I was sitting down for lunch today and realized with all the CNN coverage in front of me that its that time for presidential races.  I’m sure many of us have already begun to listen for possible names (Clinton, Obama, etc) and I hear that Kerry decided not to run.

Now that I’m having a child I take this presidential process much more serious.  I’m voting for the people who will make a future for my little girl.  Their choices on our war, environment, and economy will affect my child when she is my age in big ways.  And as a Christian I’ve always been disappointed in the choices we have to support as a faith.  They speak the right words, but their just words that seem to fizzle with time.  I kind of lost faith after John Ashcroft stepped down from Attorney General.  His father was a president of my college at one time and I have deep respect for John.

This year I hope to support someone who supports my views of our world.  I want to see an effective, progressive, open, honest public dialogue on issues of faith and politics.  Someone who as a proclaimed believer seeks to put in to action the red letter words of the bible spoken by Jesus.  For so long the Christian faith message has been reduced to only two hot button social issues - abortion and homosexuality.  I want to see a candidate who is supporting critical moral and biblical values such as fighting poverty, caring for the environment, advancing peace, promoting strong families, and supporting a consistent ethic of life.

For decades, leaders of the Religious Right have attempted to convince Christians and the American public that people of faith and strong moral values have only one option when it comes to voting.  This narrow view continues to overshadow the majority of Christians in America whose faith motivates them to care deeply about a range of ethics and values.  Our nation is hungry for an open dialogue on moral values and its role in the public square.  God is not a Republican or a Democrat, and candidates should be measured by examining an array of social and economic issues.

Well that is what I think!

Categories: faith, life