海角大神

Marianne Williamson wants to take a page out of the Donald Trump playbook and聽remake American politics 鈥� again. And she wants to do it with a healing message of love,聽she says, not fear.

In 2016, President Trump proved that a political novice with a larger-than-life persona聽and big ideas could win the White House. Now Ms. Williamson 鈥� a bestselling author,聽activist, and lecturer on spiritual themes 鈥� is in the hunt, one of 20 Democratic聽presidential candidates who say they鈥檝e qualified to take part in the initial primary聽debates, which begin June 26.

She faces a steep climb to the nomination. A mid-April poll by Change Research showed that 66% of likely Democratic voters do not know her name. A recent Monmouth poll put her support at 1%.

In an interview, Ms. Williamson calls for 鈥渁n awakening of the American mind鈥� and聽describes herself as a 鈥渞adical truth-teller.鈥� That approach to Mr. Trump, she says, is the聽only way to defeat him.

鈥淭he only way to beat big lies is with big truth,鈥� says Ms. Williamson, who shot to fame in聽the early 1990s when her first book was featured by Oprah Winfrey. 鈥淗e will eat a half-truth teller alive in this election. And the Democrats have been telling half-truths for decades now, ever since they too started playing footsie under the table with the same聽corporate forces that are the problem.鈥�

Ms. Williamson has planted herself firmly in the left wing聽of the Democratic Party. Among her positions, she wants public financing of federal campaigns, cuts to聽鈥渆xcessive鈥� military spending, and reparations for the descendants of slaves.

But it鈥檚 her focus on the spiritual health of the nation and her signature proposal 鈥撀燾reation of a Department of Peace and a Department of Childhood and Youth 鈥� that聽distinguish her candidacy. These cabinet-level agencies would boost U.S. efforts at聽international and domestic peace-building and address what she calls the 鈥渉umanitarian聽emergency鈥� around children in the United States.

Ms. Williamson bristles at the suggestion she鈥檚 a long-shot candidate. And, she insists, she鈥檚聽not new to politics 鈥� both literally (she ran for Congress in 2014) and in a larger sense, as she has spent decades focused on how to heal society鈥檚 ills.聽

鈥淭he political establishment has a way of proffering this illusion that they鈥檙e the聽only ones who sit around and think deeply about America,鈥� says Ms. Williamson,聽whose latest book is called 鈥淭he Politics of Love: A Handbook for a New聽American Revolution.鈥�

鈥淓verybody cares about America,聽and politicians don鈥檛 care any more than anybody else does, and they don鈥檛 have聽any better ideas than anybody else does.鈥�

Ms. Williamson is the only Jewish woman in the presidential race, a point of pride for聽the Texas native. In college, she studied comparative religion and philosophy, and later,聽at a time of personal challenge, turned to a metaphysical book called 鈥淎 Course in Miracles.鈥� It is that book that grounds her work, as does her Jewish heritage. She has聽also read the 海角大神 Science textbook, 鈥淪cience and Health with Key to the聽Scriptures,鈥� by Mary Baker Eddy.

The following are excerpts from Ms. Williamson鈥檚 interview with the Monitor, conducted with Nadine Epstein, editor of the Jewish magazine Moment.

What is some of the Jewish wisdom that guides you?

Tikkun olam [repair the world], certainly. 聽Also, I am so moved by the line: 鈥淵ou聽are not obligated to complete the task, but neither are you permitted to abandon聽it. Love mercy, do justice, walk humbly.鈥�

What spoke to you about 鈥淎 Course in Miracles鈥�?

It is a book about universal spiritual themes. My mother had a close friend who聽was a conservative 海角大神 lady. Anytime anybody did something good, she聽would say, 鈥淥h, she鈥檚 such a good 海角大神!鈥� One day, my mother couldn鈥檛 take it聽anymore, and said, 鈥淲hat do you think a good Jew is?鈥� All these things this聽woman was saying, that鈥檚 also what a good Jew does. That鈥檚 also what a good聽person does. To be a good person is the core of all the great religious systems.

You speak of the 鈥渄ichotomy鈥� of American history. What do you mean?

Our country was founded on the most enlightened principles that have ever formed the聽founding of a nation. And from the beginning, we have been at times the most violent聽transgressors against those principles. We had slavery, but then we had abolition. We聽had the suppression of women, but then we had two waves of feminism and the聽women鈥檚 suffragette movement. ... To me, the modern political establishment 鈥� the Democrats no less than the Republicans 鈥撀爏peaks to people鈥檚 self-interest. I鈥檓 not saying, 鈥淓lect me and I could do this for you.鈥澛燩olitics should be a far more noble conversation. It should be: This is what this聽generation should do for our unborn great-grandchildren.

Is anger an appropriate tool for political activism?

I鈥檝e likened anger to white sugar. It gives you a high. 鈥淚鈥檓 angry! I鈥檓 going to get聽Trump!鈥� But you will crash. Political change is a marathon, not a sprint. If all we聽do is beat Trump, those forces will be back in 鈥�22 and they鈥檒l be back in 鈥�24. We聽have to do more than save us from the cliff. And that鈥檚 a deeper, larger, less sexy聽job that we鈥檙e going to need real nutrition for.

As a woman, what do you bring to leadership?聽

It鈥檚 not just that I鈥檓 a woman. I鈥檓 a Texan, I鈥檓 a Jew, and I鈥檓 66 years old.聽If I were president, I would be humane and compassionate and values-based聽with the use of power. I would not be timid. In politics, you must compromise. But聽with vision, you should never compromise. And to me, that鈥檚 part of leadership.

You refer to a 鈥渟ilent emergency鈥� involving children. What do you mean?

Millions of American children go to classrooms where they do not even have the聽adequate school supplies with which to teach a child to read. We have聽elementary school children on suicide watch. Around 13 million American聽children go to school hungry every day.聽We have children living in what鈥檚 called America鈥檚 domestic war zones, where聽psychologists say the PTSD of returning veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq is聽no more severe than the PTSD of these children. These children should be聽rescued, no differently than if they were the victims of a natural disaster. And聽what is the political establishment doing, except normalizing their despair?

I want a massive realignment of investment in the direction of children 10 years聽old and younger. ... It鈥檚 not so much how I would exercise power differently than a man, it鈥檚 what I聽want to use power for that is different.