I made that decision when D and I registered for our first Presidential election: 1968.
I was in my last year of seminary.
Then and now, the values of the Democratic Party align with my Christian faith ...
My parents were Republicans, though politics never seemed to be much on our minds ... nor that of my friends.
I recall no political discussion, though I remember JFK's assassination ... it was deeply moving ... and we all watched the TV.
College days freed me from my racism ... in seminary, I changed my view on the Vietnam war and came to oppose it.
My first ministry in the storied hills of West Virginia gave me an experience, deep and disturbing, with poverty and the cruelty of the coal companies.
Throughout my years, I've supported labor unions, civil rights, marriage equality and women's rights. These things all arise and flow out of my faith, my reading of Scripture, and the larger Christian Tradition. This is how it shakes out for me.
Humans are sinners, I know that.
So nothing and no one is a pure shining light.
But this much I know.
The Democratic Party over the years, beginning with FDR, has consistently fought for The People.
I guess I could resign from the political and simply pray.
I could refrain from voting.
But Jeremiah encourages the refugees in a "foreign land," to go about their everyday lives and seek the welfare of the nation in which they now live.
I think it's my Christian duty to be engaged in the life of my nation, and that means I have to make choices, and, as Bonhoeffer noted, rarely is the choice between good and bad, but between good and good, and bad and bad. It's messy and unpredictable, but for me, I have no choice but to be engaged.
To know myself, my values and hopes.
And to bring those to the public square.
I am devoted to The People.
Because I am devoted to Christ.
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