The root problem in America is spiritual, necessitating a spiritual solution. President Clinton should call for a convening of the spiritual leadership to spearhead a moral rejuvenation among the American people. Representatives of all races and all faiths should be brought to Washington, D.C., to hold conferences with President Clinton and government leaders toward the aim of developing programs for building the values and moral backbone of America, and for building better race relations.

Without a moral backbone, the nation cannot stand upright. Those creatures that have a backbone but cannot stand upright are known as four-legged beasts. Those creatures that have no backbone at all generally belong to the species called serpents. It is written in Genesis that beasts and serpents caused the fall of man. The destruction of beasts and serpents is foretold in the book of Revelation. As human beings, if we hope to enter the kingdom of heaven, we are meant to aspire toward righteousness, rather than act in a manner that makes us worse than the lowest of animals, the beasts and the serpents.

A convening of the spiritual leadership with the leadership in government is a first step toward building the country�s moral backbone. The central problems we should focus on are the basic value of human life, greed, criminal behavior and the treatment of women. It is the mistreatment of women that is the first act of criminal behavior in the society.

� Why not dispatch the spiritual leaders to develop educational and spiritual programming that will expand knowledge, develop character and thereby lead to a more enlightened and harmonious society across race, class and sex lines?

Broadcasters and other influential members of the media must also be summoned and shown their responsibility in the development of America�s moral character. They are one of the main culprits in numbing the people�s moral consciousness in a way that allows the people to engage in evil with impunity. If they would participate in a concerted effort to strengthen America�s moral backbone through enlightened TV programming, America�s chances for success would be greatly improved.

The artistic community has historically been in the vanguard of social change. What is now needed is for the artistic community to lead a cultural revolution. On the physical level, man is what he eats. Spiritually, "� as he thinketh in his heart, so is he �" (Proverbs 23:7) If the American people are constantly fed filth and garbage through newspapers, magazines, television, movies, plays and music; if the public, like the proverbial swine, has become a lover of filth; and if thoughts guide behavior, what do the thoughts of the American people produce? Do the thoughts of the American people produce rape, incest, murder, theft, greed, and the destruction of family and the institutions of society? I would argue that the answer is yes.

Therefore, along with summoning the spiritual leadership to convene with leadership in government, the artistic community needs to be shown its responsibilities to the overall mental and spiritual health and well-being of society and the world. Our gifts, as artists, are a blessing from God. We have the responsibility of the proper use of our gifts. Additionally, movie producers, record producers and publishers all have a responsibility to the spiritual, moral and mental well-being of the American people.

Will it profit the major producers and publishers to become filthy rich by feeding filth to the American public at the cost of the survival and progress of the nation? Who among the artists, producers, agents, publishers, writers and directors would like to be, in part, responsible for helping America become as the modern Rome, Babylon, Sodom and Gomorrah, all of which earned the wrath of God? If the artistic community would take up the challenge, and if the business community would not use its money to back filth and foolishness, if the real hunger and thirst of the people for knowledge and quality entertainment were fed, the country could be turned around almost overnight. A positive direction could be charted for the American people, which they must move toward if they hope to be saved from the country�s present course.

The Bible refers to the people as sheep, who, as the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, are easily led in the wrong direction. The people are responding to what the leaders have offered them, which is called "popular culture." The people�s appetite has been made insatiable for filth. If the leaders turn away from evil and indecency, then the people will turn. If the artists turn away from filth and indecency, then the people will follow. This is why it is written in the scriptures that the people need a "good" shepherd. In every field of endeavor, good leadership has to be asserted to turn corruption, greed, filth and indecency into righteousness.