The Fever of Elections

political anger

My emotions have been all over the place this week. This is the illness of our contemporary attitudes around elections (at least in the United States). But my emotions are deeper because of the behavior of Christians regardless of whom they voted. I’m going to weave a path that sees the image of God in every human being. I hope that is taken away from this essay. But we seem to have been in a national fever in the U.S. the last eight to ten years. It is easy to attribute it to a person, attitude or simplified prognostication, but I believe this goes much deeper. It is also easy to vilify and demonize those who vote differently than we do. The assumptions about the latest election outcome makes me want to just shut off all my social media. I want to be clear, as a white straight male I am among the least affected human beings by elections in the U.S. But I know many who are affected by the decisions voters make. This essay is not designed to shame, but I hope to God that it can help us see one another as human beings, even if we are disappointed, hurt, fearful, or oblivious.

Speaking of social media. The nature of social media is part of our struggle. It places us in echo chambers unless we are willing to be intentional about following those with whom we may have deep disagreement. It is hard work, because other echo chambers are just as insular as our own. Yes, things we see may disturb us, but the algorithms are designed to drive outrage so we can at least try to circumvent their purposes. We can also think that we have influence in the wider process by the likes and shares we get on social media. But trust me, those are typically people who already agree with our ideas.

Full access for all Friday November 8

In terms of politics within a United States context, it may help to go back to the founding of our nation to remember things we have forgotten. For all the talk of government flowing from the will of the people or that rights are natural things each person has, the founders had an inherent distrust of most of the inhabitants of the fledgling country. The popular vote for president did not become impactful until 1824; about twenty-five years after the effective date of the Constitution. The white male landowners who helped create the government of the United States did not trust the people to choose a leader. In fact, their greatest fear was that charismatic leaders would woo the people into different principles and that the Republic would eventually cease to be. Some of you may say “no duh”, but think more deeply because our current two-party system is not much different. There is little trust in the governed to chose those who govern. Money, power, religion, and other things have gotten wrapped in neat packages which are fed to us as nutritious meals that help us. The sad truth is that most of those who rise politically are simply in it for themselves. Accepting that makes the endless lies more palatable. That is not an excuse, just an observation. Politicians are skilled at language and the crafting of messages meant to influence and woo. But is that the way human beings should be treated? I don’t believe so.

We are still treated this way by those with wealth and power. This is a reason Jesus referred to wealth and power as dangerous. We soft play a lot of the language of money in the Christian scriptures because we are wealthy in comparison to many throughout history. Those with privilege still work to keep privilege. If you do not believe that politicians hide the truth, consider the following. The largest and most important accomplishment of the first Donald Trump administration was the moonshot level of rapid COVID vaccine development and distribution. Yet, this accomplishment is one that the president-elect could never claim on the campaign trail. The messaging has been that “they” created dangerous vaccines without regard for health. Instead of touting an accomplishment, the lie became the message. 

The Democrats also hid things. During the DNC, Palestinian protesters were refused entry and ignored. The only hints were those who voted present rather than commit as a delegate to vote for Kamala Harris as their candidate. Both campaigns used dismissive and derisive language toward the supporters of the other. I could see it because I intentionally follow varied people and news sources to get a more balanced stream of information/misinformation. The lies and language only underline the problem. We embrace ideas that feed our preconceived notions or support what we believe to be our interests without examination. It is the simple path that does not challenge us. 

The thing I most lament is how I see people speaking of one another in the wake of this election. Ryan Burge’s data on the past years shows that the assumptions we often make are not quite reality. When we say that people voted for hate and that they hate, we could be wrong about that individual. We don’t know the hearts of people or the reasons they make specific decisions, so othering them by thinking they hate drives another wedge between people who may be able to learn from one another. On the flip side, just because a Christian does not vote for a GOP candidate, or votes Democratic, does not make that person evil, a baby, killer, or any of a million terms used. No, people voted present rather for various reasons. I will say that the promises of politicians can reveal a bit of what they intend to do, so I pray that my friends who voted for Donald Trump are willing to listen to the voices of those who are afraid because he used images of detention centers and violence. Those feelings are just as valid as the ones that may have caused you to vote as you did. 

There was a time in our country when the results of an election became a period of relief that the process was over and we could go on with our lives for another four years. But the hyper partisan divide has now made this an even more stressful and anxious period. Those who lament are faced with constant reminders that their feelings are not valid to some. Rhetoric gets even stronger by the “winning” side. But in the end we all lose if Christians take partisan sides rather than live out faithfully apart from partisanship. You see, God is not on the side of any human political party or platform. God is always on the side of the marginalized, the poor, the outcast, the ones most in need of mercy. When Israel was in captivity, the prophets kept telling the people who God is and we still miss the point. It is about mercy, not ritual purity. 

The Church is to be a prophetic voice in culture and in nations. We fulfill that vocation, but we keep becoming the court prophets rather than the prophets of God. If we attribute individual political success to God, we miss the point. God is not the one who chooses our human leaders, we are. We often get exactly what we asked for as well. This is a great truth that God told to Israel when they demanded an earthly king. God tells Samuel to tell the people what a human king would do in 1 Samuel chapter 8:

He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots, and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. He will take your male and female slaves and the best of your cattle and donkeys and put them to his work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And on that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you on that day.” (1 Samuel 8:11–18 NRSVue)

God told them the kings would oppress, take, and demand. The rest of the tales of the kings bear this out. If we read everything after 1 Samuel 8 in that context, we read the phrase “David was a man after God’s own heart” in a different way. Even David, a man after God’s own heart, did the things God warned Israel about. Human kings, presidents, prime ministers, princes, and on and on cannot be what God can because that power is dangerous. So dangerous that it was one temptation presented to Jesus. We keep living out what the powerful do. The Church needs to be the voice that speaks against the powers, regardless of their platform. 

I am not unsympathetic to my friends who have decided to opt out of Christian spaces because of the rhetoric of politics. It often feels like an immovable force crushing the faithful into acceptance or submission to the prevailing political winds. But the faithful will find a way because even the gates of Hell cannot prevail against the Church when she acts in the trust of God. Being a member of clergy in this environment is hard. You must balance the language within your local context while also recognizing that those outside the Church may use different language and embrace a different political than those in your space. But you also know that, statistically, there are a wide variety of political ideas within any congregation. So you find ways to speak prophetically without venturing too close to partisanship. That can get you condemned by all, but if you act in ways that allow trust and listen with your own ears in trust, a beautiful relational existence may just be on the horizon.

Can we find a way out of the hole of partisanship? I sure hope so. But the last few days increase my cynicism. But my prayer is that God be with those who lament, those who are in fear, and those who are rejoicing. My prayer is also that the Church can once again find the courage to be a prophetic voice outside the courts of power rather than keep trying to be in the courts of power. Can we call ourselves o remember that every human being carries the image of God as children of God? I pray we can.