Voting
“During the 2016 presidential campaign, the Pew Research Center polled the American public on its assessment of the ways the candidates, pollsters, and press had conducted themselves. ..Respondents revealed that seemingly daily during the election cycle standards of human decency diminished. Candidates were willing to say anything to win. Some candidates’ behavior, which in prior election cycles would have disqualified one from office.. were instead celebrated by supporters. This led many to despair that something had been irretrievably lost in the American consciousness.” Barkley Thompson, In the Midst of the City, p. 530
Robert and I early voted on the fifth day. People were standing in line outside in the cold for almost an hour. As you know, the first day we went to two voting places and could not find a parking place. These are the signs of hope that people are caring about their country, maybe even the world and even the environment.
What we most should fear is not those we did not vote for and their policies. What we must most fear is apathy, the feeling that what we think or say does not make a difference, finally changing to not caring. The opposite of love is not hate. It is apathy, indifference, not caring at all.
When I talk with people who express despair about their country, we always come to the questions of where is God in all of this. Some throw up their hands and say, “Absent!” Most after saying this will stop and realize what they have said. They know this is not their core belief even though certainly we all at times feel the absence of God.
We are called to do our part to stay connected to the God of our understanding. We are to study scripture, discuss it, digest it, follow a rule of life, be connected to a spiritual community, care for those who are poor, sick, lonely, and weak, take on spiritual practices that keep us connected to the one we may intermittently think or feel is absent. If we do all this, my experience is that there is no time for despair! We also will always find the face of God, Christ, the holy Spirit in those in need. When we see that love, it is always reflected back to us and we eventually find the Christ again within us.
My prayer is that hope will remain in the lives of those whose candidates will lose just as hope will be so prominent in those whose candidates will win. Hope is a huge energy source. I have seen it in people who are sick. As long as they have hope, I see the energy to live and do what it takes to seek wellness.
Perhaps part of our divide in this country stems from those who have lost hope.
I am voting for hope.
Joanna. Joannaseibert.com