Dr. Charlie offers hopefulness and realism as he assesses the current results of the 2020 Election. Americans on the whole vote toward the center and want to like their leaders.
Election 2020 First Insights
Category Archives: America
Humility and Thankfulness for America
Find out why 1619 and 1620 are both important dates in our history. There is much injustice and many reasons to be thankful. Discover the tapestry of our history.
Election 2020: Between Apathy and the Apocalypse
“If Trump wins, cities will burn!” “This is the most important election in history!” “If the Democrats win, it is the end of America.” Such is the rhetoric of our divided society. By all public accounts, everyone is on one extreme or the other, and moderates are a vanishing group.
Every election is important. Thousands of local, regional, and state officials are elected and entrusted with billions of dollars and hundreds of decisions. Nationwide, the entire House of Representatives is up for election every two years. A third of the Senate is elected. The next President will appoint many judges, including those on the Supreme Court. The 2020 election matters.
Our current crises do amplify the consequences of how we vote. This said, we must avoid two mistakes: apathy and apocalyptic fear. The former simply gives up and says, “My vote does not really matter” or “The same power-brokers are still in charge, so what is the use?” The latter term frames this election as an “end times” choice between good or evil. How do we avoid these tendencies and take our civic duty seriously?
Here are some insights I have gleaned from thoughtful women and men over the past several years that I think are helpful as we go to the polls:
- Are we praying for all in authority and blessing those we disagree with most?
- Do the candidates truly support freedom of conscience and religion, peaceful assembly, redress of government, and free speech?
- American Presidents are very powerful, but they are not messiahs or antichrists.
- Are we engaged locally, or obsessed with a few national campaigns? Change for good begins locally, and we can have much influence here.
- People do not fit into neat little ideological or partisan boxes and we must be careful not to judge too quickly. There are pro-life Democrats and pro-choice Republicans. There are Democrats that affirm traditional marriage and Republicans living and supporting alternative lifestyles. Voters often feel they are trapped, and they end up voting for the lesser of two evils.
- Are any leaders looking to balance a budget and be fiscally responsible?
- Are we reading the fine print on ballot propositions?
- How do all candidates propose to change our trajectories for failing cities and rural communities, poor education, and crumbling infrastructure without just printing more money?
- What are the policies on immigration? Do they combine compassion and security or just yell at the opposition?
Let’s say, “NO!” to apathy and apocalyptic speculation and, “YES!” to wise engagement, and personal commitment to fostering peace and justice. Our future rests more on the moral decisions of millions of citizens that the rhetoric of a few politicians. Leaders are powerful, but our voice can be more so, if we have courage.
Two Prayers for America
America is not a chosen nation, but she has many chosen people praying and living with integrity that have helped her be a blessing to the world. Our story also includes horrific compromise of our highest ideals, especially our treatment of the indigenous peoples and African Americans. We can love our land and lament our sins. We can improve our nation without destroying her ideals. And prayer must be underneath the laments and longings for justice.
Prayer is God’s invitation to participate in his divine mission to reconcile and redeem, renew and restore all things. Our almighty, sovereign Lord has decided that our humble petitions, compassionate intercessions, and persevering supplications matter in fulfilling his will on earth as it is in heaven.
Here are two short prayers for our nation. There is no pretense here that just the right words will somehow manipulate God – that would be pagan superstition. Instead, our prayers, in alignment with Holy Scripture and empowered by the Holy Spirit, become a force for good in a world enmeshed in evil. In these days of pandemic and polarization, political passions and personal animosities, humble prayer may make the difference between mercy and judgment for our land.
Prayer for Peace of Mind and Divine Presence in Our Land
O God, you are transcendent and immanent. You are totally other; totally different from us. But you are also Immanuel, God with us. You were delighted to dwell among us in the person of your Son, Jesus Christ. What grace! You are the God who comes close. Lord, come close to our national leaders. Come close to the justices that sit on the Supreme Court. Come close to those in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. Come close to our local leaders – our police departments, mayors, and governors. Come close, dear Master, to those in laboratories that are feverishly developing a vaccine for this virus. Come close, Dear God, to peaceful protestors, the abused, the hungry, the bewildered, the outraged, the motherless, the fatherless, the dying, the mourning, the widow, the disabled, the oppressed, and the immigrant. Lord, come close to us, in cul-de-sacs, hamlets, towns, rural areas, cities, and suburbs. Come close, dear Lord, to those who are easing back into the workplace with trepidation. Omnipresent Lord, please share your closeness with all of us, everyone on the face of this globe. In Jesus’ majestic and mighty name, Amen.
Prayer for Humility and Wisdom
O Lord, you are infinite and intimate, and the Source of all that is good. You promised wisdom for the humble who seek you and search for truth. You promised wisdom as we pray and trust you. Your wisdom is pure, peaceable, and leads to peacemaking and righteousness. Lord, we need your wisdom as we confront the injustices all around us and the unrighteousness in our own hearts. We need wisdom to lament and repent well. We need your wisdom to cultivate new relationships across all the barriers in our world. We need wisdom to reform social structures that keep millions from flourishing. We need wisdom for our businesses, churches, families, communities, cities, and nation. We humbly plead that you will grant wisdom. We also accept your wisdom from the mouths of the marginalized and oppressed, the voices of history, and the prophets calling us to holiness. And we thank you in advance for your generosity toward us, even when it means surgery in our souls. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Americans, indigenous , African Americans, justice, Holy Spirit, mission, nation, prayer, Senate, House of Representatives, virus, police, wisdom
A Political Update
I am asked often to give my take on current American and global events and trends. I work hard to resist merely reacting to the latest vulgar Presidential tweet or utopian fantasy of socialist candidates. I work hard to cultivate conversations and explore differences with kindness, love and thoughtfulness. Regardless of intention, I find some folks (on all sides) angry that I do not approve of their ideas. Sometimes I am accused of not listening when I simply disagree with the arguments presented.
Here are some first thoughts on key issues:
- No one is addressing the serious federal, state, and local budget crises that continue indebting future generations.
- Our 24/7 data-age makes reflection challenging…it is easier to accuse and lamely retract than research carefully and offer tentative conclusions adjusted by evidence.
- There are no impeachable offenses uncovered by current investigations: just highly partisan inferences. Best solution? Win at the ballot box.
- Gender confusion is destroying our shared sense of human identity and causing deeper harms that some well-meaning folks intend. Behind the curtain of some groups, there is a deep hatred of the biological family with the nuclear bond of Mom-Dad-Child(ren).
- Political correctness and hair-trigger emotional insecurities threaten the true intent of the First Amendment: we must live peaceably with deep differences, not silence voices we dislike.
- Economic and social justice are not achieved with more government money and programs: access, equity, opportunity, and relationships (along with reasonable ethical oversight) are all part of liberating people from despair and poverty.
- Israel is a gift to the world. Every time a crazed mob chants, “From the Rover to the Sea, Palestine will be free!” it is a call for elimination of the only democracy in the region and ultimately extermination of the Jews.
I will share more soon. For now, I urge my readers to reflect before reacting, pray for your persecutors, and engage in deep self-examination. I see hopeful signs of an awakening as we each know that today’s discipline in tomorrow’s destiny.