‘We have the opportunity to stand up for the American values of tolerance and pluralism.’ Eboo Patel says America’s history makes it uniquely suited to deal with the dual challenges of religious extremism and intolerance. A frequent commentator on religious pluralism in national media, Patel founded Interfaith Youth Core, which promotes respect and understanding among people of many faith traditions. “There’s this beautiful line in the Holy Quran that says God gave us different communities so we can get to know one another,” Patel said. “As a Muslim, whose parents immigrated here from India, I believe that America is humanity’s best chance at getting it right.” Patel talked about a letter written by President George Washington to a Rhode Island Hebrew congregation in 1790. “Washington wrote that ‘my government will give bigotry no sanction and persecution no assistance,’” Patel noted. “This nation is so precious and so unique – the first country to give rise to the notion that people from the four corners of the earth, that people from every faith background, can come together to build a nation.” Patel said when he encounters hate and prejudice because of his Muslim faith, he remembers that America always “gets it right. “The path that I follow, the path of Islam, the path of the prophets, the path of America is a path of trying to show magnanimity in the face of intolerance.”
‘This country was founded on the concept of opportunity, not entitlement.’ Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, who has become an evangelist for fiscal responsibility and sustainability through his Comeback America Initiative, claimed the nation “lost its way in the early s and became addicted to conspicuous consumption and debt.” With the nation shouldering tens of trillions of dollars in debt, Walker said each American now owes more than ,, much of it in unfunded obligations to Medicare and Social Security funds. He sees a looming debt crisis in the next few years. “We need to learn from the past and bring back some tough budget controls … and comprehensive tax reform that will generate more revenues,” Walker said. Claiming that Congress “needs adult supervision” to make tough decisions and return to founding principles of “thrift, savings, investment, limited debt and stewardship,” Walker called on students to become more informed and involved. “Your future is being mortgaged at record rates,” Walker said. “Investment in your future is being cut as more of the (government) budget is going for consumption, primarily for seniors. We need a virtual movement … a social networking march on Washington to get them to make these tough choices.”
carl hairston ’11
“Our nation has always been able le to end recessions by producing, not spending. We need to retooll American business to compete in the global marketplace.”