November 2nd cannot come soon enough! The steady drone of "attack ads" by politicians from the national to the local level seems to have multiplied in intensity and frequency this year.
Whatever it is about politics, the whole process seems to drive us away from wanting to deal with the real issues because the surrounding "packaging" of personalities and stories are simply overly negative, critical and sometimes "over the line."
I need no greater reason to understand the wisdom of scripture that exhorts us to "speak well of one another" than to listen to a series of attack ads and just feel dirty as a result.
The problem is that we have a responsibility, a duty, as David Barton called it in a recent talk that he gave here at North Way, to participate in our elections. I feel that duty more this year than most any other.
The real challenge is to work my way through all of the blather in the media and get down to understanding what the real issues are and where the candidates stand and to make my choices accordingly.
I'm so grateful to be part of a community where we speak well of each other, look for ways to encourage and uplift one another and "speak the truth in love" as Paul exhorted us in his letter to the Ephesians.
And so for about ten more days the political barbs will continue to fly but my prayer is that, in the end, we will have reaffirmed our political system and as a nation put representatives into place who will handle our concerns with integrity and honesty. I can't wait for it to happen!
Blessings,
Dr. Jay
No comments:
Post a Comment