Rowland on Faith and Politics
December 15th, 2006 by Peter
This morning’s Courant includes some pleasant surprises. One is a front page above-the-fold piece on former Gov. John Rowland’s speech to students at the Master’s school in Simsbury:
Rowland returned to the story of his long roller-coaster ride: elected to the state legislature at age 23, to Congress at 27 and to the governor’s office at 37. It was all gone at age 47, when he resigned amid an impeachment inquiry and a federal bid-rigging investigation into gifts and favors Rowland accepted from state contractors.
It was all for the best, he said.
His audience was students in grades 9-12 at The Master’s School, a non-denominational Christian school. The headmaster, Rick Burslem, had invited Rowland weeks ago to talk about leadership and character from what he called Rowland’s position of humility.
One might detect a hint of a slant in phrases like “from what he called,” but these are nitpicks. The piece is mostly Rowland telling his own story–a story that includes a worldview too rarely covered in our local paper of record:
Rowland said he avoided one universal truth, the need all men have for a foundation of faith, until he was incarcerated at a federal prison camp in Loretto, Pa.
Here is his reaction, halfway through his prison term, to learning he may face additional charges:
Then Rowland said that he saw the setback as a test. He had been reading the Christian self-help book “The Purpose-Driven Life,” which warned that God will use circumstances to test the faithful.
The book quoted Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
His advice to the Christian high school students:
“I guess the message to all of you is real simple,” he said. “Be ready. Continue to study The Word. Continue to look for circumstances to grow your faith.”
Be ready, study the Word, grow your faith. Not a bad message to live by. Kudos to the Courant for running it.
Was Rowland a practicing Christian before he got thrown out of office and sent to jail?
And is there real evidence that he is been “born again”?
Words can be cheap, particularly coming from politicians. Personally I’d like to see several years of good deeds before I grant him full forgivance. (you might not believe it, but I came to forgive both Lee Atwater and Richard Nixon in their final years. I mean they were really, really trying to end as good men.)
TruBlue,
You’re only hurting yourself for not forgiving. Do you really think Rowland cares if you forgive him or not? Do you think he knows?
It’s a better course to forgive. Let God sort out the fakes from the authentic ones.
John Rowland is such a role model! All kids should look up to him.
Steve–
I’ll consider what you are saying. I just don’t take it lightly when a public official sells out the public. Like that crooked Democratic Congressman from New Orleans, (William? Jefferson). Am I supposed to forgive and forget, just b/c he says he’s full of atonement?
I don’t hate John Rowland. But I’m going to treat him with disdain, and not respect, at least until he demonstrates to me that he deserves otherwise.
You know what? I think it is very easy to criticize Rowland – but I bet many of us would yield to the temptations that power and the office handed to him. That’s the culture of politics, unfortunately. There are already so many arrogant legislators entrenched in Hartford and Washington, and most do lots of questionable things; Rowland’s problem was that he got caught. I can think of others who have not had the Courant rabidly pursue them, and they continue to do stuff under the radar and out of public view. Many got to point the finger and throw rocks at Rowland, but as far as I am concerned he paid his debt, and he has to live with the humiliation the stained name the rest of his life. That’s enough of a burden.
I am a citizen that forgives him, and I wish him well and I hope that others will learn from his mistakes. That’s the best I think we can all do from this episode in his life. I mostly applaud his wife for continuing on, holding her head high, and standing by him. In the end I think people deserve a second chance, and I am glad that there are some good souls out there who are willing to help the Rowland’s do just that.
Someone on CTLP has interpreted this post to mean the former governor is on our “good guy list.”
Actually, I was never a fan of Gov. Rowland’s while he held the office. There are a few of us who still remember his 1990 abortion flip-flop, the crass oportunism of which he did not even try to hide. When the hot tub stuff hit in Dec. ’03 my first thought was “well, it’s a short trip from that flip-flop to a cottage on Bantam Lake.” A Tom Scott Courant op-ed appearing that same month also lingers in memory, less for its harsh words about Rowland than for its harsh words about the political culture from which he emerged. Liberals will nod in agreement on that point, thinking of Waterbury. But Scott was talking about Connecticut in general.
Is Rowland’s conversion sincere? Do I “forgive” him? Neither question seems right. The first one is not for me to judge; I should be busy “working out my own salvation with fear and trembling” instead. The second one is also not within my purview; Rowland’s sins were against society in general, not me in particular, and society has already rendered its verdict.
I will say that I am impressed with the message the former governor is preaching and with the Courant’s spotlighting of that message. That is the point of the post and not that he is on our “good guy list.” But I wish him well on his journey and he–and all of you–are in my prayers.
John Rowland is a decent man who got caught up doing bad things with bad people.
We should spend less time trying to demonize a man humiliatingly driven from public life than we should praying for him and his family.
This outrage is misplaced by hypocrites angling for a position.
What about the thousands of Connecticut families that will be frozen out of their homes by the failure and inaction (www.yournews2.com homepage article)
of the liberal democrats in the General Assembly to deal with utility rate increases.
I was with John Rowland in Loretto, where I was also serving time for a while collar crime. We became friends and started a 12-step recovery program during our time there. He was nothing but a generous and loyal friend, and I have the utmost respect for him.
Rob Rosolanko