… is still Dickerson Road. That isn’t stopping the Metro Council from considering changing its name to Skyline Boulevard. As I’ve mentioned before, I think this is ill-advised because it only puts a band-aid on a severe wound in our city. Let’s look for tangible, substantial activities and programs that will restore Dickerson Road and reduce the crime that is common there before we pretend a new name will mean the street is safer, cleaner and more vibrant. Wishing, no matter how hard, doesn’t make it so.

I regularly receive email news releases from the police department about the good work they do to address crime in the city. MNPD communications officer Kristin Mumford has reported the following activity via email within the past month:

• March 16: “East Precinct detectives charged 20 persons as the result of investigations on Dew Street, Crescent Hill Road, Avalon Drive, Rosebank Avenue, Dickerson Pike, Lucile Street, Straightway Avenue and North 14^th Street, Meridian Street, South 7^th Street and Main Street, Fern Avenue, Petway Street, Grace Street, Trinity Lane, Shelby Avenue, Boscobel Street, and 4^th Avenue North.  Seized were 8.2 grams of cocaine, one gram of marijuana, four Dilaudid pills, one weapon, one vehicle, and $1,570 cash.”

• March 9: “East Precinct detectives charged ten persons as the result of investigations in the 800 and 1800 blocks of Dickerson Pike, in the 100 block of Lucile Street, in the 800 and 900 blocks of Shelby Avenue, in the 1000 block of Joyce Street, in the 1400 block of McKennie Avenue, in the 1500 block of Rosedale Avenue, in the 1500 block of Jones Avenue, in the 2500 block of Flamingo Drive, in the 1800 block of Jefferson Street, in the 1900 block of Avalon Drive, at Dickerson Pike and Trinity Lane, at Dickerson Pike and Cleveland Street, at South 10th Street and Shelby Avenue, at South 9th Street and Shelby Avenue, at South 7th Street and Sylvan Street, at South 7th Street and Dew Street, and on North 2nd Street.  Seized were 7.9 grams of cocaine, two pounds of marijuana, and $1,475.00 cash.”

• March 1: In ongoing efforts to respond to neighborhood and business quality of life and safety concerns,  East Precinct Crime Suppression Unit detectives arrested a clerk at the Last Chance Market at 839 Dickerson Pike today at 2 p.m. for selling drug paraphernalia to an undercover officer.

  Representatives from three Dickerson Pike area neighborhood associations and the Dickerson Road Merchants Association were on hand as Muna A. Abubeker, 33, of Bell Road, was charged with unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to deliver.  She told arresting officers she was the sister of the market owner, who is registered with the Beer Board as Yasmin Abuker.  The market has been cited for violating local beer laws due to the illegal activity, and a Beer Board inspector will follow up on that citation.

  Undercover officers made three separate paraphernalia buys at the Last Chance Market.  Seven markets on Dickerson Pike sold undercover officers some form of drug paraphernalia, but the Last Chance Market was the most brazen.  The pipes were sold from behind the counter in packages containing a steel wool filter or “Chore Boy”, a glass pipe, and a lighter for $3.75.

  The seven markets that sold drug paraphernalia will receive letters of warning from the Metro Police department that they are not in compliance with beer laws and face possible revocation of their beer licenses should they continue to sell drug paraphernalia.  The nine markets that did not sell paraphernalia will receive letters of commendation.

  East Precinct Commander Bob Nash says “officers will continue to assist the community in taking back their neighborhoods.”

• February 26: “Last weekend’s Operation Safer Streets gang enforcement initiative, which took place Friday and Saturday resulted in 47 arrests involving six felonies, 58 misdemeanors, and eight outstanding warrants.   Seizures included 27.9 grams of marijuana, 5.3 grams of cocaine, one weapon, and $95.00 cash.

  At least once a week, officers and supervisors representing each of the six precincts and the Specialized Investigations Division (SID) partner together to implement strategies to combat gang crimes and activities in various areas of Nashville.

  Friday’s enforcement consisted of 12 SID detectives and seven patrol officers.  Areas targeted were North 2nd Street and Hancock Street, the 1500 block of Porter Road, the Dickerson Pike area, the Cleveland Street area, 16th Avenue North and Jo Johnston Avenue, the Edgehill area, the Andrew Jackson Parkway area, University Court, the J.C. Napier public housing development, Trimble Bottoms, Paragon Mills, Harding Place, Tampa Drive, the Woodbine area, and the 600 block of South 15th Street.”

• February 23: “East Precinct detectives charged 13 persons as the result of investigations on North 2nd Street, the James Casey public housing development, the 100 block of Lucille Street, Dickerson Pike and Lucille Street, the 800 block of Dickerson Pike, the 1400 block of Dickerson Pike, South 6th Street and Shelby Avenue, Lischey Avenue and Grace Street, and the Litton Park Apartments on Litton Avenue.  Seized were ten grams of cocaine, 6.5 grams of marijuana, 90 assorted pills, and $685.00 cash.”

Dickerson Road does not need a mere name change; it needs an overhaul. I want to see this part of the city become safer and more conducive to residential and commercial development, but I don’t think renaming the street will solve the problem.

While writing my last post, I kept thinking about Bono and his efforts to raise awareness and money for debt relief for African Nations and for AIDS care. Why? Well, as many folks do, I love U2 for their music, and I have come to deeply admire Bono for his heart and his passion for doing something meaningful and substantive with his celebrity. Is he perfect? No. Is he an egomaniac? At times, yes, but one saving grace is that he seems to realize that relatively often.

I think that, in some ways, Bono went about taking political stances on issues not unlike James Dobson years ago. This great 2002 story from The Guardian makes the point that Bono “routinely denounced the [elder President Bush" in the early 90s and that he "call[ed] the White House nightly from an onstage telephone to lambast a hapless receptionist about US policy in Central America.” It spends much more time explaining how Bono changed his approach and has had much more influence:

“I’d have lunch with Satan if there was so much at stake. I have friends who won’t speak to me because of [former Senator Jesse] Helms. But its very important not to play politics with this. Millions of lives are being lost for the stupidest of reasons: money. And not even very much money. So let’s not play, Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? Let’s rely on the moral force of our arguments…”

“I went to people like Jesse Helms, who had been very tough on the the concept of foreign assistance and very bleak on Aids. He’s a religious man so I told him that 2,103 verses of scripture pertain to the poor and Jesus speaks of judgment only once - and it’s not about being gay or sexual morality, but about poverty. I quoted that verse of Matthew chapter 25: ‘I was naked and you clothed me.’ He was really moved. He was in tears. Later he publicly acknowledged that he was ashamed…”

The whole article is worth a read. It focuses primarily on Bono’s efforts to reach out to Senator Helms while he was still in Congress and how that outreach eventually turned into increased U.S. support for African debt relief. How did he do it? Not, as Dobson might fear, by giving up his principles and values, but by finding common ground.

Polarization may work for winning elections, but what good does preaching to the converted do when the real crises we face around the world go unaddressed?

Rachel Zoll of the Associated Press raises an important question in her recent story on conservative Christians (USA Today picked it up as “Christian right at crossroads“). The question itself–where is the religious right headed?–has been asked frequently lately, and it’s clear that this powerful segment of the electorate is pondering its response:

The founders of the religious right, now in the twilight of their leadership, see even the suggestion of expanding the agenda as a dangerous distraction. In public, and sometimes in personal ways, they are trying to beat back the challenge. “It’s an ongoing debate within the house of evangelicals,” said Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative Washington think-tank. “It’s about how evangelicals present themselves in the public arena.”

In November, some Christian conservatives condemned pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren for inviting Sen. Barack Obama to speak at an AIDS summit at his church. Obama, campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, supports abortion rights.

Just this month, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson and 24 other top Christian conservatives pressured the National Association of Evangelicals to silence its Washington director, the Rev. Rich Cizik. The reason: Cizik tried to convince evangelicals that global warming is real. [NAE refused.]

Is this about power, or is it about influence? I’m pretty sure I know the answer, but I would argue that influence is far more important in the long run than power.

What is to be gained, other than power, by rebuking efforts to address severe poverty, AIDS relief and global warming? I do not see eye-to-eye with Dobson on issues such as gay rights or abortion, but I’m not expecting (or asking) him to abandon them. Why not take on severe poverty, at the very least, for which there is without question a Biblical mandate? Is there not room for compassion within the discussion?

“I think there is a little bit of an element of revolt against the tone of some political engagement of the religious right in the past, which seemed quite harsh,” says Gerson, who supports taking on a broader set of issues.

“I think conservative candidates for president are going to have to have a strong international agenda of compassion, whether it’s AIDS or malaria or girls’ education or other issues, in order to appeal to a significant portion of evangelical opinion.”

Hearing statements like these gives me hope that conservative Christians as a political force may consider taking a seat at the table to face the issues of the day along with people with divergent views. Sitting down beside philosophical opponents doesn’t indicate weakness or defeat: It should indicate humility, courage and a willingness to contribute where there is common ground.