How Christians may lose their way in politics

A friend of mine recently said this about the political process we have for selecting the next president of the United States: “It was never about personalities for me, I’m not voting for Prom Court. Before either party nominated a candidate, they had crystal clear ideological differences that made my choice a no-brainer, and nothing in the campaign changed that, for me.”

I like this approach. It is about issues rather than personalities.

In my view, there is nothing wrong with disagreement. I think it is a healthy thing. However, how we go about disagreeing with each other does make a difference.

It is interesting to observe our political process. Over my lifetime, I have witnessed a transformation in how all of this is done. I am amazed over the current climate of character assassination of candidates that seem to be our accepted norm. How on earth did we get to this point and is there anything we can do about it?

One option is to simply accept it. In doing so, we allow for an escalation of polarization and bitterness. This takes little effort.

I am for political reform. My platform is this: we need a well-publicized “campaign trail” where communities are visited by representatives who do not promote political parties.

In an ideal world, those who were interested in attending could listen to presentations. They would inform attendees about the stances taken on issues by political parties, using the official written positions of the parties and not going beyond this. Admittedly, it would not be perfect; not all questions might be adequately answered solely based upon the literal word. Yet, I would appreciate the effort.

How many of us actually know a party’s platform? Are you aware of where a party stands on the expression of religious beliefs, education, the future of our national parks, trade agreements, health care, etcetera? There is an extensive list of issues. Or does this boil down to what party you have been taught not to like, even if the implementation of your favored party’s policies (that you are unaware of) would be a disadvantage to you?

Religion and politics do certainly mix in how we treat one another and how we wish to shape this process going forward.

Is our current political climate OK with you or do you wish for a different way of going about things?

What are your ideas?

Walter is pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church and has served as parish pastor for more than 25 years.