The Common Good is best realized via some basic “uncommon ethics”, which is Biblically based. Wallis articulates a Biblical vision which is way beyond the narrow appropriations of select Scriptures by the Religious Right to butress their causes, while the majority of Scripture is negelcted by omission; “cut out” of the canon of their “Biblical vision” by forcing it into a nationalistic theology that removes the prophetic responsibility which is clearly depicted throughout Scripture, and the confronting of Empire which has been co-opted in favor of selective interpretations which use the Romans “Ruling authorites” passage to justify a wholesale acceptance of a particular ruling elite.

NO, the “Common Good” is simply, the best possible scenario for a just society; but this is often couched in terms of those who would benefit from it. It is rarely from the perspective of those oppressed by the systems in place. It was true in days of Israel’s self-rule, and it remained true as Empire after Empire became the oppressor of Israel, and Israel herself found itself in both roles: Oppressor and Oppressed. The Bible is a miraculous book, in that it tells the story from so many perspectives; when Israel was the OPPRESOR , the Prophets came forth and were heard in the Biblical narrative. When Israel was OPPRESED, we read things like “By the waters of Babylon , we hung our harps, and wept: How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”

God’s Politics: A Better Option, Sojourners Magazine/February 2005

Recent polling shows that the more religious voters are, the more likely they are to vote for conservatives. Given how negatively much of the political Left seems to regard religion and spirituality, this is not surprising. But what if a new political option regarded personal ethics as important as social justice and saw faith as a positive force in society – for progressive social change. I think the fourth option could be a real winning vision and believe that many are very hungry for it. While the political elites and many special interest groups resist the “personal ethics/social justice” combination (perhaps because it threatens many special interests), countless ordinary people would welcome it.
What we need is nothing less than “prophetic politics.” We must find a new moral and political language that transcends old divisions and seeks the common good. Prophetic politics finds its center in fundamental “moral issues” such as children, diversity, family, community, citizenship, and ethics (others could be added such as nonviolence, tolerance, fairness, etc.) and tries to construct national directions to which many people across the political spectrum could agree. It would speak directly to the proverb “Without a vision, the people perish,” and would offer genuine political vision that rises out of biblical passages from prophetic texts. Our own ancient prophetic religious traditions could offer a way forward beyond our polarized and paralyzed national politics and be the foundation for a fourth political option to provide the new ideas politics always needs.

Simply put, the two traditional options in America (Democrat and Republican, liberal and conservative) have failed to capture the imagination, commitment, and trust of a majority of people in this country. Neither has found ways to solve our deepest and most entrenched social problems. Record prosperity hasn’t cured child poverty. Family breakdown is occurring across all class and racial lines. Public education remains a disaster for millions of families. Millions more still don’t have health insurance, or can’t find affordable housing. The environment suffers from unresolved debates, while our popular culture becomes more and more polluted by debased and violent “entertainment.” In local communities, people are more and more isolated, busy, and disconnected. Our foreign policy has become an aggressive assertion of military superiority in a defensive and reactive mode, seeking to protect us against growing and invisible threats, instead of addressing the root causes of those threats. The political Right and Left continue at war with each other, but the truth is that these false ideological choices themselves have run their course and become dysfunctional.