Politics can be tough, and it certainly is now.
There are many opinions yet to be read, many speeches yet to be heard, and a final outcome yet to be determined. At this point, I guess you'd say the gloves come off. Attack ads? We've got them. Gimmicks? They're readily apparent.
A statement I read in the local paper still sticks with me: "I'm a Christian, so I vote Republican," the author wrote in a note to the editor.
To me, that makes as much sense as saying, "I grew up in Iowa. Therefore, I lived on a farm."
That's, purely and simply, faulty reasoning and fractured logic. A doesn't follow from B.
There are a lot of issues that have to do with life, issues that matter in education, health care, the economy. To me, to look at just one issue in this election ignores the proverbial forest for one tree.
By all means, I respect everyone's right to vote according to his or her conscience. I believe that praying about the election is good thing. And I value everyone's right to make a decision based on the priorities he or she values.
I'm just hoping we all consider that there is more than one priority, more than one issue at stake--and that we avoid judgment about the decisions of others.
And, by the way, I grew up in Iowa, but I never lived on a farm. Not ever.
