It's a week until the election, and I am so looking forward to "election season" being over. And I don't even watch television and am thus not subjected to political ad after political ad after political ad. Ad nauseum, indeed.
I admire those of my Facebook friends who feel comfortable sharing their political views. Perhaps most of their friends have similar political leanings; perhaps they simply feel completely confident in their views; perhaps they want to spark debate and conversation.
I have never felt comfortable posting my political views on Facebook, mostly, I think, because I want to avoid conflict. Most of my close friends and most of my Missoula friends share my political leanings. Most of my extended family and many of those in the community in which I grew up do not. I suppose I just haven't wanted to go there.
But lately I've been wanting to articulate my beliefs, and to do so more than just to Greg and my immediate family and my circle of friends here in Missoula.
I am a Christian, and I am a Democrat. I know there are plenty of us out there (and I am so very grateful to organizations such as Sojourners that give a very articulate voice to those of us who believe in God and also care about social and environmental justice), but I know that many liberals think that Christians, in general, tend to lean toward the (far) right, and that many Christians, in general, tend to think that Democrats are wrong/misguided/unChristian.
But there are those of us who identify as both Christian and liberal, and our voting decisions stem directly from our worldviews and our religious beliefs. Yet I know that my conservative friends and relatives also make their decisions based on their beliefs. And we both think we are right, and that the other side is wrong.
Whatever happened to respectful conversation, to a safe place in the middle where we can meet, discuss, learn from one another? I hear negative comments from both sides. I hear anger and desperation and despair from both sides. I hear self-righteousness from both sides. When did this happen? When did we become so disconnected from each other?
So I thought that, perhaps, I would just share a little bit about why I vote the way I do. I am not a theologian. I am not some political expert. I don't want to write 5,000 words on My Political Perspective, or anything like that, but simply open a window into the mind of one Christian liberal in the US of A.
Social Justice
This is the primary reason that I vote the way I do. Time and again, the Bible commands us to care for the poor, the orphan, the widow, those less fortunate. The command to care for the poor is mentioned more often than just about anything else. And it seems to me that that the Democratic Party, with its focus on affordable health care for all, programs to support families in poverty, strengthening our public education system so that all children have access to a good education, and taxing our wealthiest citizens at a higher rate (particularly at a time when income inequality is at its highest--right now 25% of our nation's earnings and 40% of the wealth belongs to 1% of the population), does a better job of caring for those who are most disadvantaged in our country. Several times in the past few weeks I've come across comments or essays that remind us that we need to think beyond only ourselves when voting--that we need to consider what is best for the greater population, not only about what is best for us. (Joel Schreurs, a former classmate of mine who is now a pastor, wrote an excellent blog post about this very idea.) FDR, in his second inaugural address, put it this way: "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide for those who have too little." And so I try to vote for the candidates who have more than their best interests in mind--and who seek in particular what is good for those citizens who have the least.
Women's Rights
This has become a huge issue in the current election, and one that is, naturally, of great importance to me. I've long believed in gender equality. I've long been frustrated with male and female stereotypes. I believe that all people, no matter whether they are biologically male or biologically female, have feminine and masculine qualities, and that, when it comes down to it, people are simply people, and no one should be looked down upon because of her (or his) sex. I am so grateful to see more and more women running for office. I am so grateful to have a female pastor (and I have absolutely nothing against male pastors--it's just that I've had male pastors all my life and am glad to experience something new). I look to Genesis, where God created people in God's image, male and female. I think of how Jesus reached across the gender divide (so much larger in that time and place than it is in ours) to treat women as equals. I am so grateful to have a husband who cooks and cleans and does the dishes right along with me, and sees me (and all other women) as equals.
All that to say that I also believe, then, that there is absolutely no reason that a woman should be paid less than a man for doing the same job. There is absolutely no reason that men should have say over women's bodies. There is no excuse for rape. There is no excuse for domestic abuse. And I will vote for legislators who support my right as a woman to make choices about my body. And, unfortunately, the word "choice" has become synonymous, in this situation, to the word "abortion." I do not like abortion. NO ONE likes abortion. But in a world where some men do not respect women, where some men think that they can do to women whatever they want, where comprehensive sex education is not offered everywhere, where some women and men have not been taught about the intricacies of their reproductive systems, where the cost of contraceptives can be cost-prohibitive, where some men have not learned how to be whole, where too many women haven't had the opportunity to see themselves as strong, beautiful, capable people--in this world, in light of these realities, I strongly believe that the decision of what happens to a woman's body should be left to that woman and not decided by the government. And rather than simply voting for a candidate because he or she is against abortion, I am interested in voting for candidates who look to the underlying causes of abortion--the underlying causes of "unwanted" pregnancies--and working to rid our society of these underlying problems. Abortion is the tragic result of much deeper and insidious issues.
And then this comes around, again, to social justice--to taking care of the poor. Too often (not always, not in the cases of all conservative candidates/legislators) those who are "pro-life" seem to me to be more "pro-birth" than "pro-life"--wanting to abolish abortion, forcing even victims of rape to keep children conceived in violence, but then being uninterested in providing support for these women and their babies after birth. These women (and, for that matter, all people) should have access to good healthcare for themselves and their children, to healthy and plentiful food, to homes, to the opportunity for a good education. And I will vote for candidates who will work to put (and keep) these programs in place.
. . . A Moment of Gratitude
We live in an amazing country. When I think of all we have here--so many rights and privileges, so much freedom, so much beauty--I am deeply grateful. And even though I don't make a huge amount of money (though I am by no means poor), I am more than happy to give a percentage of it to the government for the roads I drive on, the parks I enjoy, the schools that educate our nation's children, and programs that keep the poorest in our society able to feed and clothe themselves and their families. I would be even happier to have far fewer of my tax dollars go to our defense budget, and happier still to have my tax dollars go towards a universal healthcare system.
I wonder sometimes what's happened to America in, say, the 70 years since World War II. The citizens of this country united then for a cause. They gave up things like sugar and gas. They planted Victory Gardens. They were willing to live with less for the greater good. Sadly enough, I cannot imagine such a thing today. There's a kerfluffle over the New York City law that prohibits soda from being sold in cups larger than 32 ounces. People may still drink more than 32 ounces of soda--but they have to stand up and walk across the room to the soda machine to do it. The folks upset about this law probably wouldn't be too willing to give up sugar or gas or anything else. Wouldn't it be something, though, if we were willing to give up some of our luxuries (and to see them for what they are--luxuries rather than necessities)? What a difference it could make . . .
And that brings me to my third (and, for now, last) topic:
Environmental Issues
I wake up, sometimes, at night, and worry. Did you know that our brain chemistry is different in the middle of the night (around 3am in particular) than it is during the day? It predisposes us to worry--we don't see things as they are; reality is distorted. Unfortunately, however, I usually wake up around 5, when my perception's mostly back to normal, and I worry about the world that I will grow old in. I worry about the world my (as-yet-hypothetical) children will grow up in. Fact: we are using up our natural resources at an alarming and unsustainable rate. Fact: we are poisoning our oceans and our air. Fact: we are causing a mass extinction of species. Fact: we are not caring for this earth as we should if we want to continue to live on it. Sadly, neither Republicans nor Democrats go far enough in terms of sustainability. What I would love? If we began a rapid shift from using coal, gas, and oil to more sustainable energy sources. It's bad enough that the extraction of these non-renewable resources pollutes land, water, and air, and worse still that it has caused global climate change (right now: Frankenstorm, hitting the East Coast, and this after the hottest summer on record. No, it's not just chance.). What scares me is that we--not just Americans, but all of humankind (particularly the wealthiest and thus most resource-using) on this planet--cannot continue to live the way we do. We need to change, and change quickly.
I believe that those of us who are Christians should have a special interest in caring for this planet. This was the overarching theme of my master's thesis: that environmental activism should be a particularly Christian activity, not dismissed as an unChristian activity. Through my work at the Montana Natural History Center, I've been learning more and more about the brilliant intricacies of the natural world, particularly the flora and fauna and landscape of western Montana. There is such beauty in this world, such beauty in the balance and rhythms of nature. From snowfleas (which are not insects), with their ability to stay alive in the cold because of an anti-freeze substance in their bodies, to larch trees, those fire-resistant deciduous conifers whose needles turn gold in the fall, drop off, and then leaf out in the brightest green imaginable in the spring--I see constant reflections of a Creator who loves and delights in this physical world. And I believe with the core of who I am that Christians are called to work for, care for, and protect this creation, from snowfleas to larches, from coral to whales, from polar bears to phytoplankton, and the air and the earth and the water, too.
So. Despite the fact that neither major political party goes far enough, the Democrats are definitely ahead on supporting alternative energy such as wind and solar and biofuels, which are viable, proven technologies, and are already changing our energy dynamic; agencies like the EPA; new fuel-efficiency standards for cars, etc. Unfortunately, many conservatives are resistant to the truth that global climate change exists, and their legislation mirrors that resistance. I want this planet we call home to be healthy--not only for me, but for my children and grandchildren and far, far beyond. I want us as human beings to learn to live in balance with the rest of the natural world. I want human beings to steward the earth as we are called to do in Genesis, to care for and respect the non-human creation that God loves as deeply as God loves us. I don't want any more Frankenstorms or Katrinas or intense droughts or long, drawn-out fire seasons or melting glaciers or rising oceans, and I will vote for legislators who acknowledge the severity of the situation we as a global community are in, who are working to make changes that will mitigate--and, I hope, reverse--our seemingly-headlong rush to ecological devastation.
As I said, I wake up early in the morning and worry about these things. I am tired of worrying about them--which is part of the reason that I'm finally writing this blog post. Writing is a form of action, and it is time for me to act.
Wendell Berry, one of my favorite writers (who is also a Christian, and an activist, and, in all he does, is a constant inspiration to me), wrote a poem that I gratefully recall in those times when "despair for the world grows in me":
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in meI admire those of my Facebook friends who feel comfortable sharing their political views. Perhaps most of their friends have similar political leanings; perhaps they simply feel completely confident in their views; perhaps they want to spark debate and conversation.
I have never felt comfortable posting my political views on Facebook, mostly, I think, because I want to avoid conflict. Most of my close friends and most of my Missoula friends share my political leanings. Most of my extended family and many of those in the community in which I grew up do not. I suppose I just haven't wanted to go there.
But lately I've been wanting to articulate my beliefs, and to do so more than just to Greg and my immediate family and my circle of friends here in Missoula.
I am a Christian, and I am a Democrat. I know there are plenty of us out there (and I am so very grateful to organizations such as Sojourners that give a very articulate voice to those of us who believe in God and also care about social and environmental justice), but I know that many liberals think that Christians, in general, tend to lean toward the (far) right, and that many Christians, in general, tend to think that Democrats are wrong/misguided/unChristian.
But there are those of us who identify as both Christian and liberal, and our voting decisions stem directly from our worldviews and our religious beliefs. Yet I know that my conservative friends and relatives also make their decisions based on their beliefs. And we both think we are right, and that the other side is wrong.
Whatever happened to respectful conversation, to a safe place in the middle where we can meet, discuss, learn from one another? I hear negative comments from both sides. I hear anger and desperation and despair from both sides. I hear self-righteousness from both sides. When did this happen? When did we become so disconnected from each other?
So I thought that, perhaps, I would just share a little bit about why I vote the way I do. I am not a theologian. I am not some political expert. I don't want to write 5,000 words on My Political Perspective, or anything like that, but simply open a window into the mind of one Christian liberal in the US of A.
Social Justice
This is the primary reason that I vote the way I do. Time and again, the Bible commands us to care for the poor, the orphan, the widow, those less fortunate. The command to care for the poor is mentioned more often than just about anything else. And it seems to me that that the Democratic Party, with its focus on affordable health care for all, programs to support families in poverty, strengthening our public education system so that all children have access to a good education, and taxing our wealthiest citizens at a higher rate (particularly at a time when income inequality is at its highest--right now 25% of our nation's earnings and 40% of the wealth belongs to 1% of the population), does a better job of caring for those who are most disadvantaged in our country. Several times in the past few weeks I've come across comments or essays that remind us that we need to think beyond only ourselves when voting--that we need to consider what is best for the greater population, not only about what is best for us. (Joel Schreurs, a former classmate of mine who is now a pastor, wrote an excellent blog post about this very idea.) FDR, in his second inaugural address, put it this way: "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide for those who have too little." And so I try to vote for the candidates who have more than their best interests in mind--and who seek in particular what is good for those citizens who have the least.
Women's Rights
This has become a huge issue in the current election, and one that is, naturally, of great importance to me. I've long believed in gender equality. I've long been frustrated with male and female stereotypes. I believe that all people, no matter whether they are biologically male or biologically female, have feminine and masculine qualities, and that, when it comes down to it, people are simply people, and no one should be looked down upon because of her (or his) sex. I am so grateful to see more and more women running for office. I am so grateful to have a female pastor (and I have absolutely nothing against male pastors--it's just that I've had male pastors all my life and am glad to experience something new). I look to Genesis, where God created people in God's image, male and female. I think of how Jesus reached across the gender divide (so much larger in that time and place than it is in ours) to treat women as equals. I am so grateful to have a husband who cooks and cleans and does the dishes right along with me, and sees me (and all other women) as equals.
All that to say that I also believe, then, that there is absolutely no reason that a woman should be paid less than a man for doing the same job. There is absolutely no reason that men should have say over women's bodies. There is no excuse for rape. There is no excuse for domestic abuse. And I will vote for legislators who support my right as a woman to make choices about my body. And, unfortunately, the word "choice" has become synonymous, in this situation, to the word "abortion." I do not like abortion. NO ONE likes abortion. But in a world where some men do not respect women, where some men think that they can do to women whatever they want, where comprehensive sex education is not offered everywhere, where some women and men have not been taught about the intricacies of their reproductive systems, where the cost of contraceptives can be cost-prohibitive, where some men have not learned how to be whole, where too many women haven't had the opportunity to see themselves as strong, beautiful, capable people--in this world, in light of these realities, I strongly believe that the decision of what happens to a woman's body should be left to that woman and not decided by the government. And rather than simply voting for a candidate because he or she is against abortion, I am interested in voting for candidates who look to the underlying causes of abortion--the underlying causes of "unwanted" pregnancies--and working to rid our society of these underlying problems. Abortion is the tragic result of much deeper and insidious issues.
And then this comes around, again, to social justice--to taking care of the poor. Too often (not always, not in the cases of all conservative candidates/legislators) those who are "pro-life" seem to me to be more "pro-birth" than "pro-life"--wanting to abolish abortion, forcing even victims of rape to keep children conceived in violence, but then being uninterested in providing support for these women and their babies after birth. These women (and, for that matter, all people) should have access to good healthcare for themselves and their children, to healthy and plentiful food, to homes, to the opportunity for a good education. And I will vote for candidates who will work to put (and keep) these programs in place.
. . . A Moment of Gratitude
We live in an amazing country. When I think of all we have here--so many rights and privileges, so much freedom, so much beauty--I am deeply grateful. And even though I don't make a huge amount of money (though I am by no means poor), I am more than happy to give a percentage of it to the government for the roads I drive on, the parks I enjoy, the schools that educate our nation's children, and programs that keep the poorest in our society able to feed and clothe themselves and their families. I would be even happier to have far fewer of my tax dollars go to our defense budget, and happier still to have my tax dollars go towards a universal healthcare system.
I wonder sometimes what's happened to America in, say, the 70 years since World War II. The citizens of this country united then for a cause. They gave up things like sugar and gas. They planted Victory Gardens. They were willing to live with less for the greater good. Sadly enough, I cannot imagine such a thing today. There's a kerfluffle over the New York City law that prohibits soda from being sold in cups larger than 32 ounces. People may still drink more than 32 ounces of soda--but they have to stand up and walk across the room to the soda machine to do it. The folks upset about this law probably wouldn't be too willing to give up sugar or gas or anything else. Wouldn't it be something, though, if we were willing to give up some of our luxuries (and to see them for what they are--luxuries rather than necessities)? What a difference it could make . . .
And that brings me to my third (and, for now, last) topic:
Environmental Issues
I wake up, sometimes, at night, and worry. Did you know that our brain chemistry is different in the middle of the night (around 3am in particular) than it is during the day? It predisposes us to worry--we don't see things as they are; reality is distorted. Unfortunately, however, I usually wake up around 5, when my perception's mostly back to normal, and I worry about the world that I will grow old in. I worry about the world my (as-yet-hypothetical) children will grow up in. Fact: we are using up our natural resources at an alarming and unsustainable rate. Fact: we are poisoning our oceans and our air. Fact: we are causing a mass extinction of species. Fact: we are not caring for this earth as we should if we want to continue to live on it. Sadly, neither Republicans nor Democrats go far enough in terms of sustainability. What I would love? If we began a rapid shift from using coal, gas, and oil to more sustainable energy sources. It's bad enough that the extraction of these non-renewable resources pollutes land, water, and air, and worse still that it has caused global climate change (right now: Frankenstorm, hitting the East Coast, and this after the hottest summer on record. No, it's not just chance.). What scares me is that we--not just Americans, but all of humankind (particularly the wealthiest and thus most resource-using) on this planet--cannot continue to live the way we do. We need to change, and change quickly.
I believe that those of us who are Christians should have a special interest in caring for this planet. This was the overarching theme of my master's thesis: that environmental activism should be a particularly Christian activity, not dismissed as an unChristian activity. Through my work at the Montana Natural History Center, I've been learning more and more about the brilliant intricacies of the natural world, particularly the flora and fauna and landscape of western Montana. There is such beauty in this world, such beauty in the balance and rhythms of nature. From snowfleas (which are not insects), with their ability to stay alive in the cold because of an anti-freeze substance in their bodies, to larch trees, those fire-resistant deciduous conifers whose needles turn gold in the fall, drop off, and then leaf out in the brightest green imaginable in the spring--I see constant reflections of a Creator who loves and delights in this physical world. And I believe with the core of who I am that Christians are called to work for, care for, and protect this creation, from snowfleas to larches, from coral to whales, from polar bears to phytoplankton, and the air and the earth and the water, too.
So. Despite the fact that neither major political party goes far enough, the Democrats are definitely ahead on supporting alternative energy such as wind and solar and biofuels, which are viable, proven technologies, and are already changing our energy dynamic; agencies like the EPA; new fuel-efficiency standards for cars, etc. Unfortunately, many conservatives are resistant to the truth that global climate change exists, and their legislation mirrors that resistance. I want this planet we call home to be healthy--not only for me, but for my children and grandchildren and far, far beyond. I want us as human beings to learn to live in balance with the rest of the natural world. I want human beings to steward the earth as we are called to do in Genesis, to care for and respect the non-human creation that God loves as deeply as God loves us. I don't want any more Frankenstorms or Katrinas or intense droughts or long, drawn-out fire seasons or melting glaciers or rising oceans, and I will vote for legislators who acknowledge the severity of the situation we as a global community are in, who are working to make changes that will mitigate--and, I hope, reverse--our seemingly-headlong rush to ecological devastation.
As I said, I wake up early in the morning and worry about these things. I am tired of worrying about them--which is part of the reason that I'm finally writing this blog post. Writing is a form of action, and it is time for me to act.
Wendell Berry, one of my favorite writers (who is also a Christian, and an activist, and, in all he does, is a constant inspiration to me), wrote a poem that I gratefully recall in those times when "despair for the world grows in me":
The Peace of Wild Things
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
And in that freedom, in that hope--in that peace of wild things that comes from a loving Creator God--I live my life, I make little daily decisions to try to make the world a better place, I act (not enough, but I try, step by faltering step), and, every election, with hope and prayer, I vote.
