Voting is not mandatory in the United States. If you are 18 or older, are a United States citizen, are registered in the state of your residence, and meet that states residency requirements you can vote. Your choice of political parties, individual candidates, and campaign issues is totally up to you. Each of us can review the campaign blather and decide for ourselves which candidates to select. What is more, we have total autonomy in developing our list of voting criteria. Some of us will vote party lines, straight tickets, candidate by candidate preferences, and any other preference list that will satisfy our political whims. I've heard people say they like a candidates position on any number of issues, or the language he used to answer a challenging question, or the color and style of the dress she wore to a debate, or the college they attended, their family life, or any number of non-political identity markers. We are fickle in our voting practices too.
There was a time when I was a single issue voter. Yes, people across the fruited plain, in just about every social and cultural layer of our great nation criticized this decision as narrow and limited, focused on too little, avoiding so much, underneath the big picture. I get it. But, the sanctity of human life was such a significant element of my Christian worldview that I just could not vote for any pro-choice candidate, at any level of government. When criticized or condemned I would just shrug and tell others it wasn't any of their business. Every single last one of us can vote any way we choose, thank you.
But, today, in election 2020, I'm no longer a single issue voter. Truth is, I don't have to be. The Democrats has violated just about every element in my Christian worldview and I'll turn them aside for multiple reasons, not just one. You know, Senator Biden's recent town hall statement about transgender children. Or, perhaps the grilling these leftists have given Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Or, some of the religious twists and turns of Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Or, the Democratic views about Israel. Or, the destructive and threatening language of anti-American terrorists groups. Or, their positions on marriage and family life. Or, religious freedom. Keep going---taxation, health care, education, inflation, the Constitution of the United States, and economic policy. Marxism. Communism. Socialism. Good grief! The list is long.
And, it's not popular in our increasingly secular nation. The Christian worldview on these and so many other campaign issues is just anathema to people who dislike our history, governing documents, national anthem, flag, and mottoes. Then again, pleasing other people shouldn't be on the list of ideals that shape our vote. Here's the deal with this Christian worldview---
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I
were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1: 10, ESV
No, God is not a Republican and this dreadful sinner knows that. But, the 2020 party platforms reminded me that I don't have to be a single issue voter any more. The blue party folks have more than enough to shove me the other way.
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