Think. Pray. Vote.

As the righteous grow powerful, people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, people groan...

A king brings stability to a land by justice, but one who exacts tribute tears it down...

The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern...

Mockers stir up a city, but the wise turn away anger...

Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise quietly hold it back...

When a ruler is listening to lies, all of his officials tend to become wicked...

(from Proverbs 29)

The Bible is a highly political book, with a great deal to say about goals for good governance.

Again and again, prophets and psalmists make clear the unshakeable connection between justice, righteous behavior and shalom.

Rulers and nations, according to the prophets, are inevitably judged on how well they care for widows (powerless women), orphans (children without privilege or protection), aliens (immigrants and those without legal status), prisoners (guilty or not).

By any Biblical measure, we are not doing well.

Justice, righteousness and shalom are badly shaken.

The financial inequities in our country are staggering. The US now has the greatest income inequality of any developed nation. The top .1% has a larger share of income than at any time in history - edging out the robber baron era that preceded the Great Depression. Half the US population is now considered low-income, or in poverty.   

A recent headline claimed "Inequality is a bigger threat to our democracy than Putin."

Yet policies under consideration in Washington, both for tax reform and health care, would channel more money to the wealthy, with little benefit, if any, to the poor or middle class.

Racial disharmony, allegations of sexual abuse, fraud and allegations of corruption, another mass shooting, and another: these are symptoms of deep brokenness.

Confidence in our democracy is at an all-time, dangerous historic low.

Only 20% of Americans today say they can trust the government in Washington to do what is right “just about always” (4%) or “most of the time” (16%). 

This week, an American Psychological Association study on stress in America found: 

Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63 percent) say the future of the nation is a very or somewhat significant source of stress, slightly more than perennial stressors like money (62 percent) and work (61 percent), according to the American Psychological Association’s report, "Stress in America™: The State of Our Nation".

More than half of Americans (59 percent) said they consider this the lowest point in U.S. history that they can remember — a figure spanning every generation, including those who lived through World War II and Vietnam, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Yes: there's a connection between justice, righteousness, shalom.

The reverse works as well: injustice, unrighteous leadership, shattered shalom go hand in hand.

Tuesday is Election Day.

It's a year since our last election and I still find myself grieving: when we vote, we affirm and endorse the character of the one we vote for.

Last year many of my fellow Christians chose a vision of the future tragically at odds with the kingdom of God I've been working toward since childhood.

They affirmed behavior in direct contradiction of the virtues I faithfully memorized and pray to practice: gentleness, patience, goodness, self-control.

We are living through the fruit of that election and the political climate we've been sowing: anger, division, deepening distrust, policies cut loose from any pretense of public good.

Not that the 2016 election was the cause of our downward slide, but part of a troubling narrative: Loss of discernment. Failure to engage wisely. Eagerness to place blame. Willingness to swallow simple answers.

I hear from friends: "It's too hard to vote. I don't know the races, I don't know the people. It takes too much work to sort it out." 

 

All true. Completely true. 

We should not be voting for judges.

Or coroners.

We have too many races, too little information.

Even so: every judge will be deciding issues that impact our lives in ways beyond what we can see.

And every local official will set policy that will impact our communities for good or harm.

For any who claim to follow scripture, the calling seems clear, repeated in both Old and New Testaments (Isaiah 11 and Luke 4): 

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners.

We are all called to love our neighbors as ourselves: neighbors near and far, known and unknown, like and unlike.

Called to put their needs before our own, as the good Samaritan did on the dangerous road to Jericho.

And we are all called to live and work and pray toward a beloved community where slave and free, Jew and Gentile, every language, every shape, every beautiful shade of brown and beige is welcome, valued, nurtured, loved.

We are called to love rather than fear, listen rather than condemn, act as agents of reconciliation, mercy, peace and healing.

And since we are called to use the gifts we've been given for the good of others, we're called to use the political agency we've been given, which includes the privilege of voting.

Which means we're called to pray for wisdom and discernment.

It means noticing when our news commentators' voices shift to a tone that invites hysterical response and turning them off rather than fall prey to anger and division.

It means taking time to check out outrageous stories rather than trust slick mailers or partisan propaganda.

Or choosing not to believe the bad report when we don't know for certain if it's true.

Loving our neighbor means voting for the good of those we're called to care for: widows, orphans, aliens, prisoners.

Not just myself, my family, my party, people most like me.

So I'm looking for candidates concerned about affordable housing.

Good stewardship of land and water.

Reform of our inequitable school funding and our immoral bail/bond practices.

I no longer look for candidates who say what they think one party or the other wants to hear.

I'm looking for candidates whose biographies, activities, words and tone suggest an understanding of service, of commitment, of kindness, of grace.

Is there any evidence that they've served the poor?

Any evidence they've made hard choices?

Any hint of wisdom or mercy?

Please vote on Tuesday.

There are people who died to give us that privilege.

And there are millions of people around the globe would give anything to have that chance.

Please don't vote the party ticket.

Please take time to pray, think, read, decide.

And vote!

• For information about statewide judicial races in PA, check here: Vote411.org ( In some states, and some parts of PA, this will give you a complete ballot. In most parts of PA, it won't).
• Check here for information on the PA property tax ballot question.
• For information on local races in PA, google your local League of Women Voters Guide 2017 with the name of your county. Some provide local information, some just county and statewide information.  
• In Philadelphia, check the Committee of Seventy Voter's Guide.

For a list of past post on political issues check What's Your Platform

Some election highlights: 

Justice Matters October 15, 2015
Election Fraud and Rigged Elections  August 7, 2016
The Dance of Democracy  Nov 11, 2012
We the People   Sunday, November 13, 2016Love Your Neighbor, Vote with Prayer October 28, 2012

Election Examen

We are not the first to live in a time of upheaval.

We will not likely be the last.

Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, lived in the Basque region of Spain during a time of great conflict and disagreement.

Meet Muslims in Jerusalem with swords and spears or with resolute prayer and kindness?

Reform the church from within or reclaim true faith by division?

In times of great change and structural unraveling, the way forward is often hidden. Holding too firmly to the past can be a form of rebellion. Surging too quickly toward the new can jeopardize all we hold most dear.

The Ignatian “prayer of examen” invites reflection and humility: an awareness of how easily we mistake our own thoughts for God’s direction, how easily trapped we are by our own unexamined habits or unacknowledged agendas.

The prayer of examen offers a chance to step back, review, rethink. In examen we ask God to illuminate our willful blindness, to speak his truth to our hearts, even as our ears and minds are full of other voices. 

We’ve been living through the most destructive campaign season in at least the last half-century, with swirling rumors, echo-chamber accusations, wild statements about God’s plan or preference, a growing inability to listen to any view or fact that doesn’t line up neatly with our own.

Votes do matter. 

Decisions have consequences.

It’s important we do our research, check sample ballots, consider motives, experience, character, positions.

I've mapped out in an earlier post some ideas for how to do that. 

Short version: check your sample ballot in Vote411, take a look at candidate websites (with links from Vote411) then look up candidates on Ballotpedia to see what else you can learn.

But before and after there’s an essential step: the prayer of examen.  It's an invitation to God to open our eyes, change our hearts, redirect our thinking,

Step one: Slow down, be still, and take time to acknowledge God’s presence.

“Be still and know that I am God,” the psalmist says. The Hebrew word for “be still” – rapha - means “be weak,” “let go,” “release.”  It’s easy to be anxious, angry, doubtful, to hold on to resentments, outrage, frustration. God invites us to let that go, to draw close to him as a troubled child draws near a loving parent, trusting our anxieties and fears into kind, strong, caring hands.

We bring before You, O God:
The troubles and perils of people and nations,
The sighings of the sick,
The sorrows of the bereaved,
The necessities of strangers,
The helplessness of the weak,
The despondency of the weary,
The failing powers of any age.
May each of us draw as near to You
As You are near to each of us.
            (Anselm of Canterbury, ca 1100)

Step two: Give thanks. Take rest in gratitude.

It’s easy to spiral into a swirl of anxiety, anger, agitation. Gratitude reminds of the greater truth: we living in blessing. God’s grace surrounds us.

As I look back on the election season, I give thanks that we're free to speak, write, gather. I give thanks for the chance to vote, the rights I enjoy through no accomplishment of my own. I give thanks for the many at every level of government, the many in advocacy groups, the many citizen volunteers who offer time, energy, creative engagement to make our democracy work. 

Almighty God, giver of all good things: We thank you for the natural majesty and beauty of this land. They restore us, though we often destroy them.
We thank you for the great resources of this nation. They make us rich, though we often exploit them.
We thank you for the men and women who have made this country strong. They are models for us, though we often fall short of them.
We thank you for the torch of liberty which has been lit in this land. It has drawn people from every nation, though we have often hidden from its light.
We thank you for the faith we have inherited in all its rich variety. It sustains our life, though we have been faithless again and again.
(Thanksgivings for National Life: For the Nation, Book of Common Prayer) 

Step 3: Ask for wisdom, insight, and truth.

I realized at sixteen that I could convince myself of anything I wanted. I could rationalize any decision, argue hotly for any opinion. As I’ve posted elsewhere, we are easily held captive by our own assumptions, our own "confirmation bias."

 

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul acknowledged: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (I Corinthians 13).

In moments of quiet reflection I'm reminded how deep my self-deception can go, how easily I can overlook my own failings while leaping to identify the shortcomings of others.

It takes time, courage, humility and grace, to see where we’ve been in the wrong, to be willing to change where change is needed.  We can miss the truth when it’s standing right in front of us. The more spiritually wise we think we are, the harder it can be to hear voices that don’t agree with our own.

Jesus promised "When the Spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all truth," (John 16:13) but that truth is only available as we acknowledge our inadequacy, our willfulness, our pride, our self-delusion.

King David himself asked God to dig deep and show him what he couldn’t see himself: 

Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139

Step 4: Review.

Looking back through actions, attitudes, motives and emotions is hard, painful work, demanding honesty, patience, and humility.

It's a great practice for every day, but even more helpful in this political season: 

 Where did I speak without listening?
 Where did I judge without compassion?
 Where was I motivated by anger, anxiety, pride, impatience?
 Where did I disengage out of fear, discouragement, laziness, lack of love?
 What did I repeat, not sure that it was true?
 What did I believe, not bothering to think it through?
 When did I side with mockers?
 What habits held me captive?
 Who did I harm?
 Who did I help?
 Where did I sense God inviting me to something different, but ignored the invitation?
 Where did I see a way I could serve another, but chose to serve myself instead?
 Where did I participate in disrespect of leaders, disrespect of others?
 Where was compassion visible?
 Where was wisdom lacking?
 Is there something I’ve been refusing to hear? Some change I’ve been willfully  resisting? 

The goal isn't to pile on guilt, or to drown in self-accusation.

The goal is to see more clearly and to grow in understanding of ourselves, the world and the way of love.

Step Five: Reconcile and resolve.

For me, confession is a freeing move toward change, an acknowledgement of failure and a willingness to leave my blindness behind and start in a new direction. I like the Episcopal practice of kneeling in confession. It's an outward expression of humility, reflecting an inward desire to move away from pride.

In my faith tradition we say confession every Sunday, but sometimes it helps to move through it more slowly, letting the words sink in, acknowledging their truth, considering what correction would look like.  

Most holy and merciful Father:
We confess to you and to one another,
and to the whole communion of saints
in heaven and on earth,
that we have sinned by our own fault
in thought, word, and deed;
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength.
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us.
We have not been true to the mind of Christ.
We have grieved your Holy Spirit.
We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness:
the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives,
Our self-indulgent appetites and ways,
and our exploitation of other people,
Our anger at our own frustration,
and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves,
Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts,
and our dishonesty in daily life and work,
Our negligence in prayer and worship,
and our failure to commend the faith that is in us,
Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done:
for our blindness to human need and suffering,
and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,
For all false judgments,
for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors,
and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us,
For our waste and pollution of your creation,
and our lack of concern for those who come after us,
Accept our repentance, Lord. (Book of Common Prayer)

True repentance, and real reconciliation, lead to resolve: a determination to go forward in a new way. We need wisdom to see what that way might look like. The old way is easy, modeled for us by loud and angry voices, lived out in familiar reactions to old wounds, ancient wrongs.

The new way is much harder. I find myself turning again to Isaiah 58, and the call to a deeper, more genuine form of faithfulness.  

Old Man Praying, Edvard Munch, 1902 Norway

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter?

If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

My resolve is to live deep into the kind of fast God calls for, and to join with others of God’s people in loosening the chains of injustice, sharing food with the hungry, providing shelter for the wanderer.

I pray even my vote will be part of that work.

This is the last in a continuing series about faith and politics: What's Your Platform? 

Beyond the Party Platform July 24, 2016

A Different Way July 31, 2016 

Election Fraud and Rigged Elections, August 10, 2016 

How Long Will the Land Lie Parched? August 21, 2016 

Walls, Welcome, Mercy, Law August 28, 2016

Workers and Their Wages, Sep 3, 2016 

Educating Ourselves On Education, Sep 10, 2016 

Let's Talk, Sep 17, 2016

The Language of the Unheard, Sep 24, 2016

Maintain Justice, October 9, 2016

Defending the Indefensible, October 16, 2016 

Plan Your Vote: Platforms, Parties, People, October 23, 2016

The Politics of Hate - or Love, October 30, 2016 

Plan Your Vote: Platforms, Parties, People

I’ve been helping publicize Vote411, an online voter education tool provided by the League of Women Voters in many states, including Pennsylvania.

This will be the first general election with statewide Vote411. PA has the largest state legislature in the country and one of the most convoluted and layered governments, with school districts twisting in and out of townships, state senate districts weaving in and out of counties. Finding information about the ballot has always been difficult. Learning about down-ballot candidates has been nearly impossible.

Vote411 makes it easier: go to the website, enter your address, then click on the green bar that says "Get personalized information on candidates and issues." 

You'll get a personalized ballot with a list of races.  Click on any of those and you’ll see the candidates for office. If they’ve responded (and far more than half have done so) you can see links to their campaign websites, brief bios plus answers to three questions we asked them to answer. For races with more than two candidates, choose two to compare.

In addition to the presidential race, my ballot will include candidates for congressional representative, state attorney general, auditor general and treasurer, plus state senator and representative.

Two of those positions, state attorney general and state treasurer, are open because both incumbents resigned in disgrace mid-term.

Former Attorney General Kathleen Kane was elected in 2012 and quickly found herself embroiled in controversy about lewd and racist emails exchanged between prosecutors and judges, an investigation shut down for political purposes, information leaked from a grand jury investigation. She will be sentenced Monday for perjury and criminal conspiracy and could face up to 14 years in prison.

Ex-treasurer Rob McCord resigned in early 2015 as he pled guilty to two charges of extortion. In his 2014 run for governor, he demanded campaign contributions from two firms with large contracts with the state, letting them know that if they didn’t support him, they’d lose the contracts. While the charges each carry a potential 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine, he has yet to be sentenced. Some sources suggest an ongoing bribery investigation of at least one firm involved.

Both are Democrats but read through the Wikipedia list of federal politicians convicted of crime and set aside any illusion that one party is cleaner than the other.

Many in Pennsylvania, many across the country, prefer to vote straight party ticket. It’s certainly easier than trying to assess candidates.

And many are arguing, especially in this election, that the party platform matters more than the person or the individual candidate’s own reputation, experience or positions.

That’s the argument being put forward by Republicans called to question for support of Donald Trump. You may not like him as a candidate, but vote the platform.

Here’s a much-circulated sample from Charisma News:

The Democratic and Republican party platforms are as different as night and day, in my opinion, as far apart as evil vs. good. The 51-page Democratic platform is the most leftist ever. (I don't care for the "right vs. left" nomenclature. I am far more concerned with "right vs. wrong.") The Democratic platform contains many points which are anti-biblical. . . .The 54-page GOP platform is one of the strongest GOP platforms ever. A biblically alert person could be comfortable with almost all of it.

Set aside if you can the strange idea that experience and character don’t matter for any position that requires a high level of public trust and ability to listen, negotiate and lead.

 

I confess, I can’t set that aside.

But focus for a minute on the claim that one party’s platform is “anti-biblical” or "evil" while the other is  “right” or "good."

I consider myself a “biblically alert person” and I’ve read both platforms – start to finish.

Give it a try: 

Republican Party Platform

Democratic Party Platform

There are parts of both platforms I agree with.

Parts of both that make me wince.

Parts of both that misrepresent the other side.

Parts of both that stake out extreme positions antithetical to common sense, common good and constitutional precedent.

If I had to put percentages on those parts I’d have to say the Democratic platform, on the whole, is more honest, more charitable and more likely to accomplish the goals we all share: healthy families, safe country, an economy that provides adequate health care, good schools and decent jobs for all who want them.

I spent some time looking for a simple chart that would illuminate difference between the parties and finally gave up. The issues of concern to me don’t always make it onto charts.

And simplification of party stances inevitably misrepresents them. 

Yes, Republicans want to build a wall. No, Democrats are not for “unprotected borders.”

Yes, Republicans want religious marriage norms enforced. Democrats disagree, but they're not "against" religion, not trying to silence Christian witness or close down churches. Here's what the platform says (in part) about "Faith and Service" (19): 

Democrats know that our nation, our communities, and our lives are made vastly stronger and richer by faith in many forms and the countless acts of justice, mercy, and tolerance it inspires. We believe in lifting up and valuing the good work of people of faith and religious organizations and finding ways to support that work where possible. 

I could go on: about environmental regulation, trade, health care for women, effective school policy, the role of unions.

Abortion and contraception: I had planned a new post on abortion, but saw two that said everything I wanted to say and more: one by Rachel Held Evans on a pro-life rationale for voting for Hillary Clinton; the other, by Rachel Marie Stone, on "the birth control argument we shouldn't be having." 

Conservatives don't own the pro-life agenda,
Matthew Anselmo, 2015

Both make the point that there are far better ways to prevent abortion than through punitive laws or a politicized Supreme Court. Honest sex education, accessible, affordable contraception and policies that improve the lives of working mothers all do far more to reduce abortion than passing laws or calling women “baby killers.” 

The Affordable Care Act, which mandated coverage of contraceptives and made health care more accessible, has sent abortion rates to the lowest since Roe v. Wade.

It would be healthy and helpful to have real dialogue about the party platforms, the world views they represent and the best way to move toward solutions that work for all of us.

That doesn’t happen. 

And won’t so long as both sides view themselves as sole owners of truth and right.

Which brings me back to individual candidate and their own stated positions.

Some candidates see beyond the simplistic “we’re right, they’re wrong” approach and exhibit exemplary wisdom and courage in how they describe real problems and offer informed decisions. 

I know a few of them. They aren’t on my ballot.

Most of the candidates on my ballot do exactly what their parties tell them to. Every time. No matter what their constituents want. No matter what reason, or conscience, or common sense would suggest.

My current state representative is an example. A major high-pressure pipeline has been imposed on our county, our township, our neighborhood, without due process, without real recourse. Our representative is silent. Her party gave the state away to the shale gas industry years ago and any word of objection is forbidden. I've voted for her in the past. This year? I'm considering other options.

Another candidate on the ballot has happily endorsed his party’s unconstitutional attempts to obstruct voting rights and has cheerfully helped push back regulations designed to protect Pennsylvania’s water and air. As attorney general, would he protect the rights of citizens? Unlikely.

I will not be voting either party platform this election.

Instead, I’ll be doing the hard, time consuming work of being an informed, attentive citizen.

I’ll learn what I can about the character of candidates and where they stand on positions I care about.

I’ll start with Vote411, then spend time on the candidates’ own websites.

If they haven’t bothered to tell me what they think, I’ll likely cross them off my list.

If I’m still not sure, I’ll look for articles, interviews or debates to get a broader feel for background and motivation.

I'll also check in with On the Issues, which catalogs votes and statements made by presidential and congressional candidates. 

In situations where I find both candidates equally weak, but not totally unacceptable, I’ll vote against the gerrymandered expectation.  In other words: since the district lines were drawn to ensure an easy win for my incumbent Republicans, I’ll vote Democrat in protest.

In situations where both major party candidates are equally objectionable, I’ll vote third party, as a statement against the lack of honest choice.

Sometimes I vote for women and minority candidates – just because so many vote against them, every time.

If I have to, I’ll write in a name.

Maybe my own.

What I won’t do is believe the lies that abound in every election cycle, but much much more in this one.

There are as many flying around us as leaves sailing through my yard, burying everything under their weight.

There are ways to find the truth.

To quote an impassioned Facebook post I applauded just a day ago: 

factcheck.org, politifact.com and snopes.com are three nonpartisan sites I'm finding helpful in untangling, debunking and confirming stories I come across. . . .

Of course, even these resources, which I've seen point out false information on both sides, have been accused of being biased. But accusations of bias in the media don't let us off the hook. We can't just say, "news sources are biased," and use that as justification for picking and choosing whatever stories back up our preconceived ideas. This means not just getting our news from one source but cross-checking what we read or hear with multiple resources. It means being very cautious when it comes to sources of information on the fringe that might not be subject to the same scrutiny as mainstream news sources. It means questioning our knee-jerk reactions and challenging ourselves to dig deeper in trying to understand the dynamics at play. And it means doing some honest soul-searching so we can make a decision we won't be ashamed of in the future. 

I’ve had friends and family ask me to watch and read sources that have obvious, flagrant lies.

If you’re not sure it’s true, don’t repeat it.

Don’t repost it.

Don’t vote it.

And don’t try to scare me: the sky is not falling.

There is one Savior and I promise you: he doesn’t bully, demean, or lie to get his way.

Elections do matter.

As do candidates and character.

Platforms?

Maybe not so much.

This post is part of a continuing series on What's Your Platform 

Beyond the Party Platform July 24, 2016

A Different Way July 31, 2016 

Election Fraud and Rigged Elections, August 10, 2016 

How Long Will the Land Lie Parched? August 21, 2016 

Walls, Welcome, Mercy, Law August 28, 2016

Workers and Their Wages, Sep 3, 2016 

Educating Ourselves On Education, Sep 10, 2016 

Let's Talk, Sep 17, 2016

The Language of the Unheard, Sep 24, 2016

Maintain Justice, October 9, 2016

Defending the Indefensible, October 16, 2016