An Interview with with Bill Moyers



"Around the world, faith-based fanaticism is breeding violence, and here at home faith-based politics, faith-based initiatives are producing anger, intolerance and polarization, making it impossible for us to solve some of our most pressing problems as a democracy, because if you know the mind of God and if you believe you are an instrument of God, you come to the public square brooking no dissent, brooking no negotiation, brooking no compromise, because you've got God on your side." Journalist Bill Moyers was the Deputy Director of the Peace Corps under founding Director Sargent Shriver.

An Interview with with Bill Moyers

More with Bill Moyers

On interviews:

No, I don't have a favorite, but I have a genre that I like, which is people who want to talk because they want to reveal, not to conceal, their mind's thinking. And the great drought that has visited politics today is because none of these politicians want to be interviewed to reveal anything. They want to be interviewed for the sound bite and the safe position. I had a mentor at the university of Texas ... who said that news is what people want to keep hidden; everything else is publicity. I don't think there's any production value greater than the human face, and watching the faces of the people that I interview as they actually listen to the questions and wrestle with the answers is a joy to behold.

Jeannette Winterson told you it's a dark time to be a writer and that we might be going into a "cultural dark ages." Do you agree?

I can certainly see what she means by that, and I certainly in moments of pessimism myself believe the triumph of the anti-science of the right, the triumph of political ideology that is not challenged by religious people who would rather see their president in power than to see any president held accountable. Yes, and I see the lack of quality in our public discourse as revealed on the cable channels, on Fox News, on talk radio, indicating that if people do see the light they quickly stamp it out. And yes, I'm deeply troubled that our democratic discourse, our philosophical explorations and our religious understanding are all reduced to bumper stickers and sound bites.

I'm guessing you don't have your own television set to Fox News.

No, I don't. I find the official view of reality a grave danger to my own health, my own state of mind and to the state of democracy as well. And Fox News is a ministry of information for Rupert Murdoch and his minions.

On uncertainty and Sir John Houghton:

He's one of the world's leading scientists ... (also) a lifelong Christian, born into a Baptist family in England, reconfirmed his commitment when he was a student at Oxford. And he says the greatest thing you can say as a scientist is the greatest thing you can say as a believer: "I don't know." And I find that's closer to the lived experience of most of us than the thunderbolts and denunciations and proclamations of the militants, of the fundamentalists, of the dogmatists and the literalists.

Don't you find people less and less comfortable with ambiguity and saying "I don't know"?

Yes, I think that partially explains the rise of fundamentalism in our world. Rushdie says the most disturbing thing that's happened in modern times is how faith has been turned into a political religion used as a club to bash other people. And he says the failure of secular politics, the failure of compromise, negotiation, irresolution, to provide meaning to people's lives is the reason certitudes and absolutes are attractive. And when we leave the argument to the polar extremes, it throws all of us back and forth between wanting to be as assertive and declarative as the true believer but knowing in our heart and our mind that that isn't true to the core of our experience.

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But around the world, faith-based fanaticism is breeding violence, and here at home faith-based politics, faith-based initiatives are producing anger, intolerance and polarization, making it impossible for us to solve some of our most pressing problems as a democracy, because if you know the mind of God and if you believe you are an instrument of God, you come to the public square brooking no dissent, brooking no negotiation, brooking no compromise, because you've got God on your side.

On faith:

In "The Power of Myth," I said to Joseph Campbell, "Are you a man of faith?" He said, "It's not a matter of faith with me. It's a matter of experience." And what he was talking about, I think, which I realized at the hospital that night, was the mysterium tremendum, that great mystery that we feel in the presence of music or with love or with the arrival of a child. That experience which takes us beyond language and beyond definitions to some awareness that can not be articulated.

As I said earlier, I believe in the ability of the storyteller to take us there. They can lead us to a place where our individual self-worth and our hunger for community are not mutually exclusive. And that is to me the tragedy of America today. People do long for individuality. We are a nation of individuals. Self-worth is important to a healthy constitituion. But we also hunger for community, and America is not satisfying that hunger now. And that gets back again to the explanation for fundamentalism, is that fundamentalism gives you instant neighbors, gives you instant community. You go to that church, it's full of strangers, but you feel like you belong because of the certitude that's there, the company is there, the challenge is there, and it's all like-minded people. I discovered some years ago that talking only to people who agree with you is like jogging in a cul de sac. It gets repetetive and redundant and unrevealing after a while.

Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company

When this story was posted in July 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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Jody Olsen is acting Peace Corps Director The Senate confirmed Gaddi Vasquez to head the FAO on June 30. Jody Olsen will be acting Director until the President makes a permanent appointment. Olsen has been Deputy Director of the Peace Corps since 2002. She has previously served as Chief of Staff for two directors, as regional director for North Africa, Near East, and Asia and the Pacific, and as country director in Togo. She served in Tunisia as a PCV.

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The Peace Corps Library The Peace Corps Library is now available online with over 40,000 index entries in 500 categories. Looking for a Returned Volunteer? Check our RPCV Directory. New: Sign up to receive PCOL Magazine, our free Monthly Magazine by email. Like to keep up with Peace Corps news as it happens? Sign up to recieve a daily summary of Peace Corps stories from around the world.

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Changing the Face of Hunger In his new book, Former Congressman Tony Hall (RPCV Thailand) says humanitarian aid is the most potent weapon the United States can deploy against terrorism. An evangelical Christian, he is a big believer in faith-based organizations in the fight against hunger. Members of Congress have recently recommended that Hall be appointed special envoy to Sudan to focus on ending the genocide in Darfur.

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PC will not return to East Timor in 2006 Volunteers serving in East Timor have safely left the country as a result of the recent civil unrest and government instability. Latest: The Peace Corps has informed us that at this time, the Peace Corps has no plans to re-enter the country in 2006. The Peace Corps recently sent a letter offering eligible volunteers the opportunity to reinstate their service in another country.

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Chris Dodd considers run for the White House Senator Chris Dodd plans to spend the next six to eight months raising money and reaching out to Democrats around the country to gauge his viability as a candidate. Just how far Dodd can go depends largely on his ability to reach Democrats looking for an alternative to Hillary Clinton. PCOL Comment: Dodd served as a Volunteer in the Dominican Republic and has been one of the strongest supporters of the Peace Corps in Congress.

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The RPCV who wrote about Ben Hogan Probably no RPCV has done more to further the Third Goal of the Peace Corps than John Coyne with the Peace Corps Writers web site and newsletter that he and Marian Haley Beil have produced since 1989. Now John returns to writing about his first love - golf in "The Caddie who knew Ben Hogan." Read an excerpt from his novel, an interview with the author and a schedule of his book readings in Maryland and DC this week.

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Vasquez testifies before Senate Committee Director Vasquez testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on his nomination as the new Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture replacing Tony Hall. He has been the third longest serving Peace Corps Director after Loret Ruppe Miller and Sargent Shriver. PCOL Comment: Read our thanks to Director Vasquez for his service to the Peace Corps.

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First Amendment Watch Maine Web Report hit with Federal Lawsuit Website wins trademark suit against Jerry Falwell

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Interview with a Hit Man RPCV John Perkins says that for many years he was an "economic hit man" in the world of international finance whose primary job was to convince less developed countries to accept multibillion dollar loans for infrastructure projects that left the recipient countries wallowing in debt and highly vulnerable to outside political and commercial interests. In this exclusive interview for "Peace Corps Online," Colombia RPCV Joanne Roll, author of Remember with Honor, talks to Perkins about his Peace Corps service, his relation with the NSA, "colonization" in Ecuador, the consequences of his work, why he decided to speak out, and what his hopes are for change.

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PC Program in Chad temporarily suspended Director Vasquez announced the temporary suspension of the Peace Corps program in Chad on April 14 and that all 29 Peace Corps volunteers have left the country. With a program dating back forty years (See Page 4 of the April 1966 "Peace Corps Volunteer"), RPCVs hope that volunteers can return to Chad as soon as the situation has stabilized. Congratulations to the Peace Corps for handling the suspension quickly and professionally.

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Peace Corps stonewalls on FOIA request The Ashland Daily Tidings reports that Peace Corps has blocked their request for information on the Volkart case. "After the Tidings requested information pertaining to why Volkart was denied the position — on March 2 — the newspaper received a letter from the Peace Corps FOIA officer stating the requested information was protected under an exemption of the act." The Dayton Daily News had similar problems with FOIA requests for their award winning series on Volunteer Safety and Security.

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PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

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History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

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RPCV admits to abuse while in Peace Corps Timothy Ronald Obert has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor in Costa Rica while serving there as a Peace Corps volunteer. "The Peace Corps has a zero tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law or standards of conduct established by the Peace Corps," said Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez. Could inadequate screening have been partly to blame? Mr. Obert's resume, which he had submitted to the Peace Corps in support of his application to become a Peace Corps Volunteer, showed that he had repeatedly sought and obtained positions working with underprivileged children. Read what RPCVs have to say about this case.

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Military Option sparks concerns The U.S. military, struggling to fill its voluntary ranks, is allowing recruits to meet part of their reserve military obligations after active duty by serving in the Peace Corps. Read why there is opposition to the program among RPCVs. Director Vasquez says the agency has a long history of accepting qualified applicants who are in inactive military status. John Coyne says "Not only no, but hell no!" and RPCV Chris Matthews leads the debate on "Hardball." Avi Spiegel says Peace Corps is not the place for soldiers while Coleman McCarthy says to Welcome Soldiers to the Peace Corps. Read our poll results. Latest: Congress passed a bill on December 22 including language to remove Peace Corps from the National Call to Service (NCS) military recruitment program

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Why blurring the lines puts PCVs in danger When the National Call to Service legislation was amended to include Peace Corps in December of 2002, this country had not yet invaded Iraq and was not in prolonged military engagement in the Middle East, as it is now. Read the story of how one volunteer spent three years in captivity from 1976 to 1980 as the hostage of a insurrection group in Colombia in Joanne Marie Roll's op-ed on why this legislation may put soldier/PCVs in the same kind of danger. Latest: Read the ongoing dialog on the subject.

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