Imagine you are a visitor to the States from another country. You spend a few hours in front of a television as a presidential primary (either major party) approaches. You learn that Candidate A is a lying two-faced hypocrite with seedy friends. You learn the same about Candidate B and Candidate C. The tone of the TV commercials is ominous. To elect any of these individuals is for the nation to risk near-extinction.
Our foreign visitor might come to one or more of these conclusions:
- The country is facing destruction no matter who is elected.
- The country’s politicians and their supporters are all liars.
- The people of the United States, if they ever had it, have lost all civility.
- All the trustworthy people are laying low, unwilling to run for public office.
I do get distressed when I watch the ads which run during national and state elections. Frankly, I hope that you do, too! They play to our fears, not to our minds or our ideals. I firmly believe that the people of the United States are capable of much better behavior!
What can we do? What can you and I, conscientious followers of Christ, do? Some thoughts:
- Pray regularly for the country and its leaders.
- Support candidates and would-be candidates who have integrity.
- Practice civil behavior in our own lives, especially when we talk about people who are not present. How we talk about people behind their backs counts.
- Focus on how we talk and resolve our conflicts at church. (Church is a great place to practice what we preach and build a new community.)
It’s an election year, and 2012 could be a distressing time for folks who care about civility. Let’s pray for something better. Let’s work for something better. See you in church on Sunday!
Paul