vote

I often find myself thinking, “What the hell is wrong with Texas (or South Carolina, or Kansas . . .). But after I think that, I feel ashamed. Yes shame. Strong word. But it’s apropos, because one of the hallmarks of small mindedness is clumping people together with generalizations.

Besides, I know and love people from all of those places. So I happen to know that for every dim-witted, racist, anti-poor, anti-Muslim, fundamentalist Christian thing that Texas or Kansas do at their State Capitals, there are thousands of right-thinking people in each of those states who are deeply pained by the action. In fact, I suspect (based on polling data) there are more people in each of those states who disagree with the way their legislators are behaving than who agree.

Republicans Play This Game Better

So why is this happening?

Because the Republican Party is very good at doing two things: 1) pandering to the social phobias and ignorance of their conservative base, and 2) getting those people out to vote every two years.

That’s right. The difference between functional federal and state governments and the disappointment we have now may be as simple as two years. Every two years, social conservatives take their compliant wives by the hand and head to the polls. And every mid-term election (the elections in-between the Presidential elections) they drive a bunch of cynical, corporate-pandering, women-marginalizing, science-denying, Christian militants into office. Overall, not very many people show up to mid-term elections. But since the small turn-out is heavily skewed to a handful of well-educated Birkenstock-wearing Baby Boomers and the base of the Republican Party, conservatives have a disproportionate effect on the outcomes of those elections.

Change is In Our Power

People keep asking when things will change. When will we have meaningful gun control? When will we stop infringing on women’s freedoms? When will we stop inhibiting minority access to the voting booth? When will we stop fighting gay marriage? When will we stop demonizing immigrants, the poor, and anyone else who doesn’t fit a certain Eurocentric middle-class mold? Those questions are often asked with an air of helplessness-infused rage, like it’s all someone else’s job to fix this stuff.

What we need to do is go to the polls. Every two years, not every four. Even when the weather is bad. Even when we have to take a few hours off work. Even when the line wraps around the block and down the road. Even if we have to get a babysitter. Even if it means teaming up, watching kids, car-pooling, or running a personal shuttle bus. Bring a folding chair, an umbrella, and a good book, and vote every two years. We could see major change in a very short time.

The GOP is now pushing for a birth-control measure as part of their negotiation over the debt ceiling. Let's analyse this . . . this is a political entity that is willing to jeopardize an issue of domestic and international economic concern just so they can try to force their personal agendas on women? Since when was legislating the bedroom and women's medical decisions a form of SMALLER government?? And most importantly, why do they have so little respect for women that they don't believe we are capable of making moral, medical, and religious decisions based on our own belief systems?? There are thousands and thousands of Americans who follow religions that ban the use of immunizations, but I don't see them trying to make insurance companies stop covering them . . .

We live in a big, diverse community, with messy problems. This is true of all societies, and those who have tried to apply simple solutions to messy problems have failed throughout history. So here is my prayer for us as a nation today:

1. That we put people before things, people before money. The G-D of the Old Testament said it, Jesus said it, the Buddha said it, Mohammed said it, and it affirms all of our well-being when we do it. When people are safe, healthy, and respected, great things happen. Call it the trickle-up theory of humanity.
2. That we all recognize that problems that take a long time to create generally take at least as long to solve. If we pretend the problems we have as a society didn't occur until after 2009, then we are not only lying to ourselves (something that nobody ever benefits from), but no matter who ends up in the White House, that president will continue to be doomed by our communal impatience and immaturity.
3. That each of us confronts our own biases and fears (they are the same thing, and we all have them), and analyze how they affect our decisions. My personal goal is to never do anything that offends my soul. Sometimes that takes a lot of thought.
4. That what we leave our children isn't just limited to the size of the debt. What we leave our children includes the value and opportunity presented in their education, the examples we have shown them, the lessons we have shared with them through our dinner-time conversation, the quality of the air, the health of the earth, the impact of the weather, and the values we have taught them with the policies we pursue. Will our children judge that we have faithfully pursued the holistic values of whatever religion we profess, or that we chased some of those values at the expense of others for personal reasons? Legacy is and has always been about more than money.
5. I pray that all of us are voting FOR things we have carefully considered - not just as isolated elements, but for the entire package of ideas and implications they represent. Neither Obama nor Romney offers a perfect platform, because that is impossible. Both of them, however, represent very different world views. I pray that everyone is willing to and capable of thinking about what world view they are voting for - even if it means staying up all night to think about it - and then voting a conscience FOR something big and encompassing and capable of addressing the full range of messy problems we have (and always will have) as a large society. A vote against any particular aspect of either candidate is too small to be worthy.

OK, so that's my big prayer for today. What's yours?