I try to spend as little time as humanly possible thinking about politics. I try, but then I remember that I want to be a good citizen, poke my head out of the sand and immediately regret it. The mid term elections this year seemed to have a theme and the theme was disassociation.
I was driving away from the polls after having voted for our current Insurance Commissioner to be re-elected (I've heard nice things about her from customers.) when I heard an ad that "hadn't been approved by any candidate" telling me all about how Kim Holland "stood up to Obamacare even though she's a Democrat" among other things. My heart sank. My head almost got laid on my steering wheel before I realized I was driving.
I knew she did that. I did. I knew there were people in Oklahoma involved in trying to pass an unconstitutional law allowing people to "opt out" of the health care bill. I knew Governor Henry vetoed it. I also know stupidity prevailed on the issue as the thing passed a State Question. I just didn't expect to hear it on the radio. I was hoping that someone would have enough integrity not to try and run away from their party that night.
Heck, she didn't even have the guts to put her name on the ad. It was disappointing. I see it all the time though. It's not just the Democratic party. McCain was doing everything he could to distance himself from Bush during the 2008 election. I know Episcopalians who do everything they can to distance themselves from the national church. "Oh yeah, they have that gay bishop in New Hampshire, but we don't have anything like that here. We didn't send a gay man to seminary out of this parish or anything like that. No that wasn't us. "
Sure! Of course it wasn't you. You had nothing to do with it.
I understand that it's hard being an Episcopalian conservative these days. I know it's hard to have your clergy afraid to hurt your feelings because you donate lots of money to the church. I know it's hard to have entire groups of liberals and moderates get all teary eyed at the thought of you maybe leaving because they gave in to their conscience and decided to stop pretending it was okay to make certain folks feel unwelcome. I know it's hard when people leave because they feel like they're embarrassing "the pastor" because of YOU. I know. It's hard to hear that socialist tripe (Also called the Sermon on the Mount) spouted from the pulpit. I know it's hard to have your friends call your church the 'gay church'.
You know what you need to do about it? You need to stop being embarrassed. You need to say, well, no, there's just the one really. As far as I know the rest of our congregation is straight. You need to tell the clergy that you're an adult and you realize that there are people who disagree with you and that's okay. You need to let everyone know you're going to stick around even if you are going to be a pain in the ass and speak up when you don't like how things are being run. The Sermon on the Mount? I recommend good old fashioned evasion if you don't want to tackle that one head on.
In exchange, I promise to speak to you when I see you in the liquor store. I promise to say, why YES, I go to church with SEVERAL of the people you're talking about and I wouldn't be surprised if they ARE tea baggers. I don't like that they're doing that, but I like them! I promise to sing in the choir every week. I promise to smile at you. I promise to claim you in public. I promise not to invite people I wouldn't take to a restaurant because of their inappropriate behavior to church solely to make you uncomfortable. I PROMISE.
Because here's the deal: We all need to quit pretending we don't have anything to do with each other. That's crap. I'm an Episcopalian. It's more important to me what I do believe in than what I don't believe in. What about you? Do you waste too much time defining yourself by what you're not?
Here's an exercise for everybody. I want you to answer the following questions in a comment or just think about them for a while.
What do you do because you are a Christian?
On a daily basis?
On a weekly basis?
A monthly basis?
Yearly?
What do you believe?
I'm hoping those answers are more important to you than things you don't do because you're a Christian. I'm assuming that's an easier list to compile for most Americans. Why? Because we are OBSESSED with defining ourselves by what we are NOT.
The Democrats spent the entire mid term election running on "standing up to Obama" and not having anything to do with that health care bill. What would have happened if they'd run on the fact that now children can't be denied health care because of a pre-existing condition? What if they'd run on the face that the combat troops have left Iraq? What if they'd run on the fact that people can keep their kids on their insurance until they get off their butts and get a real job---or at least until they turn 26. What if they'd run on that? What if they'd run on what they did do instead of LOUDLY telling everyone what they DIDN'T do?
They might not have gotten their butts whipped quite so soundly, that's what.
How refreshing would it be to have someone tell you what they believe in instead of what they don't?
I think we'd all find out we have more in common than we think that way.
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