I am so sad that this has happened. So many of Bush’s positions/policies seem so anthitheical to Christianity to me that I can’t believe he got such an overwhelming majority of Christian votes. After listening to some election commentary today, I was intrigued to learn that 80% of people polled after voting said it was morality that governed their decision making at the voting booth. Not the war. Not healthcare. Not the economy. I can’t say I was surprised. I know so many people who reluctantly voted either for Bush or against Kerry becuase of “moral” issues (mostly abortion but also gay marriage and stem-cell research). I think the Kerry campaign made a huge mistake by alienating pro-life voters. As one of my professors said today, abortion is the Achilles heel of the Democratic party. I just hope that the importance of “moral” issues such as abortion does not go ignored next time around like it has this time. Maybe next time around there will be room for more people who want to be consistently pro-life, from unborn children to the urban poor to the citizens and soldiers of “enemy” nations. And just maybe in between now and then we can gain a richer sense as a nation of what contitutes the “moral.” All issues are moral at their root. Thanks to the culture wars we’ve been altogether too selective in defining what is a moral issue. I’m going to go cry now.
Janel
Nov 03 2004
04:40 pm
I am so sad that this has happened. So many of Bush’s positions/policies seem so anthitheical to Christianity to me that I can’t believe he got such an overwhelming majority of Christian votes. After listening to some election commentary today, I was intrigued to learn that 80% of people polled after voting said it was morality that governed their decision making at the voting booth. Not the war. Not healthcare. Not the economy. I can’t say I was surprised. I know so many people who reluctantly voted either for Bush or against Kerry becuase of “moral” issues (mostly abortion but also gay marriage and stem-cell research). I think the Kerry campaign made a huge mistake by alienating pro-life voters. As one of my professors said today, abortion is the Achilles heel of the Democratic party. I just hope that the importance of “moral” issues such as abortion does not go ignored next time around like it has this time. Maybe next time around there will be room for more people who want to be consistently pro-life, from unborn children to the urban poor to the citizens and soldiers of “enemy” nations. And just maybe in between now and then we can gain a richer sense as a nation of what contitutes the “moral.” All issues are moral at their root. Thanks to the culture wars we’ve been altogether too selective in defining what is a moral issue. I’m going to go cry now.