The Progressive Christian Case for Obama
Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 10:06:21 AM PDT
Note: Cross-posted at Raising Kaine.
Perhaps the most endearing thing about the Democratic Party is its unique ability to represent the beliefs of such a wide range of American citizens. Within our ranks, we have environmentalists and trade unionists, peace activists and feminists, small business owners and trial lawyers and even our fair share of business executives. Though its a cliche in American politics, a cliche that often seems far from the truth in an era of increasing partisan polarization, the Democratic Party is truly a "big tent." It is because of this big tent philosophy that I've come out of blogosphere hiding to write to you today.
The Problem
I am, as are many of my fellow Democrats, a devout Christian. For years, in the eyes of many Democrats, the word "Christian" has been dragged through the mud by the growing volume of the Christian fundamentalist voice in this country. As a result, many in the left have come to distrust people of faith. As a result, Progressive Christians have very much been driven underground. To use another tired political cliche, Progressive Christians have become the "silent majority" in America. Within the Mainline Protestant denominations especially (Not to say there aren't Progressive Christians of all stripes. I only cite this as an example because of my own experience as a cradle Episcopalian.), there are Progressive Christians abound, but how are we supposed to communicate OUR faith and values to our fellow Democrats when they've become accustomed to a country where the newsmedia talks about Christians like we're some sort of reliable Republican voting bloc? Christian Democrats fear that by wearing their faith on their sleeves, they will be be painted by their fellow progressives with the same brush as the James Dobsons and Pat Robertsons of the world. This is, I believe, the real shame of our "big tent" of a party.
Though this has changed for the better in the past couple of years, we, as a party, are a long way from truly bringing the voices of Progressive Christians into the fold. Here in Virginia, we are fortunate to have a governor in Tim Kaine who proudly spoke of his Catholic faith during his campaign. As someone who's progressive beliefs are ENTIRELY guided by my faith, I was so proud to see Governor Kaine take a stand for Progressive Christians everywhere by reminding us that its perfectly acceptable to be a Christian Democrat.
What We Should Do About It
As a party, we need to stand up and say, once and for all, that its not only acceptable, but ADMIRABLE for a politician to let his or her faith guide them in their ideology and decision making. When I go to church, when I read the Gospels, I don't see anything about tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. I don't see anything about preemptive war. I don't see anything about discriminating against someone for their sexual orientation. What I see is an underlying message, the story of someone who I believe to be both God and man. Someone who set an example for us all to live by. Blessed are the poor and the meek and the peacemakers. Love your neighbor as yourself. These, as most moderate to progressive Christians would tell you, are the key values of Christianity. And they are the values of progressives everywhere. When will we move past divisive hot-button social issues, embrace our common ideals, and work together to eliminate the horrible violence of poverty and injustice in our country? I believe St. John Chrysostom, an early patriarch of Constantinople and a master of the art of homeletics, said it best:
"This is the rule of the most perfect Christianity, its most exact definition, its highest point, namely, the seeking of the common good. For nothing can so make a person an imitator of Christ as caring for his neighbors."
This ideal, CARING FOR OUR NEIGHBORS, is our common goal as Christians and Progressives. I await the day that we truly can work together for the common good of this nation.
A Progressive Christian's Endorsement
That brings me to the purpose of this post. Until a couple days ago I was very much on board with John Edwards campaign for President. In Senator Edwards I saw someone whos ideology reflected the ideals of my faith. First and foremost Senator Edwards stood for fighting poverty and extending health coverage to all. Also, he was never afraid to discuss how his faith as a Christian inspired him, a multimillionaire lawyer, to take up the cause of the other America of those living in poverty. With Senator Edwards out of the race, it seems to me that only one of the remaining candidates in this Democratic primary is truly the kind of leader that embodies these ideals: Senator Barack Obama.
Policywise, there are a number of reasons for my support of Senator Obama. For example, a Clinton White House would likely continue to support NAFTA, a trade policy enacted during Bill Clinton's Presidency that has been disasterous to American working families. Also, while Senator Obama has remained consistant in his opposition to the unjust and immoral war in Iraq, Senator Clinton has continually refused to apologize for her vote to authorize President Bush to use force or adequately explain why she failed to vote for the Levin amendment which would have provided some valuable checks on President Bush's power to wage war.
In reality, my support of Senator Obama boils down to much more than policy distinctions which, admittedly, aren't by any means extreme. The real reason is this: After eight years of horrible division and partisan polarization in the United States under two Bush administrations, only Senator Obama offers the possibility of an America which can put aside ideological differences from time to time and work for the common good. Most importantly, as a Progressive Christian, I believe Senator Obama, who is a devout member of the United Church of Christ, will be a President who has the ability and inspirational leadership to create an America where people of all faiths will really and truly be welcomed with open arms into the Democratic Party. That is just something I don't see happening under the continued polarization of a Clinton White House. When we remain so divided, many Democrats misguided mistrust of Christians cannot and will not be fixed.
In an America with a President Obama, I see the possibility that we can all, Black, White, Hispanic, or Asian, pro-choice or pro-life, gay or straight, Christian, Muslim, Jew, or atheist, finally set aside our relatively small differences and work together to, as St. Chrysostom said so many years ago, put our emphasis first and foremost on caring for our neighbors.
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