Over the course of American history, our nation’s presidents have had a reputation of moving social justice forward. The idea of global prosperity and worth has been an American value that we’ve depended on our highest leaders to champion, encouraging us to think about the long-term well being of nations all over the world.
On this Presidents Day, I’m reflecting on some of the admirable actions that previous administrations moved forward, which sought to serve the well being of all people regardless of nationality.
Abraham Lincoln
The incoming Lincoln administration and most of the northern states refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Confederate States of America, and soon after, the Civil War began dividing our nation in half because of uncompromising differences between the free and slave states over the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in the territories that had not yet become states.
The Civil War proved that the idea of nationalism could exist even within a single country. The conflict was based on the idea that we should separate and go at this alone, seeking to serve our own interests over the best interests of people as a whole.
Lincoln fought against that premise through the infamous Emancipation Proclamation, transforming the fight to preserve the nation into a battle for human freedom.
Woodrow Wilson
Around 1917, there was a movement in the United States that wanted to isolate from the atrocities, forms of evil and injustice around the globe, bitterly denouncing attempts to involve the United States in any international organization.
But Woodrow Wilson pushed up against that ideal and encouraged the United States to participate in ushering an effective and lasting peace, which he enumerated in his famous Fourteen Points speech with the last point calling for the creation of the League of Nations. Wilson took courageous steps because there were many who didn’t want the United States to build bridges across borders.
I believe that he called us to live outside our own comforts and in a way that seeks peace and the well being of all people, addressing problems before they escalate into war, extreme violence, and injustice.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
Even though Franklin Delano Roosevelt was up against the American public’s wishes to isolate and remain out of the Second World War, he was able to introduce the Lend-Lease program, which provided for military aid to any country whose defense was vital to the security of the United States. This program laid a foundation for the post-war Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program, which provided aid to European nations to help rebuild their economies after two devastating world wars. The Marshall Plan channeled over $13 billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe between 1948 and 1951.
This plan was based on a notion that crosses over national lines, an American value to the core. This plan was costly and many people had to reorient their entire lives, but helping rebuild was worth the investment as it stabilized the economy in Eastern Europe, put millions of people back to work and suppressed the growth of extremist politics following the end of of World War II.
George W. Bush
In 2003 President Bush released the PEPFAR plan, which stands for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. This plan guaranteed $15 million to be spent over the course of five years on prevention, treatment and research on HIV/AIDS. Under the Bush administration, the U.S. was also a leader in contributing to the Global Fund on AIDS. PEPFAR is the largest-ever global health initiative dedicated to a single disease and prevented 7 million new infections while caring for 10 million infected.
This financial investment saved lives on the other side of the world. This came at a great cost and burden for the United States, but our national leadership understood the American value to help those who aren’t like us, to cross borders and seek to solve issues plaguing others.
Barack Obama
President Barack Obama greatly expanded the PMI or President’s Malaria Initiative, which is a historic U.S. Government effort to lead the fight against malaria in Africa through a $1.2 billion initiative. Since the beginning of the Obama Administration, with the support of Congress, annual funding levels for PMI doubled. Progress in combating malaria over the past 10 years represents one of the greatest success stories in the history of public health. Since 2000, the number of children who die from the disease has fallen by more than 50 percent, and a vast majority of them have been young African children.
I’m deeply inspired by Galatians 6:10, which calls us to seek the well being of all people. Justice for all is our ethos. This is our motivation. We need to focus on more than just being pragmatic and doing things that will earn us the most money. We need to focus on attitudes, postures and policies that will actually bring about justice to the vulnerable. These sentiments are all found in biblical Christianity.
The Bible is clear that those who place themselves first shall be last and those who place themselves last will be first in God’s kingdom. Greatness is found in being a servant, even to the place of becoming a slave. Give up your rights so that you can serve the needs of others.
While no leader is a moral absolute and while each of them has pitfalls characterized by their humanity, I’m often encouraged by those who choose to fight for the vulnerable. When we seek to use our power and authority to lift others up, rather than further perpetuate poverty and hopelessness, we’re acting in service to God.
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.” -Philippians 2:3
Respect around the world comes when we serve others and not only when it benefits us with greater influence and prosperity.