The Christian Vote

In a country where the citizens are given the opportunity to vote, a very special privilege and duty is entrusted to the citizenry and to each citizen. It seems, however, that very few citizens actually remember today what a vote really is.

The first two listings for vote in the American Heritage Dictionary are:

* a. A formal expression of preference for a candidate for office or for a proposed resolution of an issue.
* b. A means by which such a preference is made known, such as a raised hand or a marked ballot.

The vote is the citizen’s voice. It is the citizen’s opportunity to stand publicly for what that citizen believes. The vote is the opportunity to have a say in the way that the nation’s and society’s life is ordered. It is the person’s expression of what is right and good, not only for self, but for family, friends, neighbors, for all.

So what does a citizen actually say when that citizen votes for a person that does not stand with the same principles? What does the citizen say when a vote is cast for the lesser of two evils?

On what does a citizen stand when such a vote is cast?

The answer seems to be “winning.”

So what does the citizenry win when a vote is cast for the lesser of two evils?

Some Christians argue that we always cast a vote for the lesser of two evils since all human beings are sinners and all human beings have faults and make errors in judgment.

Well, isn’t that clever? Since all people are sinners and make bad judgments the conclusion is that no one can ever actually stand for what is right and good.

This is ludicrous reasoning. This is the reasoning that has resulted in the kind of politics and politicians that we have today, politics and politicians who say whatever sounds good at the moment but are never held accountable by the people and so they lie and change their promises from minute to minute.

What is worse is that people have started listening to the voices on the radio, voices that actually encourage the voters to be like the politicians. One such clever strategist has named himself the commander of “operation chaos.” Since his party of choice can no longer be called conservative and no longer stands for anything, now, rather than encouraging people to vote for a candidate with conservative principles, now he encourages people to try to cause chaos in the other party by voting in that party.

Why? Why would someone promote such dishonesty? The answer lies in the title that he has claimed for himself. It is about gathering followers to himself.

The really sad point is that people do follow him and boast of their mischief. They speak of themselves as liars and as dishonest and then pride themselves as taking one for the cause.

What cause?

WHAT CAUSE?

They hate themselves for remaining with a party that is represented by someone they distrust, someone who openly undermines what they believe. So what is their answer? To cause trouble in the other party.

Why not let go of the party and take a stand for what is right? Why not let John McCain have the Republican Party? Why not let the dueling duo have the Democrat Party?

Why not stand back from both parties and regroup? What does anyone win by preserving a party that no longer stands for the principles on which it was founded?

What is worse is that people would rather cause trouble when the nation needs to be reunited in the principles that made this nation strong.

Voting is not about one side or another winning. Voting is the voice of the citizenry. It is that which makes this a nation of the people, by the people, and for the people, rather than a battleground for politicians who care only about being elected at the expense of the citizenry.

Do the American people really want to follow the ways of the politicians, or do they want to have the politicians follow the voice of the people? Once upon a time in this nation the people claimed to follow a voice that was greater than their own, a truly reliable voice. When this was their claim, this nation called itself and was known throughout the world as a Christian nation.

Isn’t it time for the citizenry to remember and hear again the voice by which this nation has been blessed beyond that of any nation in history? Isn’t it time for the people of this nation to stop giving their voice away to leadership that leads us in the opposite direction of what we know to be right and true? Isn’t time for the citizenry of this nation to take back their voice and be heard again over the ruckus of the corruption of the media and the politicians?