Belonging together, Praying for peace, Legislating for change

Istanbul Conference Center
October 13, 2011

The Honorable Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr has represented District 27 in the Texas Senate for over twenty years and has been a life-long advocate for the communities along the Texas border where he was raised. At the Gulen Institute Luncheon Forum, the Senator spoke with passion about his legislative work, his family, and his faith, addressing the audience with the words of Mother Teresa: "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

This reminder of our interdependence rang like a refrain through the Senator's presentation, as he emphasized the very real link between state spending and the quality, even possibility, of life for its citizens. Senator Lucio described his experience on the state finance committee, where he listened to hours of testimony from those who would be hurt most by proposed spending cuts. Throughout the recent budget debate, Senator Lucio feared that his fellow legislators, in their attempt to address the looming $27 million deficit, had "forgotten what we owe to each other."

Senator Lucio also spoke out against what he described as "offensive public policy proposals" regarding immigration restriction. His face registered a deep sadness as he joked about being one of the few politicians who has to prove his citizenship each time he travels to the state capital. For Senator Lucio, such political issues are essentially moral issues, and he spoke repeatedly of the need for our political organization to reflect our moral responsibility to each other.

You can read the event report by clicking here.