About a month ago I had a thought that was (at the time) just too harsh to even say out loud. Itās not too harsh anymore. This election is going to be a referendum on the levels of ignorance and apathy in this country.
In fact, every day this month itās rung truer and truer to me, as I interact with people, like:
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The blue collar family man who hears one thing from one campaign and another from the other side, and just isnāt sure who to believe. (Is there no such thing as objective facts that can be checked?)
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The Christian-educated woman who just doesnāt consider economics to be part of her voting values. (How will any of the things that are important to her be paid for?)
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The 20-something young professional who favors renewing the tax credit for wind energy because itās just such a shame to lose all those jobs. (Wouldnāt we have even more such jobs from the pipeline project or any other sort of private business construction?)
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The Christian mother who says it doesnāt matter who the president is, āas long as my children know how to pray for the president.ā (What if that president makes it illegal for your children to pray?)
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And a number of others who just ādonāt get into politicsā and arenāt planning to vote for anybody.
Every one of these people leaves me shaking my head. Speechless.
Iām willing to agree that there may have been other candidates out there who would be even better to fix the economy, or stronger on the moral issues, or more adept at foreign policy. But the two candidates we have still represent two very, very different world views. The choices in leadership we face right now are, among other outcomes, likely to determine not only if we will face a second, nuclear-capable Cold War with a revived authoritarian Russia and dirty-bomb-armed terrorist states, but also whether American will pass the point of no return on her debt. And thatās not even touching a host of other important issues like education and healthcare.
The threat of nuclear World War?
The largest economy in the world on the brink of bankruptcy?
How can anyone at all remain undecided at this juncture? How can it not matter who sits in the Oval Office? And to be honest, I have yet to meet anyone who is knowledgeable about basic economics or American history that is either undecided or voting for the left.
As a poll-watcher in 2008, I saw youthful ignorance and enthusiasm for a candidate who had done an excellent job using social media to raise the emotional fervor surrounding his campaign. That was understandable (and even forgivable) although certainly frustrating at the time.
But these are adults. Some of them are Christians. And as either, every single one of them has a responsibility, a moral obligation even, to be informed and involved. And so do you.
