In case you haven't noticed, it's election season folks. Blah, blah, blah! When I was a reporter I hated covering politics and elections. Kind of ironic since I minored in political science, I guess the joke's on me!
The last few years, election time has been worse than ever. I suppose it's in large part due to the social media age in which we now live. For example, with a simple click I will send this into the blogosphere for anyone to read. And Facebook! Oh my gosh, it's impossible to get away from it if you dare to scroll through your newsfeed. Some people like to post their every opinion on every subject and every candidate, along with articles to support their opinions and bash the candidates they don't like. I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing, as long as those same people are also willing to get involved in the process, write or call their representatives, and go to the polls on election day. Oh yeah, and if they don't just assume that I share their views, or get angry with me if I don't.
The other day my daughter asked me if I was a democrat or republican. I told her that I am a moderately conservative/liberal independent. I honestly didn't know how else to describe myself. Some might say that makes me wishy-washy. Whatever. It's just the only way I've been able to figure out how to go about the process. It frustrates me when people who know me and know how much my Christian faith means to me just assume that I must be conservative and a rebublican. On the flip side, it is just as frustrating when others assume that because I spent my career as a tv news reporter that I must be part of the "liberal media," and therefore a democrat.
Really? Must we all have a label? Isn't it possible that some of us do try to consider the issues and the candidates prayerfully and conscientiously, without being expected to jump on a party bandwagon?
And while I'm on this little rant, must we publicly bash other people for taking a stand for what they believe? I'm going to go out on a limb here on behalf of Kirk Cameron, the actor who was asked a direct question on national television the other day and answered it. He didn't ask to be asked about his stance on gay marraige, but when he was, he spoke his conscience. He didn't launch a hate campaign against specific individuals or against anyone else who doesn't share his views. He was simply drawn into the public discourse on the issue by an interviewer. Now people who don't agree with him are trashing him and circulating petitions and doing everything they can to smear and discredit him. No matter how we feel about this or any other issue, part of what makes our nation great is the freedom to have public discourse at all. Shouldn't we be more about guarding and appreciating that freedom, rather than tearing down others who don't share our views? Can't we be open-minded enough to at least listen to what others have to say? Might we even pray and ask God to help us consider all sides of the issues and lead us in our conversations and decisions? What are we so afraid of, anyway?
This election season, I resolve to just relax and pray my way through it. I will try to live into what the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans: "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." (Rom. 13:1-2) Because I trust that God is sovereign, no matter who is elected I will trust that that person is in office because God has ordained him or her to be there, and whether that person realizes it or not, he or she will be used by God to carry out HIS purposes. God's Word gives me a much more solid foundation on which to stand than a party line every could.
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