An Election Guide

I am taking the second year of EFM where we end each session with a TR (Theological Reflection).

Today's reflection was suggested by the two leaders, who are each strongly in favor of different candidates for President. They felt that the column by Joan Chittister from Sept. 2, 2004 was apolitical and could apply to either political party.

Were we all surprised when one member of the class kept hammering at the rest of us with points from the column that she said were biased:

"The truth is that there are more than enough poor that we as a country no longer count: The unemployed who drop off the welfare rolls, the underemployed who get no benefits, the children without health insurance, the fetuses being disposed of for the sake of convenience, the Iraqi civilians being killed for the sake of macho, the elderly who are facing even more poverty in years to come as Social Security fizzles in the wealthiest country in the world while we go on investing more money in death these days than we do in life?

"I think we better listen, as well, to the cries of the poor of other countries who, because of our economic or foreign policy plans, get poorer every day, fear us more every day and hate us more every day.

"The list goes on and on. Tell me again, who is "pro-life"? Where is the morality of saving life at one end only to starve it in mid-flight or kill it off cavalierly at the other?"

What's funny is that when I read the entire column, I liked it so much that I thought I would post the entire "guide" on this blog. Instead, I realized that I did not consider it to be a biased writing until I heard this other member of our class pick it apart. Since I agreed with Chittister's conclusion that one should vote for someone who has positions supporting the poor, I had not realized other people would feel differently. An "a-ha" moment!

The conclusion is:

"If you want to cast a moral vote, print out one of the many comparative lists of the issues espoused by each candidate. Ask yourself the question, "Will this proposal, this position, affect the poor of this country or the world positively, negatively or neither? Ascribe to each of the items in the platform or on the proposed legislative agenda a plus, a minus or a zero. Now count up the pluses. The program that will bring the most aid to the poor is the moral position. That is the way you and I are really expected to vote this year.

"How do I know? Easy. You see, what God says to Moses at the burning bush after "And I mean to deliver them" is this: "So I am sending you to pharaoh to say, 'Let my people go.' "

"That's the most direct election guidance I've seen so far -- including what we're getting from bishops and campaign committees.

"From where I stand, sending that message to pharaoh is the only real reason to vote."

After four more years of war and worsening economic conditions, this column is even more relevant than it was in 2004.

Go here to read the column!