Wanna talk politics?

As I write this, I still am without knowledge of who my next president is- although all the commentators seems quite sure it would take a comeback bigger than the Red Sox vs. Yankees in 2004 for John Kerry to win the election. However, over the past few weeks, months, and even years, I have heard a lot of things that make me want to just comment on my Blog about politics.

I have heard so many people tell me a number of things for this election. I agree that it is VERY important for Americans to vote- even if you don't know who you want to vote for, it is very important because we all must recognize that we have a privledge that too many people in the world do not have.

However, I have heard so many people tell me this- vote for George W. Bush because he is a good Christian man. I do not dispute the claim to faith that this man has- because it is not my place to judge his faith. He seems to be very genuine, and his stances on issues such as abortion, homosexual marriages and stem-cell research certainly follow my own beliefs on such issues, and are along with many evangelicals.

There are other things which trouble me, though. I was talking with a friend the other day who voted for John Kerry for another reason beyond moral stance. This friend is a devout Christian, and I respect him as much, if not more, than just about any other Christians I know. He, however, like many central Pennsylvanian Christians, is a pacifist. And he finds it hard to trust President Bush because of invading Iraq. He truly believes that this is politically unforgivable. Especially with all the casualties that are after "victory."

I am a just war theorist at best, but... I do not know exactly how I believe about this. But I must say this becuase of my friend's stance on war. If he were elected president, he would have to make decisions that go against his faith. Which brings me to my first point today- we cannot make our voting decisions based on a person's religious affiliation.

I may think it is great that President Bush is an evangelical Christian. I think that's great, but I am SURE that being President has caused him to do things that are contrary to his faith. I am not saying he's a terrible person, but with as much power as the president of the United States has, it is going to make it tough for him to be true to faith all the time. Too many Christians can find no fault with the man, but let's be honest- nobody is perfect. In some ways, Christians are holding him as sort of a national pastor (see Blog regarding the requirement of perfect pastors).

I could continue to drive this point home by making my point again, but honestly, I believe that Christians would be required to compromise if elected President. My friend and I both agreed that we would not want to be there- even though it seems like it could be real cool.

The other point of this Blog today, the day after election day, is this. My brothers and I have talked politics, and one of my good friends and I came to the same conclusion. This election, if it goes to John Kerry, would be won on hate. I am not saying that the President would normally win (no one can say this- although he won the popular vote by 3.5 million this time). But the point is this- there are so many people in the United States that hate George W. Bush that they are willing to vote for his opponent regardless.

At so many repulican rallies, there are protestors. And I saw more signs of "No More War" than I did "elect Kerry/Edwards." More people seemed to be actively opposing the war issue than they did to be supporting a candidate. I am not saying there are true John Kerry supporters out there, but many of the people who I know would have voted Kerry would have done so because they hate Bush.

Hate is a powerful motivator- but when it comes to electing a president, as much as religious affiliation cannot be your only deciding factor, hate (and other strong emotions) cannot be your only deciding factor too. People should have researched a lot more than they did and not just taken everything at face value. There is much more below the surface for everyone to discover that should make a difference in your vote.

So, with that said- I just wanted to talk about my view on this election. Who did I vote for?

I'm not telling...