Practicing the “Golden Rule” in Politics
It was a good day in church today. Talks on Faith and Hope. A lesson on service and how service can and ought to be a reflection of our ability to express charity, the pure love of Christ. Time to ponder one of my favorite scriptural passages about a time in the history of man when there “was no contention in the land” nor any “envyings”or “lyings”, “nor any “manner of -ites: but they were in one, the Children of Christ”.
It made me think a lot about the blogs I’ve read and written this week and the discussions I’ve had about political party affiliation. It’s made me wonder if the conversations I’ve had about ’political party affiliation’ have crossed the line into ‘contention’ about what manner of ‘-ites’ we are – at the expense of acknowledging that we are all children of the same God.
And so, here is my public apology. If I have been contentious in defending my political party affiliation – I am sincerely sorry. Rather than becoming defensive when I feel accused of being ‘evil’ or ‘wrong’ because of the “D” beside my name on a ballot, I hope I can find a way to show respect for and support of someone else’s choice to be a “Republican”. And in so doing, I hope that I can convey my commitment to the preservation of free agency – the ability to choose our individual life paths, our affiliations, or our political philosophy.
I hope that I can do a better job of conveying my firm belief that there is good and bad in every political party. Just like there are no perfect people, there are no perfect political parties, nor perfect businesses, nor perfect educational systems, nor perfect families. There is good and bad in all. Our challenge is to find a way to champion and foster the good, so that the good can overcome the bad.
I’ve pondered today if the secret of how to foster good isn’t as simple as ‘doing to others as you would have others do to you’ . In my family it was called the “Golden Rule”. I bet we, citizens, candidates, and elected representatives would all be better off if we would abide by this basic Christian principle “Love thy Neighbor as thyself”. For me that means loving and serving my Republican neighbors in the same way I would want to be served. I am looking forward to that opportunity!