met Pope Leo XIV and spoke at a Vatican conference on marginalized groups around the globe.
In his short time as a priest, Trevino followed Jesus’ command to serve the poor and the marginalized, the least among us, as the Bible tells us. His reputation grew nationally as he led prayer vigils for immigrants and spoke passionately in defense of immigrants, the poor and the downtrodden.
MANY IOWANS BECAME ACQUAINTED with him this year when one of his parishioners, Pascual Pedro, 20, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at his annual immigration check-in in Cedar Rapids. Without warning, Pedro was arrested and within days was deported to Guatemala.
Pedro had never been charged with a crime, minor or violent, Father Trevino told audiences, and the young man worked for his grandfather’s construction company. Trevino and other members of the immigrant support group Escucha Mi Voz, which translates to Listen to Me, spoke in support of Pedro and worked to bring him back to the U.S.
At Trevino’s funeral, mourners were reminded of Jesus’ words: “For I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. A stranger, and you welcomed me. Naked, and you clothed me. Ill, and you cared for me. In prison, and you visited me. … Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Those words guided Father Trevino — and Robert Ray five decades earlier. At their essence, the admonition comes down to compassion and refusing to see the least among us as unworthy or expendable.
I WISH I COULD SIT DOWN with Ray for one more conversation, this time to talk about the current government focus that seems to prioritize suspicion, division, control and punishment over human dignity, respect and compassion.
Ray surely would have recognized the moral and spiritual tension present in much of our nation’s public life these days — as evidenced by the conflict over issues like poverty, hunger and immigration.
Ray’s memorable speech in October 1979 presented words and supported deeds worth remembering. His speech came at a time when our nation was split over what role, if any, the United States should play in addressing the world’s refugee crisis as people fled from Southeast Asia in rickety boats to get away from the aftermath of the Communist victory in the Vietnam war.
At the time, our television screens and newspapers flooded us with images of refugees drowning as flimsy vessels capsized and makeshift camps were filled with refugees battling disease and starvation.
The images and the people in them tore at Ray’s heart, so much so that when leaders of the Disciples of Christ denomination invited the governor to address their national convention in St. Louis, he accepted.
WHAT FOLLOWED WAS MORE of a sermon than a politician’s speech. He challenged church leaders to recognize their moral duty to help these refugees:
“Don’t tell me of your concerns for human rights. Show me. Don’t tell me of your concerns for these people when you have a chance to save their lives. Show me. Don’t tell me how Christian you are. Show me,” he said.
Ray died in 2018. Were he still alive now, I have little doubt he would try to unite Americans behind solutions instead of driving wedges between them. And I am confident he would remind a new generation of leaders to not forget their moral obligations.
His deeds would have reflected a simple question for those in Chicago, in Washington and even in Davenport:
What kind of people do we want to be?
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Thank you, Randy, for reminding me how much I miss Governor Ray, as a thoughtful leader and a friend. When I ran for office or held office, Governor Ray would call or meet with me to share his thoughts on then current issues. He didn't care that he and I were not in the same political party. He only cared about the state he loved. Governor was a true "leader" and a precious gift to our state.
Governor Ray grounded the Iowa Air National Guard after the federal government refused to make two Iowa families whole after their homes were destroyed when military jets crashed into them. He took the unprecedented action after the federal government exhausted his patience as he tried unsuccessfully to explain why they needed to do right for the two families.
Iowa did dig in in opposition to allowing twin-trailer rigs on the Interstate highways.