Former Governor John Kasich Spent His Career Working Across the Aisle. He Says Faith and Hope Will Help Us Come Together Right Now
John Kasich, former Ohio governor and presidential candidate, spent his political career bringing people together to solve big problems and figure out ways to make the world better. Yet what he’ll tell you is that real, lasting change doesn’t start in Washington. It starts with us—in our neighborhoods and local congregations, where people are still showing up for each other no matter who they voted for.
On this Easter Sunday, we asked the former governor to talk about his new book, Heaven Help Us: How Faith Communities Inspire Hope, Strengthen Neighborhoods, and Build the Future, and how all of us can tap into faith and spiritual connections to fuel civic action.
A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN KASICH
You’ve worked with politicians on both sides for many years. Where do you think we’ve gone off track in our political discourse?
I think too many politicians have been too excited about holding office rather than doing something when they’re in office. At the same time, the fear of primaries—this thought that “If I don’t do what I’m supposed to do, I’ll lose my job”—really doesn’t allow you to do your job. You have the fear of primaries in districts that are close, and you have people in roles who just want to inhabit the job as opposed to do anything when they’re in the job. There hasn’t been the kind of emerging leaders that one would like to see.
I believe faith provides a moral purpose. That’s another thing that’s missing in the country—the sense that I have an obligation and a responsibility to do something with the gifts that I’ve been given. That’s what’s disappointing about many parts of our society right now.
You argue that having a faith community can make it easier to accomplish big, impactful things. Why is this?
Most great changes in America have come from the bottom up. The most dramatic in my lifetime was the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King used the power of the church and his role as a moral authority to try to push for something that was just so significant and so critical in our society.
I believe that people who are driven by faith—no matter whether you’re Christian, Jewish, or Muslim—seem to be people that just keep forging ahead because they believe what they’re doing is so important.
That’s really the thrust of my book. People who’ve had faith have been able to take an idea—whether it’s about the homeless, about feeding people, about what we do for those who are autistic—and trust that if they pursue this path, they can accomplish great things.
It’s their faith that drives them to keep going, even when they can’t see where they’re going to end up.
What would you say to someone who says, “It’s a tough time to have faith”?
I’d say when times feel tough, it’s a great time to remember faith.
If you build your house on sand, the storms will inevitably come and wash everything away. If you build your house on rock, you’ll be better prepared to whether and survive the storms of life. I think that’s something we have to keep in mind.
Think about your eternal destiny and about where you are today. Ask yourself, “Is there a power that cares about me? Is there a God that cares about me, that understands what’s happening with me?” It’s a process, trying to figure out where you are vis a vis the big guy. And when you find your purpose, it doesn’t mean that life is easy. But there’s a sense of security. A sense of foundation. And if you get together with other people who share that faith, it’s amazing what you can accomplish.
Are you hopeful about American democracy right now?
I think America is going to survive, for sure. Look, we’re going to have ups and downs. But fortunately, we have institutions. I think you’re going to see more importance with the courts. We’ll see how that all plays out. But at some point, maybe Congress will actually get its voice back. What’s been happening with the Congress giving all their authority to the executive didn’t just happen recently. It’s been growing over a period of time. The Congress has been silent and unwilling to assert itself for any variety of reasons, probably the fear of being “primaried” and losing their job, as I mentioned earlier. Imagine having a job, and every day you go to work, you’re afraid that the job’s going to be taken from you.
But our problem in this country is not just in politics. There’s been a lack of leadership across the board. In sports, we have college students who are now holding out like professional athletes with NIL (which stands for “Name, Image, and Likeness”), which is basically destroying amateur sports in this country. You have business leaders who are afraid to make decisions, or they have these golden parachutes where they don’t have to produce anything and they get these enormous sums of money. Where’s the leadership in business? Where’s the leadership in the media?
We tend to think about a lack of leadership in politics, because it’s an easy thing to look at as opposed to looking in the mirror and saying, “What the heck am I doing?”
What would you say to Americans who are exhausted by our divisive time, but who still want change?
Easy answer: Do something in your community.
Instead of sitting around, worried what you’re going to do about President Trump or the courts, I say you should ask: “What am I doing in my community?”
My wife has a mission where she visits people who are older. She puts a little light into their life. She gives them some something to look forward to. Is it a big deal? For them it’s a big deal. What are we doing where we live to change things based on what we can do, big and small.
How do you stay grounded and optimistic right now, in our world that often rewards outrage over reflection?
Faith, family, and friends.
I have my faith—though I have to work at it all the time, just like I go to the gym to stay fit, because it’s easy to get attracted to all the rules and values of our society as opposed to thinking about gliding a little bit above them. My family matters a great deal. And my friends are great. I don’t agree with some of them, but that’s okay. We’re still buddies, and we’re loyal to one another.
It’s Easter Sunday. Can you speak to how important religious holidays like this one can be a good time to remember how faith can help in these trying times?
We are living in a society that in many ways, is struggling. Being able to realize that there’s a power greater than us that’s in charge is important. And if we tap into it, it’s like plugging into a wall—you get a juice of electricity that allows you to do more things than if you don’t plug in.
I also think that on these holidays, we need to realize that God’s pretty big. He can take care of all of us. And so we can meld with other religions to celebrate the fact that, thank God, we have somebody greater than all of us to look after us and at the end of the day have things come out right—maybe not always here, but in the afterlife.
I think Easter is glorious time. All of these holidays—the ones we celebrate, and the ones our friends in other faith communities celebrate—are times for everybody to reflect. And hopefully in some cases, reflect together.
Former Ohio governor and presidential candidate John Kasich is both a public servant and a man of faith. Today, he runs the Kasich Company and serves as a political analyst for NBC, CNBC & MSNBC. Kasich is the author of four New York Times best-sellers. Learn more about him here.
Please note that we may receive affiliate commissions from the sales of linked products.
