The people that know me know that as hard
as it has been for them to hear so much political noise for the last little
while, it has been just as hard for me to keep my opinions to myself during
this time.
I am ready to say something into all these
events; I hope and pray it will be beneficial.
1.
The people who vote differently than you are not the Devil.
First, I think that we need to stop believing
that anyone who votes differently than us hates the human race.
At worst, they want their particular group
to benefit at the expense of another. But as I talk to people, I don’t think
that there are many people who want the families in Alberta to descend into
poverty, or want the earth to descend into a post-apocalyptic wasteland of
pollution. Yes, you may believe that they are ignorant of the consequences of
their political view, but can we at least give people the benefit of the doubt
and assume that they are voting in such a way that they believe most Canadians
will benefit from?
2.
We are all single issue voters
Sometimes Christians have been criticized
for being, ‘single issue voters’. That is, they ignore all the other positions
of a particular party, and vote for the one that is prolife (for example).
But we are all single issue voters. Imagine
for a moment that the NDP declared that they don’t believe black people should
work white collar jobs because of research that has come up. Would you care
about their plan to save the baby seals? No. That racist world view is so
abhorrent that any other platform and promise becomes null and void. So really,
we are all single issue voters; you just have to find the issue for each person.
3.
The News wants your attention
There may be some people involved in the
media centers of our country that still believe that their job is to get to the
truth of a matter. However, by and large, the News media outlets are going to
exaggerate everything and make it sound 10 times worse than it is, because when
they do, it get’s people’s attention. Then people watch the news or buy their paper
or whatever, and they make money.
I have some people who are very dear to me
that are re-posting a lot of that kind of stuff, and I don’t think it is helpful.
Tom Mulcair is not the Devil. Stephen Harper is not the Devil. Justin Trudeau
is not the Devil. Stop believing the facebook posts and media outlets that are
saying so.
4.
Pastors can’t say who they are voting for
This points to a broader principle that we
should be aware of. Most people that are wise, and discerning will not be
yelling their opinion from the housetop, because they care about the soul
rather than the vote (I am well aware that I may possibly be disqualifying
myself on this point).
There are two lessons from this:
First,
go looking for wisdom rather than waiting for it to land in your lap.
Seek people who have wisdom rather than
just receiving what is force fed you by political pundits, tweets, and news
media outlets. If it is worth listening to, then it may take some time to find
it.
Second, think and pray about whether it is
worth losing credibility with your neighbors over who you vote for. Maybe some
of us are in neighborhoods where it would help our witness to display our
political views. However, here in Vancouver, it would not help me to put a
‘Stephen Harper’ sign on my front lawn, which brings me to my last point.
5. I
am voting Conservative
To balance my previous point, I do believe there are ways to express a controversial opinion that are healthy and good. This is my best attempt.
Let me give the reasons in bullet form,
without arguing.
- I have personal relationships with people who have spent time with Stephen Harper and have spoken well of him.
- I am Conservative ideologically, and so even if I don’t agree with the party, I believe the principles of conservatism are best for our country, and a vote for the Conservative party moves us in that direction.
- The Liberals and NDP have come out as clearly pro-abortion.
- I do believe that much of the environmental fears are much more political rhetoric than they are reality.
- I believe that, ‘it is time for a change,’ maybe makes sense when you are talking about your wardrobe, but not when it comes to politics. It can easily take a decade for the effects of a policy in government to trickle down into the homes of the general population. Political movement is slow. Constantly changing governments make the country stand still.
- I believe that the Conservatives have done the best that they can to balance a welcoming tax structures for the rich, who enter our country and provide jobs and revenue through their taxes, without giving them so many benefits that it is milking the average Canadian dry.
- I believe you, and I will be better off with a Conservative government (see point #1)
