February 27, 2006
Who do you vote for?
As the upcoming elections (2006) get closer, I get to thinking about Democrats and Republicans. Then I get to thinking about what they say, versus what they do, and the more I think about it, the more mixed up I get. Maybe that’s the idea – get us all mixed up and focused on the national scene and then we sort of gloss over the local scene. If my memory serve me, isn’t there an old adage that “all politics is local”?
Here is part of my confusion. Let me explain then I’ll lay out my conundrum.
The Republicans claim that they are the Christian party – strong right wing politics – the moral majority and all that. Ok. I buy into that. They are against abortion – a loathsome idea – they are into ‘picking yourself up by the bootstrap’ – both Jesus and Paul spoke about carrying your own weight and honoring God by a good work ethic.
I’m not favoring the Republicans – their do it yourself ethos – while applaudable has a dark side. They seem to lack a certain compassion for the poor. Under the current administration (but is it the administrations problem – or is this a trend no party can control) the gap between rich and poor is very wide. I feel – but cannot prove – that somehow this is a much more brutal country to live in than ever before. I worry about retirement. I struggle with the concept – whether retirement is a right, or a fluke in time for the so called ‘greatest generation’.
Now the Democrats, don’t really claim to be anti-Christian, but they are the party that takes separation of church and state to new lows. Granted – this is the same principle that allowed Christianity to flourish in America – but now the principle is being applied to remove Christian concepts from America’s fabric.
I’m not being critical of the Dems. They also are a party that has a tremendous amount of compassion. They look out for the small groups – gays, other religions, the poor, the handicapped and for that they are a truly great political party.
So here is the conundrum – If Jesus’s central message is one of compassion and love (“Give me mercy, not sacrifice.”) then don’t you think it’s odd that the party that claims to be the moral party has the least compassion. And even more odd still that the party that distances itself from the moral majority the most – embracing unlovable groups of people – is the party that embraces the concept of compassion the very best – the very theme and essence of Jesus’ teachings.
So when you think this through – what do you vote for? I don’t think the answer is so clear if you really ponder it.
Here is part of my confusion. Let me explain then I’ll lay out my conundrum.
The Republicans claim that they are the Christian party – strong right wing politics – the moral majority and all that. Ok. I buy into that. They are against abortion – a loathsome idea – they are into ‘picking yourself up by the bootstrap’ – both Jesus and Paul spoke about carrying your own weight and honoring God by a good work ethic.
I’m not favoring the Republicans – their do it yourself ethos – while applaudable has a dark side. They seem to lack a certain compassion for the poor. Under the current administration (but is it the administrations problem – or is this a trend no party can control) the gap between rich and poor is very wide. I feel – but cannot prove – that somehow this is a much more brutal country to live in than ever before. I worry about retirement. I struggle with the concept – whether retirement is a right, or a fluke in time for the so called ‘greatest generation’.
Now the Democrats, don’t really claim to be anti-Christian, but they are the party that takes separation of church and state to new lows. Granted – this is the same principle that allowed Christianity to flourish in America – but now the principle is being applied to remove Christian concepts from America’s fabric.
I’m not being critical of the Dems. They also are a party that has a tremendous amount of compassion. They look out for the small groups – gays, other religions, the poor, the handicapped and for that they are a truly great political party.
So here is the conundrum – If Jesus’s central message is one of compassion and love (“Give me mercy, not sacrifice.”) then don’t you think it’s odd that the party that claims to be the moral party has the least compassion. And even more odd still that the party that distances itself from the moral majority the most – embracing unlovable groups of people – is the party that embraces the concept of compassion the very best – the very theme and essence of Jesus’ teachings.
So when you think this through – what do you vote for? I don’t think the answer is so clear if you really ponder it.
