I know that this election is definitely a hot topic and that people’s emotions are running high, but I had a pretty crazy encounter dealing with the election. At work, I’m working at a different library branch (I won’t mention it by name, but most of my friends and family know) and the patrons are very different than where I was before. A few days ago an older man stopped by the desk just to tell me that I “better not vote for Obama or he’ll come back and get me” and when I told him that he won’t know who I vote for he said “Oh, I’ll know, so you better not vote for Obama!” This was completely out of the blue, no previous conversation, I wasn’t wearing anything political or anything. Just an old man yelling about how I shouldn’t vote for Obama. Now, why was this necessary? It just irritates me to no end that people assume that if you look like them or live in the same community that you must be just like them and think like them. Sorry old man, not the case.
And while I’m complaining about the election and politics in general I’ll go ahead and vent about another issue: Christians and politics. Why do people assume that if you profess to be a Christian that you are going to vote Republican? I am a Christian and I’m not ashamed to say that in all the Presidential elections I’ve voted in so far, I’ve yet to vote for a Republican and I’m a registered Democrat. When I tell some of my Christian friends this, they are shocked. I think that Christians tend to forget that Jesus was one of the most radical and revolutionary figures of His time. I’ll even go so far as to say that Jesus was pretty liberal for His time too. I also think more Christians need to think beyond the abortion issue when they are voting. If anyone is using birth control, then you need to think hard about the slippery slope of reversing rights. I think this election is making people think more about a lot of issues – and I hope that more Christians can see past the party stereotypes and vote for who they think is the best candidate regardless of their party affiliation. I also hope that Christians can at least try to be more open-minded and not assume that the world’s going to hell if a Republican is not in office. We are supposed to believe that God is in control – and I believe He is in control whether a Democrat or a Republican is in office.
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2 comments:
Amen, sister.
As a Christian and a libertarian, I think that neither the republicans nor the democrats are particularly "liberal" in the classic sense of the word. Historically, that word meant in favor of liberty. Yet the democrats, who (IMHO) wrongly carry the liberal label, are uncomfortable with free markets. They seem to be constantly trying to regulate transactions freely made between two parties on the premise that those parties shouldn't make those transactions. Hogwash. If the "liberal" party wants to support freedom, then get out of the job of growing the government agencies that restrict free trade.
And the republicans are no better. They pretend to be for free markets, but then increase steel tariffs and grow the government bigger than any of the last several democrat administrations. All while at the same time holding on to a belief that free transit across the borders will somehow be ruinous. As if free trade is only a good thing when both parties are american.
As a Christian, I completely agree with you that Christ was the ultimate liberal. He wanted nothing more than our freedom from the bondage of sin. And he was willing to pay the ultimate penalty so that we could have that freedom. I've mentioned this a couple of times on my blog (e.g. here).
I don't think you need any convincing that the republicans are not the party of freedom. I agree. My only challenge to you would be to really investigate how much freedom the democrats offer. Apart from "freedom to choose" do you see any other area where democrats laud freedom?
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