Keeping my political opinions to myself
So after an unintentional summer long hiatus, what to write? What to write? 
I’ve read some of the recent posts and it seems politics is a hot topic. Of course it is. With the election around the corner, and the juicy conversation that our candidates inspire, why not?
Well, after the last election I learned a lesson. If you want to keep your friendships intact, don’t talk politics. Always up for the debate, the first to defend my candidate of preference, arguing policy reform…….not anymore! That was sooooo last election.
Politics and religion are personal. Deeply personal beliefs. So, you will never read what I think of Obama. Or my opinion of Sarah Palin. Joe Biden doesn’t factor in to my daily interactions and you won’t overhear me discussing McCain. Especially in this forum. For two reasons: First, who the heck am I to force my opinions on you? And second, I don’t want to be personally attacked for my beliefs. (Some of your comments are harsh, to say the least).
But, this is what I will say about the upcoming election, the candidates and our country:
- Don’t complain if you don’t vote. Everyone (of age) has the opportunity to voice their opinion. So vote or shut up.
- Get educated. Don’t call anyone a liar until you have all the facts. Don’t “vote for change” until you know what that means. Don’t criticize candidates’ experience (or lack thereof) until you are knowledgeable.
- Don’t make this election about one issue. Yes, abortion is important but so is protecting our country. Healthcare is a biggie as is our economy. Look at the big picture. Take everything into account and prioritize.
- Listen and learn without bias. If you watch CNN, turn to Fox News once in a while. And vice versa. Don’t let others’ opinions become your own. Some of us would love to see the first female vice president or the first black president. No matter the outcome, history will be made. So choose wisely. Realize what’s important to you as an American.
So what does any of this have to do religion? Nothing. Nor should it. Separation of Church and State, right? All of the religious beliefs at play here (those of our candidates), have a solid base of good values. See, the election can’t be about religion. Especially for me. Otherwise, as a Jewish person, who would I vote for?
Kim Wallis, 33, currently facilitates Rosh Chodesh groups for Jewish teenage girls in the St. Louis area. A graduate of the University of Miami, she worked in asset management for several years and now teaches Pilates part-time. Originally from Chicago, Kim is starting to feel at home in St. Louis with her husband, toddler daughter and infant son. 
In Christianity we have the spirit of truth and in this spirit we have the words of Jesus in Luke 6:37-38:
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you.”
and Matthew 10:34-36:
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law — a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”.
Better not to confirm or deny your entries in this web log to your friends or enemies but post entries in the blog in the spirit of truth. Then you will make friends and enemies for the right reason and they will never know who you are – unless you tell them.
Whoever told you that beliefs, especially deeply personal ones, are meant to be kept to yourself probably doesn’t understand the nature of truth. The same can be said for anybody that thinks debate is bad for their religion or country.
Personal attacks while unfortunate are inevitable in debate. That doesn’t make them right, but why let it bother you?
If you feel strongly about something, then telling people about it is natural and good. If you can’t stand up for a point of view in a debate, then maybe your stance is flawed, maybe it is strong but you need to educate yourself more. You’ll end up either stronger in your belief, or persuaded by a better argument. Nobody should be afraid of the truth.
You cite church-state separation, which could be no further from correct. There is no separation when it comes to whether your religious views should guide your political view. Further, I don’t know how this forum is not specifically appropriate for such discussions.
You know, exercising your right to freedom of speech by commenting about someone running for office is not forcing your opinion on someone. No one forces them to read it, disagree with it, or comment on it. You should never feel that way.
Granted, if you do comment then others can exercise their rights to comment back, but that is the beauty of free speech.
Your “vote for change” comment cracks me up. I agree with it, but it is amazing how many people keep talking about “change” but have no idea the specifics involved in that (for Obama and McCain). I also love how presidential politicians talk in terms of 10 year plans, even though they are serving 4 year terms. Classic…
I say keep your religion and your political beliefs to yourself. Be sure to do your civic duty, go to the polls, vote for who you want to, let the chips fall where they may and don’t complain afterwards. If anyone asks who you voted for when you leave the polls, tell them that it is a secret ballot and it is none of their business.
Mike,
A couple of things: I am not afraid of the truth, I do believe in debate, and of course one’s religious beliefs will influence their political view.
My comment about separation of Church and State was really about our candidates. As a public servant, they must be able to govern ALL of our counrty, even those who don’t share their religious beliefs. THEY must be capable of that separation.
I do have strong views. But I believe in democracy. If the majority of Americans do not share my same views, then so be it. I feel strongly that people need to take their right to vote seriously. And that they recognize their duty to be well informed.
Kim,
According to most schools of thought regarding morality and the subconscious it is utterly impossible to seperate your actions from your moral code. And since most of us (I dare say all of us) are influenced in some manner by religion during the development of our moral code, you can’t seperate it out. Even if they didn’t think about it or talk about it, they can’t avoid using it because it is always with us.
Kenrick, if you want to keep your views to yourself I think that’s great. You have every right to do so and I ‘m glad that you do what you feel is best. I hope you don’t think less of others though who do speak out in regards to these topics. It’s only an exchange of information if you read or listen to it…
Kim, like you, I’m disgusted by what passes for debate these days. Very few people are listening to their opponents, and they equate winning a debate with either having the last word or out-shouting their opponent.
Unfortunately, getting informed is extremely difficult these days. Actually getting enough information to form a thoughtful position is virtually impossible for most of us. Why? Because every source we go to is going to share their version of the edited information, and putting it together into a coherent whole is very, very complicated.
I agree, though: If you don’t vote, then don’t whine for the next 4 years. Dare to dig for the truth. Be willing to admit that ‘your’ candidate might not be telling the whole truth…and that the opposition might be telling some truth. It’s been proven in recent history that facts really don’t matter much to most people. It seems to be no longer possible to fight a lie with the truth, particularly when the truth takes more than 10 seconds to express, and isn’t nearly as ’sexy’ as the lie.
Here is the question I’d love to pose to the two most outspoken Christians in the current election:
To Senator Obama: Is Sarah Palin your sister in Christ? How does your answer influence what you say and how you say it about her?
To Governor Palin: Is Barack Obama your brother in Christ? How does your answer influence what you say and how you say it about him?
I’d ask that of the avowedly Christian supporters of both of the above as well.
What a wonderful thought to keep your political opinions off a religion blog. A religion blog should be just that–about religion. Yours (or other posters’) political opinion is about as relevant of your choice of peanut butter.
Great post!
Suzy,
Play dumb all you want. I’ll say it again:
It’s as clear as day in the title of the blog “CIVIL” = GOVERNMENT
Civil studies
Civil rights
Civil servant
Civil engineer
This blog is here for the very thing you come out against. You are the one misusing it.
Mike, just FYI: The “civil” in civil engineer comes from back in the days before the Civil War. There were two types of engineers: Military and non-military (or civilian) engineers. We may work on a lot of government projects, but that doesn’t make us part of the government.