December 24, 2004: Headlines: COS - Tunisia: Politics: Religon: Journal Times Online: Jim Doyle says: We spent two years in a tiny little village in Tunesia in an oasis far out in the desert, where the people were Muslim. We had a wonderful experience, and we saw how kind and thoughtful very, very religious Muslim people were toward us.

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Tunisia: Special Report: RPCV Jim Doyle, Governor of Wisconsin: Special Report: Governor and Tunisa RPCV Jim Doyle: December 24, 2004: Headlines: COS - Tunisia: Politics: Religon: Journal Times Online: Jim Doyle says: We spent two years in a tiny little village in Tunesia in an oasis far out in the desert, where the people were Muslim. We had a wonderful experience, and we saw how kind and thoughtful very, very religious Muslim people were toward us.

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-43-253.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.43.253) on Saturday, January 01, 2005 - 7:52 pm: Edit Post

Jim Doyle says: We spent two years in a tiny little village in Tunesia in an oasis far out in the desert, where the people were Muslim. We had a wonderful experience, and we saw how kind and thoughtful very, very religious Muslim people were toward us.

Jim Doyle says: We spent two years in a tiny little village in Tunesia in an oasis far out in the desert, where the people were Muslim. We had a wonderful experience, and we saw how kind and thoughtful very, very religious Muslim people were toward us.

Jim Doyle says: We spent two years in a tiny little village in Tunesia in an oasis far out in the desert, where the people were Muslim. We had a wonderful experience, and we saw how kind and thoughtful very, very religious Muslim people were toward us.

Governor and his wife talk about their faith
By Tom Sheehan

Gov. Jim Doyle and his wife, Jessica, invited members of the Capitol press corps to the executive residence for personal interviews Thursday. In the spirit of the holiday season, state government reporter Tom Sheehan took the opportunity to ask the governor about his views on faith and religion.

By TOM SHEEHAN Lee Newspapers Madison Bureau MADISON - Gov. Jim Doyle and his wife, Jessica, attend Queen of Peace Roman Catholic Church in Madison, where they were married in 1966. The governor said his views on religion have been shaped by his Catholic upbringing, the observance of religions in other cultures and through the study of religion itself.

The couple worked as teachers through the Peace Corps in Tozeur, Tunisia, from 1967-69. After the governor graduated from Harvard Law School in 1972, they moved to a Navajo reservation in Chinle, Ariz., where he worked as an attorney and she as a teacher.

Below are excerpts from the interview, presented in a question and answer format. Responses are presented in the governor's own words, although comments were abbreviated as indicated.
Image
Image Image
Image
What role does faith or religion play in your job as governor, if any? I think as with any person in any walk of life, my faith is part of who I am, how I see the world and how I make decisions. There's no doubt it's part of who I am. I also appreciate the fact that I'm the governor of a state that has people of a lot of different faiths. I didn't get elected because I'm Catholic, and I didn't get elected to be the Catholic governor of Wisconsin. I got elected to be the governor of a state of people with a wide range of faiths. I think America, the United States, figured this out pretty well 200 years ago. I just really strongly believe that, and I think it's one of the reasons you've seen faith flourish here. You've seen a nation that does not impose one religion over another.

You're likely to face some legislation that has fundamental religious connotations. How will you deal with those proposals from a Legislature that has been accused of focusing on "God, guns and gays?'

Because a piece of legislation may be inspired by somebody's religious views doesn't mean it's a bad piece of legislation. That's not the standard. In fact, for that reason it may be a very good piece of legislation.

(For example), to try to make sure that kids, no matter what their economic circumstances, get off to a good start in life, to me, that's a religiously inspired piece of legislation. I think the question is really on the merits of whether a piece of legislation is good for the state. I don't believe that having us carry loaded guns in out pockets in crowded shopping malls is good for the state ....

On issues of marriage, to me, Wisconsin law is absolutely clear on this right now. Marriage is between a man and a woman. I think that's how most the people in the state view the term marriage, and that's the law right now. This idea that we keep passing the same law over and over again seems to me particularly inspired to do nothing other than to try to inflame people's passion on this .... It's not like we need to pass another law, and you don't need to pass a law a second time and a third time.

What shaped your religious views? I grew up in a very Catholic family. I attended public schools. But in those days, if you were a Catholic student going to a public school, they gave you, like triple the religious instruction to make up for it. So a lot of my summers were spent in religious instruction schools ...

But in many ways, the Catholic religion I grew up in is very different than the Catholic church we go to now. I grew up in (the era of) a Latin Mass and a religion that was really focused on legalisms - did you do this exactly right or that exactly right? And what exactly are the consequences if you do this or that? I'm very interested in (religion). I read very widely in it. I'm very interested in the history of religion. I've read quite a bit of the historical Jesus in trying to look at the gospels and other writings of the time in different ways, so it's something that's interested me spiritually very deeply.

This is obviously a huge topic, and one that you could spend a long time on. I believe that religion should not be - and this is my personal view that I've arrived at, and others disagree with it. But I don't think religion should be the basis for harsh judgement of others, and I don't think it should be the basis of dividing people.

We've had the opportunity to live in some really remarkable places, and in communities of very different religious beliefs than the ones we grew up with.

We spent two years in a tiny little village in Tunesia in an oasis far out in the desert, where the people were Muslim. We had a wonderful experience, and we saw how kind and thoughtful very, very religious Muslim people were toward us.

It was their religion in that little village, many years ago, and this was before the rise of a lot of the militant things you see now - but it was clearly their religion that taught them very clearly that when outsiders came to the village, they were to be greeted warmly as friends, and they were to be received and to be helped.

We spent three years living on a Navajo reservation in an area as large as the state of West Virginia in which we worked and lived with very traditional Navajo people, many of whom were non-English speakers and had a very spiritual view of the world, very different from the traditions that we had grown up with, and yet again we were greeted with kindness, hospitality and warmth.

It was clear their spiritual view of the world - the Navajo view of the world to live in harmony meant very much that you were to live in harmony with people.

I think we've learned a lot, not just from the particular religion that we grew up with, but we've learned a lot from living in different cultures and from having family members of many different religions. For example, I see with many of my Jewish friends, this incredible commitment to social justice that comes out of Judaism.

To me, religious inspiration isn't so much what particular religious tradition you came from. It's what motivates you toward higher ideals, and the higher ideals that seem to be pretty universal from what I can see, and certainly the ones that I share, is that religion shouldn't be the basis for harsh judgements. It shouldn't be the basis for telling everybody else how they ought to live, and it shouldn't be the basis for dividing people.

That's sort of where I come to in my life in all of this, and other people feel, I mean I understand I have heard and spoken with many times other people who believe that there is one way and only one way that you are supposed to believe. I actually was kind of raised thinking that, and I have come to understand that the faith I was raised in is a great one, particularly as you open it up more and realize how universal these spiritual and religious feelings are of people.





When this story was posted in December 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Changing of the Guard Date: December 15 2004 No: 330 Changing of the Guard
With Lloyd Pierson's departure, Marie Wheat has been named acting Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations responsible for the day-to-day management of the Peace Corps. Although Wheat is not an RPCV and has limited overseas experience, in her two years at the agency she has come to be respected as someone with good political skills who listens and delegates authority and we wish her the best in her new position.

December 18, 2004: This Week's Top Stories Date: December 18 2004 No: 334 December 18, 2004: This Week's Top Stories
RPCV remembers Deborah Gardner's murder in Tonga 17 Dec
Maoist insurgents in Nepal release Swiss aid worker 17 Dec
RPCV Alison Williams exhibits portraits of Malian people 16 Dec
Former Brazil Medical Director convicted of drug charges 16 Dec
RPCV Joseph Opala researched slave trade in RI 15 Dec
Vasquez sees resurgent interest in PC 14 Dec
Senator who wanted duel with RPCV joins Fox 14 Dec
NPCA planning National Day of Action for PC funding 13 Dec
RPCV "Harry" Chandler votes in Electoral College 13 Dec
Critic says Moyers delivered neo-Marxist propaganda 13 Dec
Micronesia RPCV Walter Cavanagh has 1,496 credit cards 13 Dec
PC "Survivor" Julie Berry headed for California 11 Dec
more top stories...

Our debt to Bill Moyers Our debt to Bill Moyers
Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia."
RPCV safe after Terrorist Attack RPCV safe after Terrorist Attack
RPCV Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the U.S. consul general in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia survived Monday's attack on the consulate without injury. Five consular employees and four others were killed. Abercrombie-Winstanley, the first woman to hold the position, has been an outspoken advocate of rights for Arab women and has met with Saudi reformers despite efforts by Saudi leaders to block the discussions.
Is Gaddi Leaving? Is Gaddi Leaving?
Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors.
The Birth of the Peace Corps The Birth of the Peace Corps
UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn.
Vote "Yes" on NPCA's bylaw changes Vote "Yes" on NPCA's bylaw changes
Take our new poll. NPCA members begin voting this week on bylaw changes to streamline NPCA's Board of Directors. NPCA Chair Ken Hill, the President's Forum and other RPCVs endorse the changes. Mail in your ballot or vote online (after Dec 1), then see on how RPCVs are voting.
Charges possible in 1976 PCV slaying Charges possible in 1976 PCV slaying
Congressman Norm Dicks has asked the U.S. attorney in Seattle to consider pursuing charges against Dennis Priven, the man accused of killing Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner on the South Pacific island of Tonga 28 years ago. Background on this story here and here.
Your vote makes a difference Your vote makes a difference
Make a difference on November 2 - Vote. Then take our RPCV exit poll. See how RPCV's are voting and take a look at the RPCV voter demographic. Finally leave a message on why you voted for John Kerry or for George Bush. Previous poll results here.

Read the stories and leave your comments.






Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Story Source: Journal Times Online

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Tunisia; Politics; Religon

PCOL15580
89

.


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: