So, the election is days away. The mudslinging continues. The negative ads, disparaging remarks, and politicking continue. But only for a few more days … maybe.
I was talking with some friends yesterday and it struck me … with everything that is being said about both candidates, what will happen on the day after the election? Will we be able to stand united? Will we be able to stand together e pluribus unum (out of many, one)?
On November 9, if our president-elect is Donald J. Trump, what will you do? If our president-elect is Hillary R. Clinton, what will you do? Will it be possible for us to look at the president-elect and say: “That is my president”?
Some may joke and say they will leave the country if their candidate isn’t elected, but really … what happens? Each side through the campaign cycle has not only said why they believe their candidate would be better for the country, but there have been serious allegations about moral and ethical failings and serious questions about suitability for the office. A part of my pre-marriage counseling involves talking about fighting fairly. I remind the couple that there will be times when they argue and sometimes they will argue bitterly. But there will also be a time when the argument has passed. Even in the heat of their own personal battle, they should keep in mind while they are arguing that some things are virtually impossible to take back once they’ve been said.
After the election, will the losing side gracefully accept the outcome and encourage their supporters to do the same? Will the winning side be similarly gracious? Will it even be possible for Democrats and Republicans to look at each other and see fellow Americans instead of adversaries?
In the days after the election and for the next four years, will we remain unsettled and determined to embarrass if not unseat a president? Will we allow the vitriol of so-called “news” programs to further drive a wedge between people of different political ideologies? Will we grow more angry and more divisive? Will we seek to understand how these candidates and how this election came about (this question is actually a really big deal)?
We don’t have to like the person who serves as president, but it is my belief that we honor the office of the President of the United States of America and, part of honoring that office, is doing all that we can to help the new president uphold the dignity of the office and to do the job well. We, as a nation, have expectations of our president. If half the country stands against the new president, that president is already rendered helpless. We can complain about the president and about Congress, but we, the citizens of this country, bear some responsibility to stand up together and declare “Enough!”
The political unrest calls me back to the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States, which reads:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
These words speak of a country united in justice, peace, protection, and general welfare not just for ourselves but for our “posterity.” President Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of the Civil War, spoke the brief words of the Gettysburg Address in which he said:
this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Many people say we ought not to talk about politics, but I disagree. We should be able to talk civilly with each other, because, if we can’t, how can we expect our government to do what we won’t do ourselves? How can we expect our government to do anything resembling healthy, effective leadership if they don’t talk and if they are no longer allowed to compromise?
I believe God has work for us to do before, during, and after the election. This is a time for hope and a time for new birth!
Those of us who are Christian don’t engage these politics by avoiding the conversation or by adding fuel to the fire. Instead, we are called to be the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16). To that end, there are two things I suggest to you:
- Prayer is a poweful tool. Prayer does not mean we agree with a person’s or a political party’s perspective. In fact, if we don’t agree, that’s all the more reason to pray fervently both for them and for yourself. Prayer keeps us focused on God and who we are called to be as children of God. As you pray, keep your mind and your heart open to the Spirit and ask for God’s direction for our elected leaders. All of our elected leaders need our support and prayers; otherwise, we will likely remain mired in political gridlock and unproductive wrangling. When we become distracted and hyper-focused on the political machine, we lose sight of the people the government is intended to serve.
- Engage with others in healthy and respectful dialogue. When you hear people bashing another candidate, remind them that we are one nation, not a “Democratic” nation and a “Republican” nation. If you have time in conversation, consider asking the person you’re talking with to name 2 positive and 2 negative things about both leading candidates. Be sure both of you are listening and talking.
My prayer in the days following the election will be “Dear God, help us to remain wonderfully different and passionate, yet gather us together from the many to become one. Amen.”
In peace,
Pastor Jeff
Click here for the sermon from 11/6/2016 (All Saints Sunday & the Sunday before the election)
Epicurious Lutheran 