I hate politics. It’s not that I don’t care. I care deeply and I believe honest, moral people can disagree about issues.

What I hate about politics is that neither side can manage to disagree without character assassination.

And, if I’m candid, the people who have disappointed me most in this are Christians. Christians on both sides. And I don’t exclude myself.

How can you follow Jesus if you tear down others because they disagree with your political position?

Does the fact that it’s really clever make it ok?

If you have kids, do you tolerate name calling between them? What makes you think God does?

If we are His children, how must He feel about the way we treat each other? Do you think He smiles when you insult your opponent? Does He laugh at your snide comments? Would He give you a divine fist bump for that funny putdown?

I’m going to go with … no.

When one of my daughters was younger, she made some rude remarks to a friend on Facebook. I grounded her from Facebook for about two months and, if I remember correctly, she had to write a short paper about kindness, complete with biblical citations.

Now I read tweets, Facebook updates and blog posts from grown men and women, many of whom profess to be Christ followers, that are far more defamatory than the comments that got my daughter grounded.

Is it ok to be vicious in the name of God? Again, I’m going with the no.

Does it mean we can’t express our views and stand for what we believe? Of course not. It just means we need to separate difference of opinion from disrespect of person.

When my girls were younger, I had a three-tiered system for dealing with disrespectful treatment of siblings. If clearly one-sided, the offender was required to perform an act of service for her sister. Mutual combat warranted a team project; an unpleasant task completed together. If the problem persisted, the next step was the togetherness hour; 60 minutes spent holding hands. And, yes, that meant the bathroom. I believe I had to impose a togetherness hour once. After that time, the mere threat was an effective deterrent.

I propose a team project for the Democrats and the Republicans. Start small. Pick up trash on Capitol Hill. Get out the hammer and nails and go repair a home or two. Clean up a highway. Scrub a toilet.

Then come together and discuss the issues with that person who held the ladder for you and handed you the hammer. The one whose worries, concerns and struggles are not that different from your own. Your sibling in the family of God.

Perhaps then the rhetoric would come down a notch — or a hundred.

Otherwise, I’ll propose a togetherness hour with … those horrible Democrats those nasty Republicans your brothers and sisters.

Courtesy of StuSeeger

I’ve been eager for this election season to end. For several reasons, I’ve found it depressing.

• I’m not excited about either candidate. I’ve never fallen squarely into either Democrat or Republican molds. I don’t like McCain or Obama. I’m voting for the candidate I deem to be the lesser of two evils. I hate that. I want someone I can vote for.
• I am appalled at how both sides have treated one another throughout this campaign. I’m not sure if it’s worse this year or not, but it’s sickening. I’m particularly distressed by those who claim to be people of faith, yet use God’s name to demonize those with whom they disagree. It’s happening on both sides and it is disgraceful.
• I’m sick of lies, half-truths and insults. Again, from both sides. The candidate I want to vote for is the one who can tell me what’s good about him/her instead of what’s bad about their opponent.
• I hate that if I put a sign in my yard, wore a button or discussed who I will vote for, I would lose the respect and friendship of some people. That’s pathetic. I have friends of both liberal and conservative persuasions, and can accept those with whom I disagree. But I know plenty of people who wouldn’t accept me if they only knew and I hate that.

Let’s hope that tomorrow, whatever the outcome, we can put aside our rhetoric, our slings and arrows and work together to support our president-elect.

Those of us who are parents try to teach our kids sportsmanship; to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. Let’s try to be good sports ourselves tomorrow.

Recently I wrote about the Values Voters Conference, where a racially-offensive product was sold. Focus on the Family was a major sponsor of this event and I expressed to them my outrage at their participation.

I just received the following response from them:

Dear Beth:

Thank you for contacting Focus on the Family. Although we value your writing to this ministry, the nature of your correspondence makes it necessary for Focus on the Family Action to respond. It’s my privilege to get back to you.

We appreciate the time you’ve taken to share your thoughts regarding reports that a product called “Obama Waffles” was sold at the Values Voter Summit. Given the concerns you expressed, we encourage you to read a message Jim Daly, our President and CEO, communicated about our regret over this incident.

Thanks again for writing, Beth. Your willingness to come directly to us with your reservations and to allow us to address this matter means a great deal. Grace and peace to you!

Ken Wolfe
Focus on the Family Action

CitizenLink: A Message from Jim Daly, Focus Action President and CEO

I appreciate their response and their regret over this incident. Though I still frequently do not agree with them, I do appreciate the personal response I received.

John Ortberg, senior minister at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, pretty much sums up my feelings about politics and church.

… politics is an important sphere of human activity, and as such God is keenly interested in it. It was the Dutch theologian and politician (why don’t we have more of those in America?) Abraham Kuyper who famously said, “There is not one inch of creation about which Jesus Christ does not say, ‘This is mine!’”

However, as soon as human beings (including church leaders) start assuming they are in a position to pronounce God’s political leanings, things get a little dicey.

Read the rest of the article.

As I nearly always do, I agree with Ortberg. I’m tired of churches and Christian organizations assuming my alliance falls with one party or the other. Neither party is more Christian than the other, though both like to believe they are.

Between now and election day, I’ll do my best to become better informed than I am now. I will not listen to candidates bad-mouth each other, tell lies and sling mud. Who wants to elect someone who can’t master common courtesy?

Right now I don’t know who I will vote for. But I do know 1) The decision I make in the voting booth will be a result of informed thought and prayer and 2) Probably between 40 – 60 percent of the people in America will disagree with me. I’m cool with that. Are you?