Voting for the Common Good

 "I think that a vote is a kind of prayer for the kind of world we desire for ourselves and for our children. And our prayers are stronger when we pray together,” says Reverend Senator Raphael Warnock. 

A vote is a sacred obligation. When I stood in the voting booth, I paused and pondered what voting was all about. It is one of the best things about democracy, and it is one of the worst things about democracy. We all get to vote, and we vote our prejudices. All public servants are not created equal. 

Recently, I asked my friends who are Republicans and my friends who are Democrats to share with me how their faith shapes how they vote. Zero Republican friends shared anything. Several Democratic friends shared how faith and voting align. It actually makes sense that I’d have few takers. Despite my commitment to keeping names out, or other identifiers, and they could use my professional email address, it made sense that few would. I am convinced that most of us do not take the time nor energy to deconstruct how faith and voting connect. That would take a lot of energy. I am likely not seen as a trustworthy source by those on the right. All someone has to do is skim my Facebook page and where I stand on parties and all becomes pretty clear, and surely that troubles some and delights others. Frequently, someone who is clearly on the right will wade into discourse on my page and dependent upon how sensical their comments are, I may challenge them, ask some questions, or whatever, or my friends will roll up their sleeves. I wouldn’t want to take on some of my friends as they are pretty smart and nuanced in this political world.

Essentially, my democratic friends who answered my question about faith and voting indicated that their faith is at the core of who they are and that they always measure the externals with what their faith says. Some spoke of Jesus and what He did and what He wants believers to do now, not in terms of a party, but in terms of what is right and what is wrong.

My friends who are Republicans who did not venture to reflect upon how their faith influences their decisions in voting left their ideas on their web pages. Trump is God-appointed. He is not a moral human but his decisions ripple forward for decades. Elect him and we’ll have a solid, conservative Supreme Court and other courts across the land. Ignore his history of racism, sexism, xenophobia, his bankruptcies, his criminal convictions including the sexual assault of Ms. Carroll, because he is God’s chosen one like Cyrus, King of Persia. January 6 was not that big of a deal. Those patriots who were arrested, jailed, and charged with crimes, were all set up by the Department of Justice doing the Democrats’ bidding. Their candidate’s crude jokes, coarse language, poor communication skills, word salad, uninformed at various issues such as tariffs, and other things just don’t matter.

As much as I am troubled by his record of wrongs which runs pretty long and deep, I am also disturbed that Vice President Harris does not get any credit for her religious upbringing, her church membership, that she reads her Bible, and that she is praying woman. By all accounts, she seems to be a good person, even a godly person, even though her economic plan could be more nuanced and her foreign policy is questioned. I like her. I like her a lot. I think she would make a wonderful president. Yes, Kamala Harris would, in my opinion. And she has a wealth of public experience.

If our teenagers are listening, they’ve certainly learned a lot. Trump has taught them to mock the disabled, never apologize, never admit to being wrong, science is to be doubted, empathy is for losers, be fearful of other races that are not white, cheating is ok, bullying is fine, stealing from charities is fine, reading is a waste of time, attacking dead people, especially the military, is fine, distorting the truth is normal, projecting blame upon others, and take credit even when it doesn’t belong to you. Name calling and insulting are privileges of the powerful. America is a “garbage can of the world.” Immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” They eat pets. President Biden is a “stupid fool.” Immigrants are criminals, commit crimes beyond belief, and are low-lifes. All of this despite compelling evidence from multiple research sources that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes, by far, than American citizens already living here.

And, they are defensive of and for J. D. Vance, the Vice-Presidential candidate. They seem to  ignore, or refuse to scrutinize his frequent flip flopping or his obvious miscalls on several political matters such as his critique of Harris giving money to Black farmers to the neglect of white farmers, which is grossly untrue if you follow my pages or those of Stucki and Rosenberg. I wrote to Mr. Vance a while back and called him out. He needs to get informed on the farmer issue.

Beneath the surface, I think Republicans are angry that their candidate was not in office the last four years, that the election was stolen, that any court case of whatever that went against him was a set-up, that he is not as bad as people think, and, besides, we are not selecting a man to serve as an elder in our churches. Perhaps anger would categorize many of us if our candidate was not elected president, and perhaps it’s unfair to point out this phenomenon as unique to Republicans in this day and age.

Democrats who gave me their opinions say they vote their conscience. By their report, their consciences are shaped by the Man from Nazareth. Republicans are in some ways like their candidate in that he makes transactional decisions. If you do this for me, I’ll do that for you. I read and hear things like, he’ll give us conservative courts so we’ll vote for him regardless of his values. He’s given us an America free by and large of abortions, so that’s a good thing, even though more women are dying or have nearly died from physicians’ fear of losing their licenses.

A long time ago, I determined to vote for the candidate who would most likely benefit “my people.” I’ve been asked multiple times, “Who are your people?” I reply, “My people are Black, brown, poor, marginalized, LGBTQ, Black farmers, people who fall between the cracks of society.” They are all around us, on the left, on the right. All we have to do is look for them.

That sounds curiously like Jesus in Luke 4 as He quotes some of Isaiah 61. Read that section as He’s just come back from the wilderness and temptations and all, and He offers His first public sermon in the synagogue. Read what He says and reflect upon what He lays out as His “mission statements” for his ministry on the earth. I think they sound more like one party than the other.

Recently I had an opportunity to listen in on a Zoom call of a large denomination as three key leaders discussed voting and issues. This sort of thing is not mentioned in the pulpits of my denomination other than “go vote to help us become a Christian nation again.” And I rebel at that notion. Instead, this denomination has a clearly thought out set of principles for voting.

“Vote of the Common Good,” they said and their document reads. The “gospel imperative to love our neighbors, to do justice, and to care for the vulnerable” are literal quotes and lined out for us to read. Do our votes help to make society better?

Taking care of creation is another “common good” imperative. Stopping pollution, ensuring clean water and air, and being good stewards of our natural resources are all key. Protecting the environment and caring for people wounded by environmental degradation is critical.

Economic sustainability is another illustration of the “common good,” ensuring that all workers have a “living wage,” reducing the wealth gap, and investing in education are other principles.

“All are sacred” is another manifestation of “common good,” protection of civil rights for everyone, “freedom of speech, religion, movement, due process and fair treatment under the law” are illustrations of this principle. Voting rights, systemic racism, and humanitarian policies here and around the world are listed.

“Affordable health care and safe living conditions for all” are other illustrations of the “common good.” Affordable healthcare, access to mental health services, strong food systems, affordable housing, reasonable gun safety laws, and prevention of violence are notable facets of this principle.

While it is not the focus of this blogpost to tell anyone how to vote, it is evident that in this particular day and age that one candidate probably does a better job at these things than others.

Prayerfully and mindfully vote and then cast your vote out of the principles by which you live your life with God as your witness.