September 5, 2008

• Still undecided

  I have been told by a fellow Xangan that I should not comment about my political views on other people’s sites but on my own blog. At first, I was a bit miffed by this, since the person telling me this (after she called me rude) informed everyone in her comment which candidate for whom she would be casting her vote while saying this. Then I decided that she is probably right about my commenting (but not the rude part) since I can get a bit verbose at times, not everyone wants to talk politics and we all will have our own ideas about what issues are most important and how best to address them…

  So, this will be a blog about politics, but I do not want to tell anyone how they should or shouldn’t vote. I am not even entirely sure how I will vote at this time, so you will not be told for whom you should vote here! I think Jim Wallis gives us some really good advice in his last Sojourners article:

  With two months to go, the questions will certainly be raised. The most important one that is emerging is which ticket will be most able to reach out to many people in the middle in both parties, and the all-important political independents. Facts will be important. Whose tax policies will most benefit low-income and middle-class families? Who has a plan to reverse the economic downturn? Who has the smartest strategy for countering the real threats of terrorism? And who has the best and most comprehensive response to the full range of moral issues that are of deep concern to people of faith?

  Now, all four of the political figures on their respective party tickets have been shown to have compelling personal stories. All four are “real people,” as the slogan goes. But this election must not just be about personalities, or inspiring personal histories; it must be about the issues, the records, the leadership, and the facts. May God help us to stay focused on that. Last week belonged to the Democrats, this week to the Republicans. Now, after the showy conventions of the past two weeks, the real work of this election can begin.

  I will share some of my own observations and concerns here and I also welcome any feedback that anyone who wishes to comment might have since there are so very few of us with the time to track down all the facts to debunk the myths, scare tactics, innuendo and rumors. I ask only that you keep it civil and keep it completely factual. No one should be frightened or intimidated into making his or her choice for any leadership position. Who even wants a bully for a leader? I believe that we each must look into our own lives, minds and hearts to make that decision and after we learn as much as we possibly can about what we each value most, then prayerfully consider which candidate might be the most capable champion of our causes.

  My life involves the food pantry at our church. Many of the concerns I have about the future of our country have been brought to my attention as I have worked there:

  I have seen such hurting inflicted on this great nation with the leadership we have had the last 8 years. Unemployment is over 6% now–the highest it has been for nearly a decade. The “business” at our own church food pantry has tripled in that time from 30 to 35 families to 90 to 100 families needing help every week. (And these families aren’t even “allowed” to come every week, so there are actually even more than this!) Our food sources are being threatened not by terrorists, but by the gutting of resources and regulations put in place to protect U.S.consumers in the name of “business and economic interests.” Recall notices from the food bank partner agency network fill my email box every week because food businesses can continue operations and distribution of tainted food supplies until they are inspected by our now overburdened FDA, then just issue recall notices when they finally get inspected and write off the cost of recalled food. The only ones that ever make the news are the ones where illness and/or death can be actually attributed to a specific food source, but trust me, there are many, many more…

  Outside of the church food pantry, I also worry about the welfare of our nation. Even though we enjoyed widespread support from many other nations after 9/11, the foreign policy choices that the current leadership has made since then have left us with very few other nations on “speaking” terms now,  If the all other ones we have angered decided to join forces & finish us off, we would probably be toast! I believe that the only reason we have not had to deal with that scenario is that most of the other nations seem even less desirous of peace then we are and thankfully, would not be able to work together against a common foe. From what I know so far, McCain intends to follow the same course regarding business interests and foreign policy…

  On the other side of the aisle, we have Obama, a very unknown quantity that has people so worried and nervous they are sending out emails & blogging about how we will be forced to burn our Bibles & be given copies of the Koran…

  I am still furious with Obama for being willing to forgive U.S. communications corporations for not standing up to our current government when they were asked to BREAK THE LAW and violate our civil liberties in the name of fighting terrorism. A law has very little “teeth” if it is not enforced! Either those corporations are accountable or our government needs to relinquish the power it has to force corporations to act in an unethical manner and neither of these issues have been addressed to my satisfaction…

  Obama’s acceptance speech did give me hope that many of the marginalized in our society could have a chance to actually live better lives. Before I worked in the food pantry, I used to think that people just needed to get a job and work their way up, but I have learned that there are some major roadblocks for many people along the way that are not always obvious to the outside observer. (Many at our own church, especially the well-to-do, still don’t really see any roadblocks.) No matter where you go, you find those folks that didn’t get the memo that you do have to put forth SOME effort, the world doesn’t owe you a living and if you need help you might not get just exactly what you want if you have to get it from someone else. Everyone likes to think those are the kind of folks that come to the pantry, but there are so many more that come willing to do what they can to try and help us in return for helping them. When they come, they ask to wash out the coffeepot, sweep the floor, lift the heavy boxes and that sort of thing, because they WANT to feel like they can provide for their families. I’ve even learned about some other not-so-obvious things like if you get your lights turned off because you cannot pay your bill, you have to not only be able to pay your bill but also additional money to get power restored. If you do not have the money to pay your bill, where do you get even MORE money to turn the lights back on? I’ve learned that if a child in one of these families gets sick or injured, they usually lose everything, since they rarely have jobs that offer any health benefits. We see many families come to the pantry after the father gets laid off from or injured on a job that is so dangerous and/or low-paying, there is no safety net for that family. Some turn to drugs and alcohol, draining the already meager family resources. Some women, faced with the daunting task of taking care of their families on their own, opt for abortion instead, which must break the heart of our God who finds every life so precious and valuable…

  • 3:01 pm
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