Who would Jesus vote for?
Well my brother Bear encouraged me to write more about my thoughts on this thing so here is what I’m thinking about.
Who should I vote for? Neither politician really represents what I believe or want in a leader. What is my civic duty? As some would say "What would Jesus do?" Right that’s what we as Christians should do whatever Jesus would do? That’s another debate I think…
Maybe I should vote for a third party to make a point? No this makes me feel like I’m sitting on the side lines and just waiting for somebody else to do something. Also b/c of the US gov/political structure what can a 3rd part do anyway? What changes can they make? Plus no third party really represents what I believe or want in a leader anyway.
Maybe the lesser of two evils? What am I saying?…basically Bush would lead this country down the wrong road slower than Kerry? So vote for Bush. I have a problem voting this way because my vote is a symbol of my approval to give this person power. How can I do this? It’s like supporting something I don’t believe in?
Maybe I shouldn’t vote at all! But somehow I feel this is my "right", "God given duty", and if I don’t vote then I can’t complain about what is going on around me. Well I started thinking how really it is not a God given right to vote, but more how very unpopular it is not to vote. People are usually more upset when they find out you didn’t vote as opposed to voting for their candidates’ counter part. Why is it such a sin not to vote? Well I’m beginning to think it isn’t a sin and maybe the right thing to do.
Not voting right now makes the most sense to me…
I would not be encouraging politicians and parties to continue what they are doing and I don’t agree with.
If you view voting as "giving approval (at some kind of level) for that person (really political party) to have coercive power over people" then you it could be viewed that you are approving of whatever that person does while in office. E.g. abortion, killing innocent people in war, etc. But if you don’t vote you don’t have this dilemma.
Wait…. I have more but have to help Casey & Dayna make some Oatmeal cookies. Anyway would love to hear some responses before I continue…
Who should I vote for? Neither politician really represents what I believe or want in a leader. What is my civic duty? As some would say "What would Jesus do?" Right that’s what we as Christians should do whatever Jesus would do? That’s another debate I think…
Maybe I should vote for a third party to make a point? No this makes me feel like I’m sitting on the side lines and just waiting for somebody else to do something. Also b/c of the US gov/political structure what can a 3rd part do anyway? What changes can they make? Plus no third party really represents what I believe or want in a leader anyway.
Maybe the lesser of two evils? What am I saying?…basically Bush would lead this country down the wrong road slower than Kerry? So vote for Bush. I have a problem voting this way because my vote is a symbol of my approval to give this person power. How can I do this? It’s like supporting something I don’t believe in?
Maybe I shouldn’t vote at all! But somehow I feel this is my "right", "God given duty", and if I don’t vote then I can’t complain about what is going on around me. Well I started thinking how really it is not a God given right to vote, but more how very unpopular it is not to vote. People are usually more upset when they find out you didn’t vote as opposed to voting for their candidates’ counter part. Why is it such a sin not to vote? Well I’m beginning to think it isn’t a sin and maybe the right thing to do.
Not voting right now makes the most sense to me…
I would not be encouraging politicians and parties to continue what they are doing and I don’t agree with.
If you view voting as "giving approval (at some kind of level) for that person (really political party) to have coercive power over people" then you it could be viewed that you are approving of whatever that person does while in office. E.g. abortion, killing innocent people in war, etc. But if you don’t vote you don’t have this dilemma.
Wait…. I have more but have to help Casey & Dayna make some Oatmeal cookies. Anyway would love to hear some responses before I continue…
posted by Fly Fisher | 4:22 PM
3 Comments:
AndyP (Bear) says: It sounds like you would be better off voting for a 3rd party if there is one that reflects more of your interests than either Bush or Kerry. That would do more good than just sitting this one out. Who cares if it doesn't do 'any good', how will things change if people don't move into action.
By not voting for a candidate it can be seen as you not feeling strong enough about an issue to say something. In a way, you are letting it happen becuase you didn't speak up. I don't believe there is an 'abstaining' from voting on this one. Of course this gets messy because each candidate has things I would and wouldn't support. Hmmmm....
Or course, I don't belive voting for Kerry is good just because you hate Bush. This is a crummy situation to because you are voting 'against' something, but not 'for' anything.
So I really haven't said anything...Hey, maybe we should vote based on the candidate Vice Presidents beliefs. We'll find out TUesday during hte debate if that's a good idea.
Bear: The problem is there is not one who reflects more my interests. Plus it is saying something not to vote. What would happen if only a small percentage of people actually voted say 5%. Could you image what that would do to the confidence levels...maybe then somebody who is qualified to be President would actually step forward knowing that there are a lot of people out there not supporting the present candidates. When you vote you are supporting the person you vote for. You are saying I give you the power! I don't want to give Bush or Kerry the power!
Dan says,
Ok boys, welcome to the world of politics. Government is a God given institution, and we as citizens under that government act with it by voting. (we can discuss this if you like further, but I think we all assume this)! Therefore I would conclude it is our God given duty to excercise our civic duty of voting! Maybe it would be helpful to consider politics/gov as a sphere soverignty issue, quickly I mean that Christians act in differnet spheres governed by different norms, ie diffent ways God calls us to act. In regards to politics, it is fair to say that it is not the job of Christian politicans to lead along paths of rightousness, but rather along lines of order and establishing justice. Moral instruction is left up to the church, hence separation of church and state! Granted, this does not mean that someones faith doesn't influence or shine through in their policy for order and justice, rather just the opposite. Faith clearly influences every policy!
In regards to which person to vote for, well then comes the joy of politics! Discovering who is best at establishing a just and ordered society!!
I think voting third party is legit (I did it in 2000), but in this race because of the importance of 9/11 and the war on terror and the path we are headed down, we need to consider the grave impact the next leader could have in this regard (see my e-mail I just sent out with David Brantstone article. Well, don't want to write to much, Dan P
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