Why I am not a single-issue voter anymore.
NOTE* This post was originally posted as a comment on Molly’s blog “Adventures in Mercy”
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IMO, those of you who always vote pro-life but say you are not single issue voters are just illogical. (As I was for so long).
Imagine this person as a hypothetical voter:
christian = prolifeONLY = republican (or at least NonDemocratic)
I have voted that way MY ENTIRE LIFE and I am not going to do it anymore. There are five main factors that have caused me to reject that formula.
1) IMO, The pro-life movement as a political movement has largely failed to bring about any serious change (in both policy and in the hearts and minds of women)
2) Since the ultimate goal of the pro-life movement is that women would not get abortions, I have decided that a more effective and direct path to get there would be to work on policies and strategies to prevent unplanned pregnancies and to reach the HEARTS of women. Some examples of this would include: Keep supporting crisis Pregnancy Centers. Lets teach abstinence, sex education and the use of birth control anywhere and everywhere we can get that message out. (The typical conservative support of “abstinance only” sex eductaion is not based in reality, wrong-headed and is NOT pro-life) We should encourage the pro-life movement to create cultural and artistic works and events to promote a love for life and the unborn. I think in a non-judgemental, non-threatening and thoughtful way, Hollywood has done more this year with movies like Juno than anything the pro-life movement could’ve done. Lets do more of that.
3) Many other issues of concern to me support my pro-life worldview. Death Penalty, environment, genocide and of course the war.
4) Although I think abortion is a weighty and non-trivial issue, the overall weight of ALL THE OTHER ISSUES has, for the first time in my life, pushed me to decide in favor of a pro-choice candidate.
5) The ultimate issue for me though is this, I believe in pluralism. I think it is a good and beautiful thing. I think one of the great things about pluralism in America is that it can create an environment for the gospel to flourish. But thats not happening right now. We have grown into a nation that is divided by politics and the culture wars. We have becomes so fractured into us and them that we cannot have a conversation with our pro-choice neighbors. A real-life example is our neighbors that have bumper stickers that say, “F” the President, and “My Box, My Choice”. Only a few years ago we wouldve avoided those hippie-liberal neighbors because we were on different sides of the culture wars. Instead, they have become very close friends and I am delighted by this. Even more, We have built up relationships where we can talk to them about the gospel and issues of faith and spirituality. I Think the Hound of Heaven is after them. We need to have a country where we can truly love people with whom we disagree and in whom we can develop deep relationships. I think the current political and cultural climate (fueled in large part by the abortion debate) is making this nearly impossible. The irony in all this is that our only REAL hope is that the gospel will go forth, and change the HEARTS and MINDS of women everywhere that they would have no desire for abortion. I feel comfortable voting for a non-prolife candidate because God is in control and I don’t put hope anymore in presidents, judges or legislators to end abortion in our country. I am only putting hope in The Prince of Peace and the gospel He brings. Since that is out of the way, I am voting for the best man, unfiltered by their position on abortion.
All that is to say, I am going to vote pro-hope, pro-unity, pro-gospel, pro-love, pro-peace.
I am going to vote for Barack Obama.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I finally got it—you’re Chewymom’s husband! No wonder I already love you so much!!!
(I’m a little slow on the uptake)…
Looking forward to more and more and more.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I’ve only heard about Barack from people like you (whatever that means-harhar) who all really really like him. So I’m assuming I will probably like him…I honked the other day at some Obama sign-bearers (standing outside at -4 F, so they were obviously true believers)… I need to go check him out more.
The latest thing I heard (on a very convesrvative women’s email digest that I can’t even believe I’m still a part of) was that he was sneakily planning to tkae over the country, since actually he’s a muslim and that this has been his plan all along…). *roll eyes* That sort of makes me want to vote for him, no matter what…
February 5th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Molly,
I would love it if you cut and pasted (into an email) someone making the claim that Obama is “really” a closet Muslim. I can see it now - Sharia law imposed on you uppity women. I bet the Baylys would love that.
Scott
February 5th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
I think it’a against the policy of the digest…or believe you me, I would.
Don’t talk about the Bayly’s. I’m about to eat some chocolate and I don’t want to spoil the taste.
February 6th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Scott,
There is much I could say here, particularly about how you have been taken in by the magic of Obama. I have a friend who is a poli-sci professor at Clemson who says that he is the greatest politician this country has seen in 50 years. I think that is bad (and so does my friend who is more of a classic conservative than I). I pretty much detest all politicians (with a few exceptions like RP) and a good politician like Obama makes me very afraid of what he might do to this country. Politicians pander to bad (really bad) economic policies because bad policies get votes. Bryan Caplan in his seminal work of scholarship, The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies, demonstrates that politicians systematically exploit 4 economic biases to the detriment of the coutnry. What I want is a “do nothing” President. A president who will do the least amount of damage. Bush has been a disaster in this respect. So although Paul is wrong on some minor issues, he is the only candidate who would have sought to systematically dismantle the scope and size of government.
By the way, you are factually incorrect about factor number 1 above. The pro-life movement has made a difference. The Guttmacher study released in January shows that the abortion rate is at its lowest level since 1974.
Grace,
Steve
February 6th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Steve,
I understand what you’re saying but since theres no country out there being ruled by an oligarchy of smart but well-intentioned economists I think I’ll stick with democracy. I know RP and his rabid constitutionalist followers would like to completely dismantle the federal government to its pre-civil war state, but thats a pipe dream. Combine that with the fact that the semi-socialist governments of Europe have achieved a balance of providing basics social services and a safety net for the poor and and I am not so afraid of a liberal politician anymore.
I appreciate your thoughts though. Keep ‘em coming.
Scott
February 6th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Steve,
Do we know WHY women are choosing to have fewer abortions? Is it because of politicians, judges and legislators? (I doubt it) Crisis Pregnancy Centers? (I hope so).
That is great news BTW. Whatever is causing that to happen we need to do more of that.
Scott
February 6th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Presumably, women are making this choice because their hearts and minds have been affected to value life more. Can you see how your first assertion might be factually wrong? Sociologists and demographers can possibly provide a more precise answer but at its core, I believe it is related to a removal of the stigma of out of wedlock pregnancy combined with a shift in thinking among women that the unborn are human beings who have rights. At some level, I believe the pro-life movement deserves some credit for this change.
Steve
February 6th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Steve,
You may be right. I think there probably has been a culture shift as reflected by the pro-life(ish) movies coming from Hollywood last year. There were at least four of them. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/february/10.35.html
I do wonder how much the pro-life movement has influenced this and I also wonder if as a movement we stopped talking so much about prohibiting abortion and started emphasizing the beauty of life in a non-judgemental way. In our pluralistic society I wonder if that wouldn’t be a better strategy going forward.
February 6th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I think democracy sucks. It just sucks less than all the other forms of governments that have been tried from time to time. But if you want to support democracy, I can’t imagine a position that would be any better than that of the “rabid constitutionalist”. The constitution is an amazing document. Maybe we should govern according to its principles?
Grace,
Steve
February 9th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
So… I guess I am not a single issue voter. I am “for the war” - if you mean the war against Islamo-facicists, but think that both Afghanistan & Iraq have been mishandled, and likely un-winnable by just about any measurement. I believe that the death penalty is a necessary & important God-sanctioned responsibility against evil but is often misapplied by sinful men. I believe that global warming is more of a “convenient” political untruth - but also believe that as a Christian & a nation we should obviously look at ways to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. I have differences of nuance of the others as well. And… I believe that Roe v. Wade was a drastically wrong judicial decision that should be overturned & that abortion is infanticide in just about any rational & moral evaluation. The original intentions of Planned Parenthood was racial genocide, and the current level of violence against children evidenced by abuse, pedophilia, child pornography, etc. cannot but be fruit of our continual loss of respect & care for our weakest.
So… Obama won’t get my vote because of his many stances that show him to be a crafty politician, but not likely to lead our country towards a course that I can support.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Hi Scott,
I agree that we should not be single issue voters, but I haven’t really met anyone that I know of that thinks that way. Most republicans I know would take one position on the 9 issues you listed and most democrats I know would take the opposite position, but that is just anecdotal. I can see though that if you did not hold the republican view on some of those issues one would definitely be conflicted.
Re: the political pro-life movement, it is interesting to see examples like in Mississippi where they have used legislation to virtually rid the state of abortion clinics. I saw a show on PBS last year that said that through legislation they had narrowed it down to only one abortion facility operating in the entire state.
Also, is it not an important consideration in our voting to have a president who would appoint judges that would help this cause?
Re: 3) Does this mean you would be against the death penalty? If so, why?
Re: 5) I praise God that you have this open door to your neighbors, I would love to pray for them and look forward to hearing what the Lord does. We have over the years been privileged to see our paper deliverer, our mail lady, the mail clerk, the 7/11 clerk, and many neighbors saved by God’s grace through the gospel. However, I don’t think the Gospel needs any special environment to flourish. We just need to make sure that whatever of political views, we do not let them be barriers to loving our neighbors in tangible ways and being the means through which Christ reaches them. I agree with you that our real hope is in the Gospel and our hope is in Him.
Re: Voting for Obama - how is that pro-gospel or pro-unity or pro-hope?