On stuff I wasn’t going to say

Update: This priest says it really well. Much better than I did…

Because I don’t think it’s anybody’s business, I was going to keep this to myself. But because it seems like we have these discussions in this country, and on Facebook, and whatnot about how our very souls are in jeopardy if we vote a certain way or a certain other way, I don’t know how in the world I can keep it quiet.

So, here’s my big news: I voted, for President, yesterday.

Don’t get me wrong. I have a lot of concerns. My candidate seems a bit to eager to engage in the use of  drone strikes to target those with whom we do not agree. My candidate hasn’t said enough about the war in Afghanistan or said anything about shutting down Guantanamo Bay. My candidate hasn’t said enough about infrastructure spending or making us less dependent on fossil fuels. He has said nothing about ending government relationships with Big Pharma and Big Agriculture and all the ways those two Big things poison our environment, our bodies and our food chain. My candidate said nothing about how he would protect me from the monster corporations that, through their never-ending search for profit, actually kill other human beings with whom I share this world. But I voted for him anyway.

I voted for the guy whom I believe believes in God, the same one I do. I voted for the guy whom I believe will do the most to protect families by enacting policies that make it possible for parents to have both jobs and health care. I voted for the guy whom I believe will do more to reduce abortion by enacting policies that support women and families. I voted for the candidate that I feel will be less likely to send my brother-in-law on another military adventure overseas. I voted for the candidate whom I feel makes it easier to be pro-life.

I voted for the guy whom I believe will make it easier for my mother and my grandmother as they age — to have health care and social security and a better retirement fund. I cast my vote for the guy whom I believe will make it the most possible for me to have the same.

I voted for the guy who is an American citizen, who went to Harvard Law, and wrote books. I voted for the presidential candidate who is married and really loves his kids. I voted for the guy who is a millionaire. I voted for the guy who never served in the military. I voted for the guy who created a health care plan that required citizens to buy insurance, whether they want to or not, and required insurance companies to cover all comers within that jurisdiction. I voted for the one who said he prays.

I didn’t really want to vote for that guy. But Jesus said the poor we will always have with us. He said that as much as you do to the least of these, you do to Him. He said that it matters how we treat each other and whether we tell the truth.

So yeah, I voted. And I went to Church on Sunday. And I’ll go to Church again this Sunday. And regardless of what had happened yesterday, my prayer will be the same: For the President of the United States of America, our Armed Forces and all those in Civil Authority…

It’s the same prayer my Church has been praying since it faced actual persecution under the Roman Empire. It’s the same prayer my Church prayed, suffering under the Ottoman Empire. It’s the same prayer my Church prayed as the Communists burned down its temples. And it’s the same prayer we pray now, as we live in a culture held captive by the deathly temptations of money, narcissism, and power. It’s the same prayer we pray under Democrats. And the same prayer we pray under Republicans.

I voted. Because I’m an American.

I pray. Because I am a Christian.