Your Dream Needs You

Introduction by David Beckmann

Robin Stephenson and I have worked together in faith-based advocacy for more than two decades. She has worked closely with me since the publisher accepted my proposal for Poverty Abolitionists. She has helped me with writing, editing, research, graphics, and social media. Even more importantly, she has been a creative partner and sounding board. Every once in a while, I ask her to write a post in her own voice. This is one of those posts, and I'm glad to share it with you.

By Robin Stephenson

U2 released a new song, Street of Dreams, and it struck me that it is both a prayer and a call to action. It begins and ends with the plea, "God, hear me shout."

But the lyric that caught my attention is, "Your dream needs you."

That line reminds me of something I learned from my years of listening to David Beckmann and working in faith-based advocacy. Prayer is not passive. We pray, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Then God invites us to help answer that prayer.

The Bible is very clear that God loves every person because each of us is created in God's image. Every person matters. Poverty, injustice, and exclusion deny that truth. God's dream is a world where justice and love are not reserved for a fortunate few but are shared by everyone. As the song puts it, there is "justice, an obsession on the street of dreams." And throughout the Bible, God consistently stands with people who are poor, vulnerable, and overlooked, calling the rest of us to do the same.

That is also the central message of Poverty Abolitionists. God does not ask us only to hope for a better world or pray for one. God invites us to help build it. We participate whenever we advocate for just policies, organize our communities, serve our neighbors, and work to end hunger and poverty. None of us can do everything, but each of us can do something.

These are discouraging days. Many of us have spent years working to reduce poverty and hunger, and today we see some of that progress slipping away. It is easy to become discouraged. But David often encourages me when I feel that way. Faith is our armor against discouragement, and nothing ever gets better when we give up. Good, as he puts it, can always come out of evil.This song was an echo of that:  God's dream of justice still needs people willing to pray, to hope, and to act—”for the many, not just the few.”

You can listen to the song on Youtube or read the lyrics below. I hope it encourages and gives you hope too.

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Street of Dreams (lyrics by Adam Clayton, Dave Evans, Larry Mullen, Paul David Hewson)

God, hear me shout

Lend your ear to my prayer when I′m far from anywhere

Down to my last breath of air

God, hear me shout

Lend your ear to my prayer when I'm far from anywhere

Down to my last breath of air La calle

Calle de los sueños

All the doors are open on the street of dreams

La calle

Calle de los sueños

Be here

Be free

Be yourself

And then free me

Your fate? (Gonna fight it)

Your trust? (Won′t be denied)

This bus? (Gonna ride it)

To the street of dreams La calle Calle de los sueños Justice, an obsession on the street of dreams La calle Calle de los sueños Love in a procession down the street of dreams

Break out

Break through

Break in

Your dream needs you

Your life? (Gonna find you)

Your fear? (Not gonna blind you)

Random angels? (Gonna guide you)

To the street of dreams

La calle

Calle de los sueños

All the doors are open on the street of dreams

La calle

Calle de los sueños

Broken are the chosen on the street of dreams

Don't you give up on your dreams

For the many, not just the few

Don't you give up and your dreams

Won′t give up on you

La calle Calle de los sueños Justice, an obsession on the street of dreams La calle Calle de los sueños Love is a procession down the street of dreams God, hear me shout

Lend your ear to my prayer when I′m far from anywhere

Down to my last breath of air

A Message for our Senators

The House of Representatives passed three important measures this week:

1. A National Defense Authorization Act Bill that would set the stage for Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion in military spending, focused mainly on energizing the defense industry.
   

2. A continuing resolution that would fund the government until early December. The Senate is preparing a bipartisan appropriations bill, and the Senate leadership intends to bring it to the floor before the August break.
   

3. A budget reconciliation framework that wouldn’t require any Democratic votes. It would promptly provide $73 billion for the Iran war, $12 billion for farmers (who have generally voted for the President and been hurt by his policies), and $10 billion in grants to states that move forward with provisions in the SAVE Act. 

The SAVE Act would make it much harder for many people to vote. Most notably, people would need to demonstrate that they are citizens in order to register to vote. Each person who registers would need to show their birth certificate or passport. The SAVE Act would make it much easier for the Republicans to win this fall and in 2028.  It’s not likely to pass.  But the SAVE Act is President Trump’s top priority, and its passage would be another blow to our democracy. 

We should also urge our senators to link aid to farmers to aid for hungry families. The “One Big Beautiful Bill” last year cut federal funding for SNAP by shifting some of the responsibility for funding to state governments. Already, four million people, about half of them children, have lost SNAP benefits, and the cuts will be deeper when the cost share goes into effect on October 1. The Democrats on the Senate Agriculture have all taken a stand on this issue. They won’t vote for aid to farmers unless it is linked to a delay in the SNAP cost share. 

We might also urge our senators to reject more funding for the Iran war. The president has never had clear priorities or strategy for his war against Iran. It has killed thousands of people in the Middle East, and it has made life tougher for Americans — especially low-income and working-class Americans - by raising prices for gas, fertilizer, and food.

Here’s a draft of my note to my senators:

As the Senate responds to the House’s funding bills, I’d urge these priorities:

1. Oppose the provisions of the SAVE Act

2. Link aid to farmers to a delay in the SNAP cost share

3. Insist on congressional oversight of the Iran war before approving more funding for it.

Trump and His Billionaire Donors

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Elon Musk, Jeffrey Yass, and Marc Andreessen have each backed pro-Trump political efforts in recent election cycles.

The U.S. economy is extremely and increasingly divided between the rich and the rest of the population. Half the economy is owned by 10% of the population. Most Americans say they can afford little beyond the basics. Hunger and poverty are probably increasing, both in the U.S. and around the world.

President Trump and the nation’s richest people, most visibly tech billionaires, are working together — mainly for their own benefit rather than the public good. Trump makes some effort to maintain his support among voters. But while his no-taxes-on-tips and Trump accounts will expire at the end of 2028, most of Trump’s tax cuts for corporations and wealthy people are permanent.   

In general, reducing poverty isn’t on the MAGA agenda. On the contrary, many of his policies will increase poverty — cuts in assistance, civil rights, and voting rights; mass deportation; and high prices for gas, food, and imports. 

Meanwhile, the president openly dishes out favors to deep-pocket donors, notably low taxes and little government oversight. Artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency corporations are among Trump’s biggest donors. Without democratic oversight of AI development, the tech billionaires will develop this technology to maximize their profits — even if that makes large numbers of people unemployable. 

The president is himself a billionaire, and he is using his power to add to his personal wealth. His income in 2025 was $2.2 billion, with a big chunk of it coming from his cryptocurrency business.

Federal Election Commission data show that ten individuals and ten organizations have already poured $1.3 billion into the midterm elections. Based on Washington Post numbers, all but two of these donors gave to Republicans or in support of conservative causes, mainly laissez-faire for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency corporations.

Democratic candidates are, in general, raising more money than Republican candidates. But as of the end of June, the Republican Party committees and aligned super PACs reported $657 million cash in hand — nearly double the $334 million held by their Democratic rivals. In addition, MAGA Inc., Trump’s super PAC, has about $400 million in the bank. There is no limit on how much money donors can contribute to these structures, and a Supreme Court decision in June facilitates the coordination of party organizations with specific candidates.

Fortunately, President Trump is unpopular and increasingly so. Big business is also unpopular and increasingly so. We need to double down on our efforts to restrain and defeat MAGA in the elections of 2026 and 2028. Trump and his allies are doing everything they can to manipulate the elections in their favor. But the elections are our best chance to restrain MAGA and its wealthy supporters.

For people of faith, this is also a time to pray — that God will bring good out of evil, maybe this year or maybe in the longer-term future. As U2’s new song, Street of Dreams, reminds us, prayer is not a substitute for action. It inspires action.