"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." ~John F. Kennedy
I gave up my two cents (on politics) for Lent. If you know
me, you know that was really hard coming into this Election Year during the
presidential primaries. This short vacation from giving my two cents, and being
forced to be a silent spectator allowed me to observe how strongly people are
entrenched in their different camps. My
abstinence from verbal-sally caused me to reflect on a sign I saw in Washington
D.C. two years ago, which had blue and red letters, and read, “I COULD BE WRONG.”
That sign gave me pause because we are a culture that is fanatical about being
right.
I spent decades being a voting Republican, and now I am more
of a voting Democrat, but I’m learning that trying to convert someone from the
other side is not my mission. It’s embarrassing to think about how intense I
used to be about wanting to be right (on my righteous high and mighty moral
ground). That said, I still love to engage in political dialogue but it is more
to think through my own convictions. And so, when I write about it in a Blog or
on Facebook it is so that one day my grandchildren can say, “Oh this is how my
Oma & Opa thought, and these are the things that really mattered to them.
That explains why we have so many pictures of Oma hugging trees in the early 21st
century.”
So since I have abstained for so long, here is my two cents
about the current political climate. But understand, I am not trying to say you
should share my political views, I am only expressing how I think and why. Let me start by telling you why I left the right.
In 2005 I was invited to be Director of the Pastoral Care
Ministry for a church in California. I moved across country and took the job
for pennies. (If I told you how much you’d be shocked). But it gave me the
opportunity to do hands-on, raw, authentic, Jesus-like ministry with people who
outwardly would have been judged to be broken beyond repair: ex cons, recovering meth-addicts, homeless mothers, and those who hadn’t taken their meds in a few
weeks who were in need of rent money. My boss at the church was one of the
teaching pastors, Steve McNitt.
Besides being intelligent, caring, and one of the funniest
people I ever met, there was something else about Steve that was very unique.
He happened to be a Christian and a voting Democrat. In 25 years of being an
Evangelical Christian I had never met a single one who was a Democrat. This
blew my mind. I had never noticed before that every Christian I knew was a
Republican. Did they have the corner on the truth? Steve was not the kind of
person you could write off as being a lunatic, or uninformed. So I had to
explore what this was about.
When I asked him why he would be a Democrat his answer was
so simple and obvious. He said it was because Jesus was for the marginalized,
the oppressed, and the under-resourced. When I took some time to ponder things, I realized that the reason I voted Republican was for security (stronger
military, tax breaks for the rich and middle-class, deregulation and subsidies
for corporations, firming up the borders, and preserving traditional values
from the gay community and the ultra-liberals). When I listened to Steve’s
reasons for voting Democrat it was for compassion, not for security. He was
concerned about the needs of others. That sounded a lot more like Jesus to me.
Most Christians who are on the Right would tell you their
faith influences their vote. I was beginning to realize that Christians on the
Left do the same thing. There are many issues on the Democratic platform that
uphold Christian values and some that don’t; but the same is true for the
Republican platform. The question then becomes which values are most important
and what do we believe is government’s role in determining societal values.
Another factor that shifted my thinking is that my husband,
Rich, owns a company that teaches diversity in the corporate world. Consequently,
he keeps me current with the reality that the United States is so much more
multi-cultural than it was a generation ago. His training reminds him every
week that this country is not just for white Christians. This country was
founded on religious tolerance, freedom of thought, and a land of opportunity
for people of all races, nationalities, and creeds. And while it is okay to
disagree with someone else’s opinion, lifestyle, or religious beliefs, we
should respect, defend, and support the freedom for each American to choose for
them self.
Rich’s job as a diversity trainer, and meeting Steve McNitt,
are just two factors that have changed my outlook on politics (there would also
be getting to know some people of other faiths and cultures, having some
friends who are gay, and watching hundreds of hours of political news—including
the primaries and conventions of both parties). But here are the conclusions I
have come to (for now).
I am a white, middle-class, Christian, heterosexual. But I
am no longer committed to simply protecting my own interests and focusing on my
own security. I radically support people of color, the poor, Jews, Muslims,
Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, agnostics & gays. I do this because I believe
in the Constitution-freedom & justice for all; I do this because it’s 2012,
not 1812; I do this because I believe in loving my neighbor; and I do this because I believe I
should treat the marginalized, the foreigner, the down-trodden, and the
under-resourced in the same the I would treat Jesus (Matt 25:40 'In as much as you did it to one of the least of my brothers,
you did it to me.'). I will not be judged based on whether I achieve the
American Dream for myself or even for my children but whether I have compassion
on those who are in need. And I am not less of a Christian for wanting to give
free health-care to those who can’t afford it (even Jesus did that).
So, even though others may not agree with our conclusions,
at least I hope you have a better understanding of what motivates Rich and I to
think the way we do. Some of you, I know disagree vehemently with our opinions—I’ve
seen the vein pop out on the side of your head. I’m okay with that. However, I
hope you won’t waste your two-cents on me especially if it’s gonna cause your
blood pressure to rise.
My friend Pam a few years ago gave me a bumper sticker that
has become my motto, “Just be nice.” I know this Election Year is predicted to
be the nastiest ever. But I would ask those of you who are my friends (and I
hope I can uphold it myself)--let’s try to debate the ideas and not be so
mean-spirited. Obama is not a foreign-born socialist, and Romney is not a greedy
capitalist cult-member. They are two decent, well-educated men, who have
different ideas about how to run this country. Neither one of them is going to
plummet the country into ruin (we do that collectively as a society over time
by our lack of compassion and greed). And neither people who vote Democrat or
Republican are lunatics—it is only the people who are so sure they are right
that they cannot engage in respectful dialogue who are the real looneys!
