I Don’t Understand How You Can Call Yourself a Christian and Vote That Way (And You Don’t Understand How I Can Call Myself a Christian and Vote This Way)

The ugly polarization between Blue and Red voters in the United States makes my stomach hurt.  I take it very personally when I hear that someone “thinks Trump is doing a good job” in light of what I consider to be his dehumanizing comments and abject cruelty towards people in need.

It’s so personal that it physically hurts.  A vote for Trump, in my mind, was a vote against my daughter in law who is brown, my family who are LGBTQ and my friends who have fled terrorism.  It doesn’t make sense to me – if you also love my daughter in law and the rest of my family, and my friends – that you would think someone who has castigated each of them or people like them is “doing a good job.”

But that’s me. And because I attach religious and moral ties to politics, it’s easy for me to be self-righteous.

So what’s the answer as I now serve in a Church Mid-Council with thousands of people on each side of the political divide who all call themselves disciples of Jesus Christ?  I pray for wisdom and I look for groups like this one.

We need to learn to talk with each other.

When I was a pastor in Northern Virginia concerned with what I considered to be the mean-spirited tone of this periodical, I contacted their editor and asked to be connected with one of their supporters in my geographic area so that we might become prayer partners and drink coffee together and try to understand each other.  The person on the phone told me that “I can’t think of anybody on our side who would want to talk with you.”  Ouch.

I appreciate the hard work of understanding our political foes.  Is there anybody out there who is willing to join me to trying to understand?

Video from the Better Angels website.  Thank you LK.