Okay, let's get political for just a brief moment. I want to posit (just wanted a place to insert that word, which I don't believe I've ever used) my political problem.
I'm torn. Like a person who just can't figure out anything on his own, I swing toward one system or another, one question or another. Ultimately, I don't see solutions.
First, I've been a Republican I reckon since college, except when I wasn't, and there have been times when I wasn't, notably Carter, Clinton and even to a small degree Obama. I vote, it seems, for hope on occasion. Then hope dies, and I'm back wondering.
Maybe I'm just not smart enough to figure it all out, except when I do.
But here's what I wished I could find as a presidential candidate. Ultimately, I want fairness for all, I want someone to actually say what they're going to do, be truthful about it, and then do it. Give me a real plan for fixing all the many, many things that are wrong with this country. Let me decide. But quit stretching the truth. I know, I know. I'm idealistic.
I believe in the sanctity of life that begins in the womb and continues throughout life. I believe the church should be a responsible body that takes care of the poor children of the world rather than the government. So, I wish I could find a candidate that could figure out the way to do both, take care of the unborn and those who struggle so early in life. I suspect there is no one who can, or will.
I believe in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, though I have absolutely no problem with civil unions. God allows sin, it seems to me, of all kinds. I won't, however, marry persons of the same sex because I see that as an entirely different matter ultimately governed by the Bible and my own denominational standards, and I can't for the life of me understand why marriage is a constitutional right of any kind. I wish government would stop butting in to religious areas when it suits it and then crying "separation of church and state" when it desires to.
I believe, again, that we have a moral and ethical standard to help those who can't help themselves, which include those who have been systematically impoverished and discriminated against. I believe Jesus would certainly feel that way. Government doing this, however, seems wrong, in my estimate. I don't believe in being made to give. I don't believe Jesus does that, either. I believe it should be voluntary. Call me dreaming, and you would be right.
I do not believe in the seeming non-truth that the ones who have been terribly successful in this country are somehow benefiting unjustly from the tax system. The ones who are making more than $250,000 in this country pay far more of the taxes, thus revenue, than anyone else. Do they get more tax breaks? Probably? Should we look at that? I guess. I know this...without more revenue, this deficit will only grow. We can't cut ourselves into a balanced budget. We just can't. Jesus spoke about how difficult it would be for a rich man (or woman) to make it into heaven, but he didn't say it was impossible. Heck, even Ted Turner gives away tons of cash.
But...are there social programs that we must take care of? Yes. I simply believe it is the church's responsibility to handle many of them rather than government's. The problem is the church isn't doing enough. That's on us.
The question came us last night in former President Bill Clinton's speech about what kind of country to you want to live in. He said, "We believe 'we're all in this together' is a far better philosophy than 'you're on your own,'"
And I became torn immediately. I do believe that to be true. My difference, if this makes any sense, is that I believe that is the church's role, not government's. I believe we're all in this together, that what happens to one soul should be felt by all, that as in the early church we should be giving all we have and worshipping together. Again, idealistic, but I don't believe it is government's role to rearrange the distribution of wealth.
Again, that we're not giving enough, working enough, have been missional enough is on us, not on the process. But what has occurred is the church has been reduced in effectiveness as culture has taken a turn and the church is not doing its job. The church, ultimately, is a volunteer-driven body, and the body is taking care of itself, not the vast amount of unbelievers who exist outside the church.
If Jesus said all we had to do was love our neighbor, and we did that, oh, what a country, what a world this would be.
We have the money, we have the resources to change the world. But the world, and its politics, go on.
The bottom line is I don't believe either party or either man has the answers. That's what I've come away with. Somewhere in the middle is the answer. We're losing the ability to find the middle on any subject, compromise on any topic, talk about any item. We're almost hopelessly tangled.
It will kill us in the end.
Call me disillusioned. You wouldn't be incorrect.
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