2020 Election

 Tomorrow is election day. Some of you have already voted, Due to the early voting many are predicting this to be perhaps a record turnout for voting. No doubt people have strong feelings for both presidential candidates and others on their local ballots. I'm a traditionalist and have waited until election day to vote. The only time I have ever voted by absentee ballot I was sitting on an aircraft carrier off the coast of Vietnam. Since returning home I have voted in every primary and every general election in person on election day.

This election cycle has been rough with strong words coming from both camps. Polls show the election could be close again, but after 2016 I'm not sure how much attention we should pay to the polls. While most focus has been on the presidential race, we should not forget the congressional seats up for election as well. Many of these races are tight and the results of those races may, in some ways, be more important than who sits in the White House.

I think it is a sad commentary on the state of our nation when stores such as Wal-Mart have pulled their guns and ammunition from display in their stores due to the election. Many fear riots will break out across the country regardless of how the election turns out. In light of what happened after the 2016 election, and since, that fear is well-founded. This speaks volumes about how divided our nation is and the total lack of respect for one another that now exists in America.

In every election there are winners and losers. In the past, the losers went home and vowed to work harder next time. They didn't use their loss as an excuse to burn down homes and businesses and loot and shoot.

Today, partisanship rules our elected officials. Compromise is no longer a reality. The good of the nation no longer is the focus of our elected officials but the good of their party and their own pocketbooks. Statesmanship is no where to be found. Leadership is largely absent. This is true on both sides of the aisle.

So  why bother to vote? I believe as Christians we have an obligation to be good citizens of the place we now call home, and that obligation includes participating in determining who our earthly leaders will be. We have an obligation to vote for those persons who best represent our values and will promote policies that are good for all people and the nation, not a select few. When the election is over, regardless of who wins, we have an obligation to pray for those elected.

As I've written before, our salvation will not come from the White House, the State House or the Court House but from God's house. God is ultimately in charge. Let's be good citizens while we are here and work for the betterment of this world, but let us always keep our eyes focused on God and our eternal home.