“Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity and guide all natons upon earth.”
(Psalm 67:3-4 NRSV)
In November of 2020, I watched celebratory gatherings on TV when we finally had enough ballots, carefully and legally counted by dedicated public servants, to delare the winner of our national election. Part of me was right there on the street in Times Square. Part of me was safely at home wondering how some friends and coworkers were feeling about the result. We had record voter turn out even in a pandemic. That is a good thing! Our system of goverance requiries engagement. For those who are fearful and angry, I do understand. I just don’t feel it. I felt that way 4 years ago when I realized the polls were wrong and the current president was elected. I was not a fan of either candidate, however the winner did not fit my criteria for leadership of this nation. I have lived a long time (hard to admit) and seen many presidents. I understand that we are all frail human beings. Push comes to shove, my faith is not in one person, but in my God and the system our founding fathers set up as the American Experiment during the Age of Enlightenment.
I have no “word from the Lord” about who should be president. I also have no heart for drama and histrionics. I value honesty, the rule of law and three branches of government with their checks and balances. I like my news to be information and not entertainment. I am not a huge fan of social media. I don’t Twitter and rarely Facebook. I still miss Walter Cronkite! But life goes on and as a practicing Christian I am also committed to doing my civic duty. We live in a pluralistic society. The joy I feel about the results of this Presidential election is tinged with the realization that nothing is new. Elections are often close and we are still a deeply divided nation. AND we are doing this to each other because we have failed to talk openly and honestly about our differences. That is very challenging during a pandemic! And even more challenging as social media rises to the occasion- the new aspect of campaigning. However, it is work we need to do and the President-elect is the right person to help us heal this geat divide. He is the adult in the room with extensive experience in reaching across the aisle to negotiate. He is a family man of compassion who understand what losing feels like. He is a political moderate who listens to everyone in the room. He is who we need and he is also someone we need to hold accountable.
That works for me right now. I will leave wiser pundits to analyze what happened and why. I will continue to pray for the healing of our civic lives and for strength, wisdom and justice for our goverance. But I will also do more. I will engage my elected representatives to hold them accountable, and I will begin talking with my fellow citizens about how we can heal the differences. Maybe this blog could help.
Call To action:
Check out the website of one of your elected representative to your state legislature. Let them know what issues and policies on their website you feel strongly about and why. Begin a relationship with them, letting them know you are watching their voting record. Set a reminder on your calendar to e-mail this representative at least monthly to keep them accountable.