We have to know where and how they can catch the winds that make them soar and avoid the winds that send them onto the rocks. In short, to be wise leaders in a time of turbulence, we have to know the context in which we are working. That is what it means for the church to take social action. To act on that belief is to take the whole of social life as the arena for God s creative activity. It is to advocate in every possible arena for structures and policies and practices that strengthen and enable people to be faithful.
Political advocacy is an important part of our responsibility to our young people.
More than 90 percent of all smokers start when they are teenagers or younger, according to the American Lung Association. Most start before the age of 16, many before they are 12. Thus, the decision to smoke is basically being made by children, not adults. Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in this country. Some 46 million American adults smoke cigarettes, and 85 percent of them began smoking as teenagers.