“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events;
small minds discuss people.” - Eleanor Roosevelt
Dear 2016 voters,
To begin, I’m not writing to endorse or disavow any
candidate. I make no attempt to rally
support for a political party or movement.
Nor am I given to delusions that I carry much power to influence the
outcomes of elections. Heck, as a pastor
I have a hard enough time just influencing church folk to follow the Golden
Rule sometimes. So let’s just take that
notion off the table right now.
What I am interested in doing is voicing the concern I have
with the current state of affairs in our culture that has led our nation to
this point in our shared story. And make
no mistake, it is a shared account of this time in history. Each voice adds a layer and a nuance to the
tone and narrative that future generations will read and gather an idea of
where and who we are as a people. Each
of us contributes to the story in ways we can’t begin to comprehend. And for my part, I would just rather not
contribute to any portion of the story that will be shameful. Hence this open letter to you, the voting
citizenry of 2016. (Candidates, this is meant for you too.)
In an unprecedented and historical race for this nation’s
highest office, our conversations revolve around leaked emails, open mics, past
transgressions, and current alleged illegal activity. Back and forth accusations that amount to an
argument about who is the least
corrupt are becoming the norm. And
somehow this is happening with all sides claiming they “WANT to take the high
road, but the OTHER side started it.”
And say what you will, it is coming from both directions. So what has gotten us here? How is it that we who are wearied by the
constant barrage of mud and muck being flung, as if it were in the primate
exhibit at the zoo, still have to put up with even more?
The sad truth is that, as a culture, we aren’t all that wearied
by it. Not if we’re honest. We find ourselves drawn to it on some
level. And not just like a car wreck
that we rubber neck as we drive by and move on to our destination. Somehow we have become so indifferent to the nastiness,
that we find ourselves unwittingly contributing to the problem. Or worse, we are actively seeking it out, and
calling others to watch. Each post,
meme, hashtag, blog, commentary, and news story that we see and share, we are
in turn feeding the beast. Each time we
tune into a newscast, or analyst spewing more of this and give them ratings, we
are contributing to the delinquency of our society.
If we don’t actively seek to let our media and leaders know
that this is not okay, we need to own our part of the mess that we have helped
to create. And with each passing moment,
we seem to forget that the candidates that are on the ballot are there because,
even knowing about their pasts, we put them on it. Over several decades, we’ve stopped demanding
better. In the span of a few generations,
we’ve quit expecting decency. The
outrage over any candidate’s grievous malfeasances seems to be a wasted
exercise in that uncomfortably bright and exposing light.
There it is. The
realization that this “phenomenon” is less of a phenomenon, and more a culmination
of the slow progression toward a searing of consciences so complete, that we
don’t even realize that it has happened.
Hearts and souls indifferent to anything other than instant
gratification and salacious gossip are a sign of a larger problem we have as
human beings. We are so accustomed to
the constant flow off garbage that anything healthy we might accidentally ingest
“tastes” weird.
Maybe it’s because we don’t want to have to deal with our
own deficiencies. Perhaps it’s because
we have intellectually convinced ourselves that it is everybody else in Washington that’s the problem,
not our guy or gal. (Meant to convey familiarity, not misogynism.) Maybe in a world so saturated by
self-identification, self-awareness, and self-esteem consciousness, we have
finally reached a tipping point in which “self” is the ideal, and social
contracts are subordinate to individual ideas of worth and value. I believe that these are all contributing
factors in some form or fashion. Rugged
individualism has been supplanted by ruthless "self-ism". And we have fallen to the all too human trait
of thinking small.
We were meant for something better. We deserve something better. We should demand something, ANYTHING, better
than what we have been served for far too long.
And yet we are content to sit and say, “Well there’s nothing we can do
about it. So why even bother?”
In the immortal words of Public Enemy, “Don’t believe the
hype!”
(And yes, I realize the irony involved in
quoting a phrase repeated over and over by one of the greatest “Hype” men evah,
Flava Flaaaaaav.)
We can, and have the responsibility to, change
the narrative. We can, and should, be agents of positive influence. We must be people who demand an accounting of
those elected to represent us. But MOST
importantly, we should show them what
we expect of them by LIVING to the standard that we hold them to.
This is something I have personal experience with. As a pastor, I live my life in a very public
arena. I am watched and
scrutinized. True, I’m called to
ministry by the Christ who redeemed me, not elected. However I’m held to an expectation of conduct
that should reflect my faith and the morality that comes from it. I’ll be honest, that gets tough
sometimes. But I’ll take it. And I’ll live to the best of my ability in a
manner that won’t reflect poorly on God, the congregations I serve, or the
communities in which I live. All I ask
is that the folks who hold me to that standard, hold themselves to the same
standard. Christ’s standard. “But I’m not a preacher” isn’t a valid excuse
for someone who claims to be a Christian disciple. It’s God’s standard, not ours that we use as
the measuring stick.
The same is true of a citizen of this nation who has been
graced with the privilege of having their voice heard in regard to the
governing of our country. “But I’m not a
politician” isn’t a valid answer for not living to the standard you hold up as
your reason for voting for, or not voting for,
the candidates in any election.
And if you are guilty of passing along salacious or gory stories,
inferences, or other mud covered tidbits… don’t be angry at the candidates who
do it. They’re just aiming for the bar
that you have set by your lived example.
I’ve said it time and time again. And I will keep saying it until either Jesus
comes back, or there isn’t a need to say it any more. Change
in this or any nation, true change,
doesn’t begin at the ballot box. It
begins in our own hearts, in our own prayers, and in our own living. Be the catalyst for the change we desperately
need and say we want. Begin by changing the ways we treat one another and talk about
one another. Be the good example that
Mark Twain says is so annoyingly hard to put up with. Be salt and light if that’s what you are
called to be. Just try today to be
better than you were yesterday; while striving to be even better tomorrow. Be a solution to the problem, rather than a
contributor.
So to the electorate of 2016… please vote your conscience. But make sure that you live by it as
well. Elevate conversations to talk
about ideas, solutions, or achievable goals.
And then WORK to make those things a reality. Don’t just accept the lie that this is as
good as it gets. Because it isn’t. And for Pete’s sake, stop feeding yourself a
steady diet of negative, soul sucking, emotionally draining words and
images. It’s like trying to exist solely
on donuts. They may taste good for a
while; but they have no positive nutritional value. Eventually donuts will lead to disease and
probably death if they’re all you eat. If
you want to improve your health, you’ve got to change your diet.
Your fellow American and servant in Christ,
Chris
Chris, so very well said! I feel you've taken the very words and thoughts out of our own hearts and minds and were able to express them so much more eloquently than we. I think my biggest message from this is that's it's NOT OK to remain in the status quo of bad behavior, foul language, hatred, and meanness toward our fellow man just because we aren't running for public office nor is it acceptable for our politicians to exhibit such behavior thinking their office makes them exempt from the common decency that should apply to all of us. You're a credit to the beautiful souls who raised you, Chris. And I still remember you as the little boy you were in 1974. You've become the fine young man all our young men should aspire to.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ms. Dennie. And you're right about the souls that raised me being beautiful... not so sure about the being a credit to them though LOL. And I'm just trying to be the fine young man who aspires to be like that guy from Nazareteh. A much more worthy goal for our young men to shoot for. Hope you and yours are blessed.
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