On How My Politics Have Shifted Over the Years

Last Saturday I sat down with my ONE and only ballot, and spent two hours mindfully voting. It was the longest I have ever spent over my vote. There were some serious issues placed before me on that ballot — minimum wage, transportation, judges, governors, and the presidency of the United States.

It was the first time in my life when I voted according to my conscience and not what I believed was expected of me according to my religious faith. I’m ashamed to admit this, but there you have it.

I have been led to believe for most of my life that in order for me to be a Christian I was expected to be a Republican. The primary reason for this had to do with abortion, but also something about a liberal agenda that would erode our freedom and lead us straight into becoming immoral, corrupt communists.

A good democracy is sustained by the conviction that its citizens are generally good people, doing their best to do the right and moral thing. Truth is, almost every day, I come across incredibly good left-wing liberals who are outstanding citizens. They vote, they take care of their kids, and they do their best to be the sort of people you would want to have as a neighbor. Years ago, listening to conservative talk radio, all I heard was horrifying slander against left-wing liberals. Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter are mean to liberals. Their message messed with my head and with my faith. It made me arrogant, judgmental, and incredibly self-righteous. I lacked mercy, compassion, and an overall understanding of what it feels like to be powerless. 

Then, I moved to Chile.

For three years, I lived in a country that is still recovering from a right-wing fascist dictator. Pinochet came to power because during the 1970’s there was world-wide fear of communism. Chile had elected a socialist president, named Salvador Allende. They were headed straight toward socialism and would have become another Cuba had Pinochet and the Chilean army not stepped in and taken over. One fateful day in September of 1973, Pinochet, armed with tanks, tear gas, and guns took over the government in one swift move. As a result, he silenced the fear of communism in Chile, and instilled an ever abiding fear of fascist dictators.

Over the next seventeen years, Pinochet passed economic policies that strengthened their economy, to such a degree that they now have one of the most stable economies in Latin America. In general, people had economic freedom, and for many of its citizens the standard of living went up. However, for seventeen years they banned unions, free speech, and tortured and killed over three thousand people. There is more than one kind of freedom. People who spoke out against the dictatorship disappeared. It was neighbor against neighbor. To this day, some of Chile’s citizens still worry about speaking out.

I realize dozens and dozens of my friends and family members, whom I love with my whole heart, are voting for Donald Trump. I did not. It had everything, and also nothing to do with his sexual problems. Had that vile recording of Donald Trump never been released, I still would not have voted for him. For me, it has to do with inciting fear. I do not want to elect a president running a campaign built on the idea that we should return to a time in our country when only a certain demographic in our society felt powerful.

I have been a foreigner and I have been a minority. What I discovered during that time was how much I depended on kind people to help me find my way. I depended on people who weren’t afraid of me, or were secretly wishing I would just get out of their country. Interestingly, the Bible tells us over and over to be kind to the foreigners in our land. I teach children every day who are learning English, many whose parents are probably undocumented. I can’t imagine the horror of them being deported and sent back to abject poverty. Those children were granted American citizenship upon birth. Yes, the system is flawed, I don’t like everything about it, but I like those kids.

When I returned from Chile, I was destitute. The church helped me, I applied for state aid, and I lived with my family and friends. I also got a job.

Now, I am part of teacher’s union that fought for me to get a good raise this year. That raise made a significant difference. 

I come from a working class family. My dad was part of the carpenter’s union during most of my life, and for several years I was in the free and reduced lunch program. I went to public school and was taught in my pubic schools that my life mattered and all of us were equal. I even led Bible studies at those liberal public school and every single one of my teachers respected my faith and gave me opportunities to debate with my Bible in hand about women’s rights and honoring God. I’m proud of those incredible teachers, who were open-minded and respectful of my faith, even when they didn’t agree with it. They never shunned or shamed me. Once, I even refused to do an assignment and instead wrote a long paper using the Ten Commandments as a replacement. My non-religious teacher praised me for being such a thoughtful young Christian.

Sadly, over the years, my passion in politics waned. I started saying less and trying not to rock the boat. I didn’t want my church friends to disapprove of me and I didn’t know how to reconcile my faith with my political leanings. The subject became more and more difficult. More convoluted. I began to wonder about the reality of trickle-down economics. It doesn’t really trickle down as equally as I was taught, and many of the important rights we have in this country were pushed and petitioned by said evil liberal agenda… such as my right to vote, or our right to collectively bargain for better wages and work conditions. I am so grateful black people get to sit wherever they’d like on the bus, that black and white people can use the same drinking fountains, go to school together, and marry one another.

We hardly talk ever talk about the Rural Electrification Act. The Rural Electrification Act was a government based program during the New Deal designed to promote equality and raise the standard of living among the rural poor. There is so much more to say.

I have spent most of my life reading the Bible. Cover to cover. What I find there is that it goes in every direction. The church must help the poor. If the churches were to remove their support for those in need, it would devastate our society. There is also the role of the individual. Each person is responsible for his or her actions, to do according to what one can. But there is also a responsibility of the people, by the people to promote freedom and liberty and sustainable good for all its people, not just the ones with whom we like and agree. 

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