(Warning: the following is very political and religious. Most of you know me fairly well, so it shouldn’t be a surprise, but I rarely let something like this “go”).
This morning I had a chance to call on voters in North Carolina and Missouri as part of an Obama campaign phone bank. Unfortunately, I was treated to one of those conversations that we all know are out there… a woman in Missouri answered my query of “Will you be voting tomorrow for Senator Obama?” with “NO! I am not voting for HIM and none of my people are!” This was a GOTV (Get Out the Vote) canvassing of voters who had a predisposition to vote for Obama. Interestingly, she went on to say that she wished Hillary was the choice making it clear that she was not particularly partisan. RACE apparently was the reason. Many pundits have questioned why Obama is not well ahead given the negativity towards the Bush administration, the current economic crisis and the amount of money Obama has spent on this campaign. I believe that this exposes one of the reasons: racist sentiment underneath the surface which only needs to be scratched just a little for it to simmer to the surface.
Last week I had an interesting email dialogue with a number of people prompted by an email from a friend of over 20 years with a link to an anti-gay marriage website. In short, my response was to support gay marriage as a Christian and a parent from the perspective of tolerance and unconditional love and as an American from the perspective of non-discrimination and the protection of civil rights. The responses to this, as could be expected, was a vigorous attack from a “Biblical” standpoint. What my biblical witness friends failed to recognize (aside from the fallibility of our interpretations of scripture) was a Christianity that acknowledged that Jesus came with a different type of message. A message that he specifically delivered to the “teachers of the law” (among them the Pharisees and Sadducees) who failed to understand God’s spirit. Many understand the gospel (the good news) to be a release from a very litigious understanding of religion to one that embraces the first commandment of “love thy neighbor (as thyself).” Furthermore, I understand the “fall of man” to be as related in the story of Adam and Eve, to be one of hubris (pride) wherein th
e temptation is to be more like God, to partake of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thereby usurping God’s role as judge (if this is a role you attribute to God). To vote to allow gay marriage to exist doesn’t make you less Christian, however, it may make you more human.All of this is to say that tomorrow’s election is critical. I hope that you remember to vote if you haven’t already. I can’t think of a more critical election.
Thanks for listening - Jeff
Image that appeared on the front of a newsletter sent out to the Chaffey Community Republican Women's Club based in Upland, CA
New Gloucester, Maine
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