Politics and God: An Oxymoron

I am religious about voting (no pun intended); whether it is local, state or a national election I aim to be the first person in line. There is so much made of religion and politics as of late. It really started to gain traction in the 2000 elections in a debate between the Republican candidates; George W. Bush mentioned that Jesus was his favorite philosopher; I remember chuckling to myself that he was an idiot, because Jesus isn’t and never was a “philosopher”.

          Surprisingly, he played this to his advantage and rode it all the way to the White House much to dismay of many Americans. Are we so lost that we don’t understand that religion and politics is an oxymoron, its like fire and water; oil and water; tofu and bacon. To break it down to the lowest common denominator, you cannot be true to your faith and be an effective politician simultaneously; this applies to Democrats as well. As a registered voter and a Christian, I feel insulted to hear any discourse from any candidate speaking about his faith, because it is sheer pandering in short I think that politicians are full of “it”. 

I was raised in the Church as a youth, drifted away from it in young adulthood before finding my way back as I became a husband and father. I was always taught that you demonstrate your faith by your actions rather than wearing it on your sleeve like a Pharisee. For those who don’t know the Pharisee’s were the “establishment” of the day that Jesus railed against during his time on this planet. It was Jesus’ exposure of their hypocrisy that eventually led to his crucifixion. In short they put on a good show, but they weren’t living the word of God. You can see the same thing with the “Religious Right” they can talk the talk, but when it comes to walking the walk, they will have none of it. Help the poor? “No way they need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps” is what they say by and large-mostly through sneered lips.

     While we are on the subject of Jesus Christ, he aligned himself with the poor and oppressed, he challenged the political structure of the day and he was vilified and died for it as a result. Jesus was the “liberal” of his day-but strangely enough the word liberal is thrown around like a four letter word. Was he not? The hypocrisy of both Republican and the Democratic Parties is glaring in the donations that they receive from wealthy contributors; the laws passed (corporate welfare anyone?) that run contrary to alleviating the burden of the poor. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing at a breathtaking rate and no candidate will speak directly on these contradictions, although they are very apt at speaking around it.  

     It cannot be done, especially as a Christian, for people in the Republican Party to wrap themselves in the faith, but express dismay at helping the poor-the lesser among us- a direct commandment of Christ. The Democrats are not any better in any sense of the word. I liken the difference between the two political parties to this simple analogy that I’ve constructed for the purpose of this article. Imagine having on a pristine white suit and someone approaching you with the ultimatum that they are going to soil your suit regardless of what you do or say and the only choice you have is between urine or feces, now is that really a choice?  

      A solution to this quandary would be the realization of a third party in American politics, the beautiful thing about political parties is that if you sit down and use the time that is probably squandered watching Housewives of Beverly Hills or American Idol, one would be pleasantly surprised to know that there is a political party out there for everyone. Why issue a vote simply for the lesser of two evils-when you can vote your conscience and if everyone followed suit-viola! We would find ourselves living in a very different world!

     There would not be political duopoly in the United States of America. If you don’t believe me there is a wonderful site called www.politics1.comthat will spell each party out in detail. A third party would serve as a cleansing agent in this age of double-talk, the politicians work for us now it is up to us as Americans need to remind them of the fact because they seem to have forgotten.