Point-Counterpoint at January Series
The prize-winning, nearly month-long January Series at Calvin College kicked off with two lectures this week that offered starkly different views of the role of government in the economic life of the United States.
In the first, newspaper correspondent, commentator and author T.R. Reid spoke about the quest for better, cheaper and more equitable health care in the United States.
Reid studied health care in 10 industrialized countries while preparing his book "The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper and Fairer Health Care." What he found, he said, is that religion played a crucial role in countries providing health care to their people. "When you ask people in these countries why do you provide health care for everyone, very often their reason comes out of religious faith – (providing) for the least of their brethren, and we do not."
The U.S. Congress is currently debating institution of a broad health-care program that involves significant participation by the government.
Being streamed via Webcast to 28 remote locations in Michigan and across North America, the series continued on Thursday, Jan. 7 with a lecture that was a counterpoint of sorts to the one given by Reid.
Arthur C. Brooks, an economist, spoke about how the U.S. is increasingly turning toward a socialistic, government-run society. The free market system, characterized by individual achievement and entrepreneurship is on the wane, said Brooks, director of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Research in Washington, D.C.
"I am a Christian and believe that material things can be a tyranny to people," said Brooks to his audience in the chapel at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. "But I'm fearful that there is a poverty of ambition among people that is not good for this country."
Research shows, he says, that people are motivated by earning a living and the rewards that come from it. When a person earns his or her own way, that person is happier and more fulfilled. But when a person has his or her needs met by a government-run program, they learn to expect things without working and subsequently lack happiness and self-worth in their lives, said Brooks. His topic was "America's New Culture War" – an epic economic struggle for dominance between the free-enterprise system and a government-dominated approach.
Calvin is strongly supported by the Christian Reformed Church in North America. The January Series runs through Jan. 26 and will feature a range of other speakers, including an African economist, a current member of Egypt's parliament and a past pastor of a multi-cultural church in Chicago. A prison warden who has written a book about the need to rehabilitate prisoners; the co-founder of the popular Wikipedia website, and Richard DeVos Sr., co-founder of the Amway Corp., are among the speakers. All of the lectures, which are free, begin at 12:30 p.m. and last for one hour.
Speakers also include a foreign news correspondent and author who was the victim of a car bombing while reporting in Iraq. She’ll discuss what she experienced that day and how she has been able to recover from the blast. Harvey Carey, the Founder and Senior Pastor of the Citadel of Faith Covenant Church in Detroit, MI., the fastest-growing multicultural church in the region, was to speak Friday, Jan. 8.
K.A. (Tony) Namkung, an expert of Asian affairs, speaks on Monday, Jan.11 on "The Theology Behind Smart Diplomacy with North Korea" People can listen to the lectures over their computer if they have the proper software.
Persons at remote sites are able to email questions to the speakers. Two questions came over the Internet to Brooks on Thursday. When asked how to help people whose only recourse for their meals are donations from a food pantry, Brooks said, "Research shows that the happiest, healthiest people are servers. Encourage them to become servants in some capacity. Research shows that even giving blood makes you feel happier. See if there are ways that you can help to teach them to give as well as to serve. Everyone has something to give to others."
Earlier in his lecture, he said that the best way that the nation can climb out of the current recession is to do it the same that it has always been done. “Through hard work, sacrifice and entrepreneurship,” he said. "I can't say that the free enterprise system is the will of God, but it is the best way that I can express my Christian stewardship."
Limited parking for the series is available on the main campus. Additional parking with free shuttle bus service can be obtained be at the Prince Conference Center on the east side of East Beltline. Doors will open at 11:30 a.m. daily for the series. Click here to find the remote locations from which the series can be viewed and heard: 28 remote locations.
For 23 years, The January Series has been one of the leading lecture/cultural arts series in the country. Musical performances are often part of the series as well. It has received awards and various recognitions since it started. The diversity of presenters and topics has changed as the world of ideas has changed. Issues of importance to a Christian liberal arts college founded on Reformed, biblical principles have been, and continue to be, addressed by the speakers.
