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DECEPTION

Deception.  It’s been a plague on humanity since Eve was beguiled to take a bite from the apple.  Whether self-induced, or seeded and cultivated by those determined to profit from it, deception has driven many wars and resulted in incalculable destruction, heartache and loss of human potential.  Hitler lured Germans into believing Jews were to blame for their economic problems, President Johnson told the American people not to “worry about Vietnam” and sent tens of thousands of young men into a war he knew we wouldn’t win, and George W Bush pressured us into believing Iraq had WMDs while the CIA warned him they didn’t. These are just a few examples of “leaders”, bent on their own self-serving agendas, bent on gaining and holding onto power, choosing to lure people into believing falsehoods, with disastrous consequences.

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A PATH FORWARD FOR CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIANS

As we wade through this ever more divisive election cycle, the challenge of who to support has grown particularly acute for conservatives and ProLife Christians.  This challenge has been festering for years and will reach far beyond this election cycle.  We who are ProLife, who believe in the sanctity of life, are now facing a near impossible dilemma.  Those political figures who advocate for protecting fetuses, are the same people who have acted with a callous disregard for the health and well-being of children, teens and adults.  While I clearly lack the wisdom of Solomon, below is a path forward that largely aligns with ProLife principles and can pragmatically serve all life from conception through death.

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PUTTING PRINCIPLES ABOVE POLITICS

Given the near exponential growth in political disinformation and an unrelenting onslaught of highly polarized opinions coming from news channels and candidates, making political choices sometimes feels so onerous that many of us would like to either give up and either sit this one out or just retreat into our traditional political affiliation. I submit that if we want our choices to reflect who we are, what we want our nation to be, both in our lifetime and for future generations, and something we can be at peace with, it’s essential that we step back from all this rancor and reflect on what are the principles we hold most dear. Instead of trying to make choices based on who might help us financially in the short term, or who “we like” and “don’t like” for each office, I submit we’ll be much better served by measuring candidates by how likely they’ll be dedicated to policies consistent with the principles we hold most dear.

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A TRAGIC SYMBOSIS

Most of us learned in public school how a symbiosis is a “close biological relationship between different species”.  Most of the time these relationships are co-dependences that benefit both species.  Sometimes they’re fatal. Tragically, as a growing number of Christians have tried to assert their influence in political arenas, the accelerating ties between those who call themselves Christians and most Republican “leaders” dependent on their votes, has devolved to the detriment and mutation of both. 

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INFLATION AND THE ECONOMY

While we often like to think America is “Number One”, underneath that veneer of bravado, we often feel like important aspects of our country are far from stable and fair. Inflation has undermined family budgets, and our economy often feels far from stable and prosperous. As we try to cope with these challenges, rather than follow in the footsteps of politicians whose dominant response is lashing out at political rivals, perhaps it would good to step back, examine why these aspects of our country are running far from what they ought to be, and what can be done to make things better.    

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INSPIRATION FROM SELFLESSNESS

If life has taught me anything it’s to look and listen carefully, and remember when I see someone acting against their own self-interest, against their own inner disposition.  It happened about ten years ago when I witnessed a young lady, at one of America’s elite universities, choose to enter a boxing competition.  She stood at around five-foot tall, weighed maybe 110 pounds, her countenance was one of a gentle and contrite spirit, and it was clear she had not a mean bone in her body.  So why would such a bright young lady, with no discernable physical prowess, press into something so antithetical to her self-interest and disposition?

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RESPONDING TO GLOBAL WARMING

Given the extreme heat we’ve endured, beach water that’s become as warm as a bathtub, smoke from massive wildfires, and a substantial increase in flash and hurricane flooding, hopefully those still dismissing global warming or calling it a hoax are few and far between.  With climate change now beginning to bite into our lives, all are now able to see the earth’s response to the pollution we’ve poured into it and are without excuse.  Just as CS Lewis explained how “God whispers to us in our pleasures, …but shouts in our pain”, hopefully we can now hear the earth screaming at us over the damage we’ve done, continue to do, and the need to change.

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WHAT HAVE WE BECOME?

While advocating for America and protesting against candidates in my own Republican Party over the last five years, it’s been interesting to witness how much people have changed.  Typically, hundreds of people respond with a big thank you and thumbs-up, while a few dozen hurl demeaning names at me and curse me.  I’ve become accustomed to that, but several interactions lately, exemplifying a level of anger and ill-informed opinion I’d rarely seen before, lead me to wonder if it might be fruitful for all of us to take a step back and question the choices we’re making and what we’ve become.

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HOPE IS A VERB

Hope. It’s as essential as the air we breathe.  And yet, here in America, in a land full of plenty and potential, in so many ways, it often feels like we are trying to run on some residual whiffs of hope.  Daily, we struggle to cope with surging inflation, hear news about labor and supply shortages, and witness rising divisions among us, but rarely do we hear or speak of a more ephemeral, a more serious thinning of confidence and hope. Given the strength, scale and persistence of problems like racism, income and wealth inequality, global warming, crime and social strife, and political discord perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that many feel beaten down, hoping for a silver bullet from somewhere, and eager to support pundits that might look like a political savior.

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