Midterms

It's midterm season in America, political ads streaming in on all channels with familiar marketing tropes heightening divides. Christians pray for those in government, regardless of political affiliation or system. It does not mean, however, that Christians are happy for how they governed (true whether being hunted by Romans or pouring more USD's into the economy thereby increasing inflation). How does the Christ-follower navigate the quagmire that is voting in 2022 and beyond (wherever they land on the political spectrum)? Certainly the Christ-follower is called to participate in society. And yet, we are also called to be set apart from society. When submission to Christ is at the fore, Christians will be both needed (for integrity, honesty, compassion, discernment, etc.) and anathema (for their unwillingness to attack, yell, mock, degrade, or simply "go along" with the crowd). Even as Jesus was both welcomed and reviled, so too, the Christian. The Christ-follower has no choice but to follow Christ first. This need not make them a poor politician nor a poor voter. But it does mean they have to develop different sensibilities than the mob. 

In our current environment, there's plenty of hate to go around. Everyone seems to hate some other group for reasons of power, pronunciation, position, personality, or party. Some politics are, in essence, theater. Talking points and "red meat" diatribes belay genial conversation and debate. But it is, I fear, increasingly a rarity. In addition, we're finding that many leaders are unsure what wise leadership is. Great leaders are like Formula 1 drivers. They feel the stresses of driving the vehicles, but the art is in small adjustments at the wheel to find the most elegant lines around the track. Wild turns of the wheel can lead to big crashes. We saw this recently in England with a well-intended, but wild turn by British PM Liz Truss, resulting in a governance crash and her subsequent resignation. Leadership is not about changing everything. It is about knowing what to change and when. I do believe there's a role for government. But when government pulls wildly on the wheel, it can result in much damage.

A governmental light touch, but in the right places, is what is needed. How many touches and which places are right is where all the debate lies. And while I do have some strong positions on that debate, here I want to remind Christ-followers how to elect against the current political grain so that we can elevate diplomacy and discretion in that debate.

In a representative government, character matters. One elects so that the politician can vote according to their judgment representatively on policy and governance issues. Judgment is a question of character. Good character (apart from Christ) boils down to three key traits: integrity (do they do what they say when they say it), humility (does their ego get in the way of their judgment), and sagaciousness. Can I trust the politician when they speak? Do they recognize what they don't know? Do they communicate wisdom on complex issues? 

The Christian must first pay attention to character. In a world of political ads, here's how to sniff out the flowers from the _________ (I'll let you use your imagination with something stinky). 1) Look for values statements reflected in their record. This allows for a change of mind (not flip-flopping, which is vacillating depending on the political wind), and for consistency between rhetoric and decision-making. For example, a Democrat may change from a pro-abortion to anti-abortion stance based on biology and science. But their value may be to protect the innocent, and they switched because their view of innocence was focused on the mother rather than the baby. Likewise, a Republican may be consistently anti-abortion because of their view of the innocence of the baby. But if a Republican's value is "government should never intervene," then the voting integrity becomes problematic. There are various values Christ has changed within the Christ-follower because He is Lord. We cannot vote against those values and characteristics. Kindness, for example, is not just something we develop internally, but also something shown to others (sometimes simply because Christ demands it).

Second, the Christian must pay attention to rhetoric. Is there so much hyperbole and denigration of others involved that the issues hide behind the accusations? There are legitimate points of disagreement and accusation. But the wit, candor, or approach of how to negotiate that disagreement reveals a lot about the individual. This is really difficult because it is currently in vogue to mar the other's character (for reasons of undermining trust). Christ-followers need to listen more carefully. How they treat others matters to us, and especially those with whom they disagree. I was listening recently to Al Franken talk about how everyone in the Senate hates Ted Cruz. Ted, according to Al, has a reputation for being a pedantic, condescending jerk with low EQ behind the scenes. By way of contrast, Al said Lindsey Graham was a nice person behind the scenes. I've no way of knowing if any of this is true. But, Al went on to say how he called Ted a "piece of sh*t" to his face as the punchline of a joke and then walked away. This tells me a whole lot more about Al Franken than Ted Cruz. My point is this: in politics there is rarely a "high road" (and especially when running for election). But there may be signs that the way the politician communicates indicates if they have their ego in check. Christians are all about how God slays the self-centric ego.

Third, the Christian must pay attention to wisdom. I go back to the Formula One example above. In my view, AOC is loud on rhetoric and low on wisdom. She's dangerous behind the wheel. Wisdom is about the "why, what, and how." "Why" may be based on values, but must incorporate context, pace, next steps, etc. "What" is all about where in governance to apply policies. "How" is about how those policies are communicated and incorporated. There should be a sense for the electorate that the politician is not merely interested in expressing an opinion or a position, but in working with others for wisdom in application. In this, they may agree with the "why" or "what" but hold off until the "how" is better understood (for a recent example of triggers on "how" but having decent "why" or "what" consider economic decisions in recent years that had serious ramifications with which we're now contending). Christians seek out wisdom and discernment, recognizing that not all "want to's" equate to "good for's."

With these three things in mind, do the best you can with what is before you. But if we vote consistently on these three points, over time we'll create a culture where we demand something different from our politicians. In the process of engaging the public sphere, we may even find ourselves challenged to elevate our own discourses in private.