Newsies

My An Arkie's Faith column from the November 15, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

During the first part of 1993, our family built our new home. To save money, we would go to the building site every evening and clean up after the workers. Seeing the progress each day was exciting, even though it seemed painfully slow. 

Before the new house was completed, the house we were living in sold, and we needed a place to live while our new house was finished. My parents had an available rental house in Yocana, so we moved to the country. Our new home was nearing completion and would be ready to move into in a few weeks. We enjoyed living in the country, even if the long drive into town several times a day did get old.

The house on the hilltop overlooked the highway, and cows in the field behind the house stood at the fence and watched as we moved in. Before long, the excitement of living in a new home in the country wore off for my kids. There is nothing to do, they complained. My son would let us know that he was “bored, bored, bored, bored, bored.”

We didn't have satellite television because we would only be there for a few weeks. Our only entertainment was a VHS player, a small television, and a few VHS tapes. One of the movies we owned was the Disney film Newsies. My daughter, who was in the eighth grade, loved the movie. It seemed that she watched it every day. 

The movie Newsies is based on the true story of the Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City. Thousands of homeless children try to make a living selling newspapers. Newsboy Jack "Cowboy" Kelly, played by Christian Bale, is a newsboy selling newspapers for Joseph Pulitzer and his paper, the New York World. The newsboys must purchase the newspapers for fifty cents per hundred and make money by selling them for a penny each.

Early in the film, Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst agree to raise the price of newspapers for purchase by the newsboys to sixty cents per hundred. Feeling they cannot bear the added cost, Jack organizes a strike with the aid of fellow newsie David. Along the way, the boys are aided by a newspaper reporter and hindered by the warden of “The Refuge,” a juvenile detention facility.  

Jack and the newsies gain the cooperation of rival newsboy groups from New York and Brooklyn to team up and strike against the big-shot newspaper owners. They eventually win their hard-fought demands after distributing a self-published newspaper flier and gaining the support of other non-union child workers around the city.

As I heard the music and dialogue from Newsies in the house almost daily for several weeks, the story became embedded in my brain. After our new home was finished and we moved in, Newsies faded into the background as we now had many more cable television options. But I never forgot the story.

A few weeks ago, the girl next door invited us to see the Mena High School production of the musical Newsies. She was excited about her role in the play and wanted us to see the show. I hadn’t thought about the Newsies for quite a few years, but the memories of our Yocana house and Christian Bale singing and dancing as the VHS tape of Newsies played almost daily came flooding back.

As the play began, there was a good crowd in the audience at the Mena High School Performing Arts Center. The energetic ensemble cast kept the crowd entertained as the story progressed. I was impressed with the quality performances by the young cast. 

The musical was light-hearted and entertaining, with lively and spirited choreography. But as I reflected on the performance, I realized that the underlying true story was anything but light-hearted. The complexities of the newsies’ struggle could never be explored in a movie or a musical. The historical reality was one of homelessness and child exploitation. 

As I tried to put myself back in 1899, I wondered how I would have seen the situation. As a businessman living in a lovely home, how would I have viewed the rag-tag children standing up to respected community leaders and causing trouble? Would I have been able to see the injustice of their situation?

God’s view of injustice is clear: he hates and renounces it. Yet injustice can be found in almost every area of human relationships. So, what should the Christian do when he sees injustice? Isaiah 1:17 (VOICE) says, “Learn to do good; commit yourselves to seeking justice. Make right for the world’s most vulnerable— the oppressed, the orphaned, the widow.”

Unfortunately, I don’t see much of Christianity following this council. Often, Christians side with the oppressors or are the oppressors. Jesus called out the religious leaders of his time for neglecting justice.  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” Matthew 23:23 (NASB)

Seeking justice is central to understanding Jesus. In his teaching and healing work, Jesus ministered to the sick, the poor, foreigners, and outcasts. He overturned unjust social structures between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, and more.

Micah 6:8 (NIRV) tells us: “The Lord has shown you what is good. He has told you what he requires of you. You must act with justice. You must love to show mercy. And you must be humble as you live in the sight of your God.” Jesus’ life teaches us that these three characteristics mentioned in Micah 6:8 should be embodied and reflected in our lives as we relate to our neighbors.

Gentle Reader, Jesus is telling His people today to walk humbly, act with justice, show mercy, and love all of humanity. Will we listen to His voice and instruction? “Open your mouth for those who cannot speak, and for the rights of those who are left without help. Open your mouth. Be right and fair in what you decide. Stand up for the rights of those who are suffering and in need.” Proverbs 31:8,9 (NLV)