I think there is a criterion we can use to make our personal political decisions with moral confidence. I
bet God’s own criteria still holds. I bet God is still listening, as in Yahweh’s message to Moses at the
burning bush: “I have heard the cry of the poor…and I mean to deliver them.”
I have a notion that this election may be a reprise of that same message–this time, for us.
The truth is that there are more than enough poor that we as a country no longer count: the
unemployed who drop off the welfare rolls, the underemployed who get no benefits, the children
without health insurance, the fetuses being disposed of for the sake of convenience, the Iraqi civilians
being killed for the sake of machismo, the elderly who are facing even more poverty in years to come as
Social Security fizzles in the wealthiest country in the world – while we go on investing more money in
death these days than we do in life.
I think we better listen, as well, to the cries of the poor of other countries who, because of our
economic or foreign policy plans, get poorer every day, fear us more every day and hate us more every
day.
It isn’t that religion doesn’t have a place in the public debate. On the contrary. It’s that politics has no
place in religion.
It is not the place of political parties to seek to enlist the religious community as part of its campaign
staff. That smells far too much like collusion to me. It smacks far too much of the kind of theocratic
thinking that preceded both the French and Russian revolutions. It sounds too much like the rise of a
new Christian Taliban to me.
It is not the function of religious figures to condemn specific politicians. That, as far as I know, is still
God’s role. It is the function of religion to teach religious values and criteria that can then be applied
by you and me to the political positions of our politicians. Religion must form us “to hear the cries of
the poor” and then to vote accordingly.
We must be called to conscience–not to the political campaign strategies of either party.
If you want to cast a moral vote, print out one of the many comparative lists of the issues espoused by
each candidate. Ask yourself the question, “Will this proposal, this position, affect the poor of this
country or the world positively, negatively or neither?” Ascribe to each of the items in the platform or
on the proposed agenda a plus, a minus or a zero. Now count up the pluses. The program that will
bring the most aid to the poor is the moral position. That is the way you and I are really expected to
vote this year.
How do I know? Easy you see, what God says to Moses at the burning bush after “And I mean to deliver
them” is this: “So I am sending you to pharaoh to say, ‘Let my people go.’”
That is the most direct election guidance I’ve seen so far – including what we’re getting from bishops
and campaign committees.
From where I stand, sending that message to pharaoh is the only real reason to vote.
– edited “Joan Chittister: From Where I Stand,” National Catholic Reporter Sept 2, 2004
bet God’s own criteria still holds. I bet God is still listening, as in Yahweh’s message to Moses at the
burning bush: “I have heard the cry of the poor…and I mean to deliver them.”
I have a notion that this election may be a reprise of that same message–this time, for us.
The truth is that there are more than enough poor that we as a country no longer count: the
unemployed who drop off the welfare rolls, the underemployed who get no benefits, the children
without health insurance, the fetuses being disposed of for the sake of convenience, the Iraqi civilians
being killed for the sake of machismo, the elderly who are facing even more poverty in years to come as
Social Security fizzles in the wealthiest country in the world – while we go on investing more money in
death these days than we do in life.
I think we better listen, as well, to the cries of the poor of other countries who, because of our
economic or foreign policy plans, get poorer every day, fear us more every day and hate us more every
day.
It isn’t that religion doesn’t have a place in the public debate. On the contrary. It’s that politics has no
place in religion.
It is not the place of political parties to seek to enlist the religious community as part of its campaign
staff. That smells far too much like collusion to me. It smacks far too much of the kind of theocratic
thinking that preceded both the French and Russian revolutions. It sounds too much like the rise of a
new Christian Taliban to me.
It is not the function of religious figures to condemn specific politicians. That, as far as I know, is still
God’s role. It is the function of religion to teach religious values and criteria that can then be applied
by you and me to the political positions of our politicians. Religion must form us “to hear the cries of
the poor” and then to vote accordingly.
We must be called to conscience–not to the political campaign strategies of either party.
If you want to cast a moral vote, print out one of the many comparative lists of the issues espoused by
each candidate. Ask yourself the question, “Will this proposal, this position, affect the poor of this
country or the world positively, negatively or neither?” Ascribe to each of the items in the platform or
on the proposed agenda a plus, a minus or a zero. Now count up the pluses. The program that will
bring the most aid to the poor is the moral position. That is the way you and I are really expected to
vote this year.
How do I know? Easy you see, what God says to Moses at the burning bush after “And I mean to deliver
them” is this: “So I am sending you to pharaoh to say, ‘Let my people go.’”
That is the most direct election guidance I’ve seen so far – including what we’re getting from bishops
and campaign committees.
From where I stand, sending that message to pharaoh is the only real reason to vote.
– edited “Joan Chittister: From Where I Stand,” National Catholic Reporter Sept 2, 2004
AN ELECTION GUIDE
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