we're overdue for a politcal post...

I think one of the biggest risks we run in letting young people vote is that sometimes we are so stubborn and arrogant in thinking we are right that even in the face of evidence we won't consider changing our "views." However, I definitely believe that a bigger risk which is more specifically common among us younger voters is that we can be so apathetic. Surely neither of these attitudes can be helpful.

As you may or may not know, politics have, in the past, reeeeally bothered me. A lot. For years (ever since some bad elementary school "play election day" activities) I have felt in every ounce of my being that I would just rather ignore political issues and let someone who cares make the decisions for me. My reaction to being asked to pick who I want to be president or governor has been like a kid who's parents want him to eat his vegetables, but who knows he's getting dessert no matter what. Has this been anyone else's experience? The mentality has been- "Well, there's going to be president no matter what I say or do, so why bother getting too involved in the process?"

Well, here's just a few words about a recent change of heart I've had. This is how it came about:

-----scene opens with Gwen sitting on the couch watching the vice presidential debate----
Gwen's brain: "2 people I have to choose from for president- Kerry and Bush. Great. I get two choices. And I don't like either of them.    Well, personally I kind of can't help but think 4 years really isn't enough time to get the hang of being president. Maybe we owe it to Bush to give him 4 more years so that he can prove the last 4 weren't a waste. On the other hand, what if he misuses the next 4 years 'proving' to some people that he wasted a whole 8?! Let's see, let's see. What should I do? Who will it be? ....

(*a week later*) "WAIT A MINUTE. Why, in a so-called 'DEMOCRACY' am I being pressured to pick between two people who represent two parties neither of which I really feel confident in?"
(*I pull out my voter's guide*) "Woah, who are all these people running for president? Libertarian, Green, Social Workers party... wow, there are a lot more options than I have been informed about. But...
ARRRGH!!
I feel I can't vote for them because I know my vote will be more likely to 'harm' the election-possibility for Bush than it would be to 'help' the election-possibility of this third-party candidate. And if I think Bush is the 'lesser-of-two-evils' than Kerry is (which- I don't really think either of them are 'evil' so-to-speak, in the first place), and a vote for a third party is pretty simply a vote for Kerry, then I guess I'd better just vote for Bush.
-----end scene----

Okay. It takes a LOT of guts to admit to your Seattleite friends that you will probably wind up voting for Bush so please don't hate me for being honest. My intention here is absoLUTEly not to convince anyone to vote for him over Kerry (in fact, I probably could still be convinced to vote in another way). Rather, it is to say simply- THIS SUCKS. The pressure is on all of us to just pick one or the other, Democrat or Republican, and the looming doubt that your vote could ever really count unless it's for Bush or Kerry hangs over us like a dark (smelly) cloud. Well, I'm pretty sure this is the feeling thrown at us by these major parties. Is it true, or merely an illusion? What do you think? If I vote for a third party this year, am I throwing away my vote? At some point, you have to get your democracy back, right? It's not a democracy if you are "wasting" your vote when you vote on a third party candidate. I really want to encourage everyone to please, PLEASE consider other parties as you vote this year. READ through their policy statements. Be educated! Don't throw your vote away on Kerry and Bush if you don't agree with the Democrat and Republican views!! At the end of this post I have placed links to official sites for other parties. PLEASE explore them!


BUT AS WE GO into elections now, I want to encourage everyone of you who is a Christian and a voter, in addition to grappling with whether or not Kerry or Bush really deserves your vote any more than a third party candidate would, please consider the following things:
- What does it mean to be an American?
- If liberty is what we are promised as Americans, what kind of government is going to provide for this?
- Does the Republican or Democrat party truly represent you and your picture of what our country should look like?
- As Christians there are many issues that are heavy on our hearts, ranging from war to abortion, from drugs to foreign policiy, and other types of social and world concerns. No matter where on the spectrum you lie, as a Christian you probably have felt strongly about one thing or another. As a believer, do you think the government can be trusted to deal with the making of laws that address these issues from the same moral stance as the Christian faith? Do you believe that is the government's real job?
- What /is/ the government's job, anyways?! Is it more important for the government to be concerned with protecting our liberties? or our economy? or to be primarily concerned with intervening for other countries and peoples? or making judgements on what is and is not morally correct/appropriate for all people? (I'm sure that sounds extreme, but you have to consider all the things American government has tried to be throughout history.)
This is the biggest questions I will leave you with, if you don't want to think about any of the above, at least please think about this:
- Which issues are ours to address as /Christians/ in the world, and which are ours to address as /Americans/ in the world? How much (if any amount at all) should these two roles overlap? Do we want the government to, or believe the government should, attempt to handle these things we as Christians believe to be /our/ duty? How will your vote this year reflect your answer to this question?

Please, if you want to talk about any of this with me, I'd love to hear more perspectives. I just wanted to open the conversation and get us all thinking about it, I know it can be sticky and heated, and I am certainly new to the club of "those with political views of any kind" so I am not claiming to have all the answers by any means- but I AM interested in exploring our role as Christians and as voters this year. I'm excited to have begun thinking about all this. We don't have much time before election day. Let's not be afraid to talk about this stuff!!

Thank you for taking to heart something that is very important to me.
We belong to God.

Love,
Gwen

PARTY WEBSITES:
Constitution Party- http://www.constitutionparty.com
Democratic Party- http://www.democrats.org
Green Party- http://www.gp.org
Libertarian Party- http://www.lp.org
Republican Party- http://www.gop.org
Socialist Equality Party- http://www.socialequality.com
Workers World Party- http://www.vote4workers.org