Trick-or-Treat

It’s that time of the year again, when I get tossed questions as to whether or not those who call themselves Christians ought to allow their children to celebrate Halloween. W.E.B. DuBois once talked about the “two-ness” of black folks, “an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body.” There is a two-ness that exists inside of American Christians, an American, a Christian, two warring ideals in one cultural body. Stanley Haurewas and William Willimon suggest that Christians are called to be “Resident Aliens.” There are some things that should distinguish believers from non-believers.

There are not many parents, Christian or otherwise who can resist the yearly demands of children to purchase costumes and go “trick-or-treating.” Many parents consider the celebration of Halloween to be akin to the worship of all that is evil in our society and that are precious little ones should not be encourage or taught to celebrate something that is without biblical or religious sanctioning. As I am reminded of the various superhero outfits I adorned myself (still able to remember the houses that gave regular size candy bars and not bite size), I can say for many children Halloween is all about one thing – FREE candy.

I was baptized at age 7 and my regular attendance of church and Sunday School began well before that time. I never associated my yearly treasure hunt with things satanic; this is not to say that there are not those who do. I just happen to have been raised to know that I was a child of God and that the world is under the control of the evil one with whom we were at war (I John 5:19), not Ms. Tomlin or Mrs. Sales or The Glynns who doorbell that I rang whose children I went to school with, people I and my parents actually knew. Neighbors who informally covenanted with one other another to take care of the other’s child and to make sure we had a safe place to undertake our full-time jobs of being children. For some that was a bygone era, but I believe that is it still about the children.

Tonight 2,000 children will file through the gate at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in search of a treat, I think that they would be better served this week by dressing up as a lobbyist, health insurance executive, or banker and heading down Pennsylvania to the Capitol and asking the Congress to pass health reform legislation that will end the bureaucratic barriers that keep 2 out of 3 of the 8 million uninsured children who are already eligible for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Medicaid from actually getting the care they need. Legislation that will guarantee every child access to the full range of child health benefits they need which are now provided to children in Medicaid but not to children in CHIP. Legislation that will eliminate the unjust lottery of geography and provide an affordable national health safety net for all children whose family income is below 300% of the federal poverty line ($66,000 for a family of four).

Our children do not need more candy this year; they need insurance to cover their cavities and diabetic conditions. Insurance that will concentrate on preventative health measures that will lower too high incidents of childhood obesity. This year the trick may very well be a monumental health reform that leaves our children worse off. We cannot afford to pass up the opportunity to give our children a treat, health reform that fixes the health system for all of our little ones. I am not taking any children “trick-or-treating” this year not because I think it to be rooted in evil, but because I will be taking them to the West Lawn of the Capitol on Wednesday, November 4 to participate in the Children Defense Fund’s Stroller Brigade to demand that Congress and the President support real child health reform. What do our children deserve? Trick-or-treat?

-Thomas Bowen