The Religion of Voting

"I'm torn between voting for a pedophile and voting for a person who believes in abortion." That's  the take from Mountain Brook, Alabama resident Ellen Tipton on the state's upcoming special election. Tipton and other Alabamans voters gets to pick between conservative Republican Roy Moore, who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault, and Democrat Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney, who has been accused of having integrity and a sense of duty by former Vice-President Joe Biden.

Alabama's economy ranks 44th in the nation. It's educational system is 3rd worst, and the state's infrastructure was given a "C-" by the American Society of Civil Engineers. What's unlikely from looking at those numbers is that voting largely on the anti-abortion platform as implied by Tipton is the smart play toward improve anything. However, the evangelical Christian vote in Alabama may do just that and send a man that has allegedly violated women as young as fourteen to Washington as their Senator. What could be more Christian? What could be less American?

Moore has never shied away from ignoring the law to promote his own Christian beliefs. He was twice removed from the Alabama Supreme Court for ethics violations centered around his enforcement of the bible as the rule of law rather than the Constitution. With thinking like that, Moore has more in common with those that seized power in the Iranian revolution than those we expect to execute jurisprudence in the United States.

Jesus isn't registered to vote in Alabama or anywhere else. It would be better for everyone if others didn't attempt to vote in his name. Jesus was poor, disenfranchised from the system (Rome), and likely bore a resemblance closer to that of Osama bin-Laden than the fair skinned white guy DaVinci and other Renaissance artists portrayed. He also didn't speak English. All of that would have made it hard for him to even register to vote in states like Alabama with restrictive, GOP supported, voter-ID laws.

It's uncertain what Alabamans will do on December 12th. Moore remains defiant in the face of overwhelming calls for his withdrawal. Astonishingly, polls have the candidates within five percentage points of each other. 

It seems asking to keep religion out of the election isn't going to work so maybe leaning into it really is the way to go. God gave mankind freewill. That means the right to make personal choices. Doug Jones supports that fundamental belief. Therefore, the choice voters get is between a person that believes in the the God given right of freewill or a pedophile. Which one is going to stand up when judgement day comes? Pretty sure standing next to Roy Moore that day isn't going to go well. Seems like an easy pick Alabama.

A Year Later

I began writing Read Reid a year ago. It was the week after the 2016 election and America had just hired a failed casino owner and reality TV host to be the 45th President of the United States. I needed a day to day coping strategy that didn't involve bourbon; writing seemed like better therapy.

The year that has elapsed since has been difficult. That was not unexpected but Trumpism has significantly exceeded my lack of expectation. The incivility, partisanship, and ugliness on display in the political arena has stained the fabric that weaves us together. Social media is a cesspool, families have lost the ability to rationally talk to each other about differences. Compromise and empathy have become four letter words. Public discourse starts out loud, turns visceral quickly, and usually panders to the lowest common denominator.

Donald Trump isn't the cause of everything that has turned America sour. The ugly unleashed since last November didn't grow overnight. However, the Trump presidency is a testament to America's failures. The Trump presidency would not exist if America invested in education, infrastructure, and broadening the middle class. The Trump presidency would not exist if the aura of public service wasn't so toxic that qualified individuals run the other direction. The Trump presidency would not exist if Americans congregated into communities that celebrated diversity, equity and inclusion instead of congregating into fundamentalist enclaves celebrating a traditionless set of "traditional values" that most only selectively practice.

But the Trump presidency does exist and the country appears to be vomiting after a year of swallowing its own bile. Two mass shootings resulting in 83 deaths in just over a month, widespread sexual harassment/assault admissions by powerful men, charges in the special prosecutor case against former Trump campaign officials, continued fall out over the racism in Charlottesville, the hurricane in Puerto Rico, and immigration reform are all spewing out at once. Trump isn't directly responsible for everything bad that has happened on his watch but America hurts and Trump has demonstrated no ability to heal.

There have been some glimmers of hope. This year's November elections swung the pendulum a little bit back to the middle with Democratic gubernatorial victories in Virginia, New Jersey, and mayoral victories several major cities. Change will take more than a few Democratic wins. It will take a Democratic commitment to speak to the issues that allowed the Trump presidency to exist. That is a difficult task for a party that still doesn't have a message beyond "anything but Trump."

Yes, it's been a difficult year. More may follow and I don't have a quick fix solution. The best strategy I have is to try and maintain civility in the delivery of my message for change. Not everyone agrees with my point of view and those differences have distanced some friends and family. I welcome any fact based conversation that might bridge that distance. In the end, we still may agree to disagree but we will have done so comparing apples to apples and not Fox News to CNN.

Thus concludes blog entry 46; coming up next...