The Election Blues

Well, the presidential election is just around the corner and the Republican and Democrat candidates agree on only two things:

1. Each proclaims this the most important election in the history of the universe.
   
2. Each thinks you should vote for him.

So, I offer the same basic advice as in every Presidential election.

1. Never place your ultimate hopes in the government. It is my personal conviction that all the governments of earth become the Beast in the end. But even in their finest moments, I join Thomas Paine in regarding National governments as, at best, a necessary evil that, though evil, serves to protect us from the greater evils of absolute chaos and lawlessness. And when, as per Paine, a national government becomes worse than the evils it was implemented to protect us against, we have the additional unhappiness of knowing that we provided the means of our own scourging. Never forget that any administration is composed of fallen, fallible, self-interested human beings. This will not change no matter who is elected in November nor how much noise we make about it until then (or after).
   
2. Working on the theory that government is still better than chaos and lawlessness (though it is getting harder all the time to tell the difference!) we must make a choice. Remember that your choice is not just about the person of Donald Trump or Joe Biden. Whichever occupies the White House next will be surrounded by operatives and functionaries all guided by a particular political philosophy. While, it is never really this simple, from the beginning, our national system envisioned an eagle with right and left wings and proceeded according to the metaphor that an eagle with only wing does not fly half as well as an eagle with two wings – the one winged eagle cannot fly at all. Our ‘two wing’ model calls the ‘right wing’ conservative and the ‘left wing’ progressive (originally – problem solving). The original basis for conservatism was to conserve the values and practices that made us who and what we are – lest we become something else. But – of course, new problems would arise and if we were to make progress, new tools would have to be added to the box. The right wing, in this sense, conserves the most essential elements of our past. The left wing is to help us innovate as we move into the future. This philosophical metaphor is probably more important than you think. For the moment, let’s stick with this – it’s counter-productive (and almost always wrong) to assume that people with different political instincts than yours are either evil, stupid, or both. I ignore all the social media posts insisting that no one who calls themselves a Christian could possibly vote for – take your choice. Ditto the various assignments of brain-dead status to anything who thinks… There are lines in the sand – but they are crossed by both parties.  See point one above.
   
3. According to Acts 17:24-28, God is the author of nations and He has a plan for them – the nations are to help us find Him. Though nations attempt to depart from the divine plan at the drop of every hat, they will yet serve His purposes. Even as governments drift into absolute beast-hood (see point one above) they will, despite themselves, accomplish His will. Remember, when Paul made this point he was thinking primarily of the very Roman government which, under Nero, would have him imprisoned and beheaded – and yet – this has served God’s purposes. I’m not saying it will be pretty. I just want to let you know in advance who will win the election in November 2020. God will.