Why as a Christian I'm Voting Blue

Dear Fellow Citizen,

It will come as no surprise that I am a proud Democrat, and eagerly voting for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. But in this divisive age where we so easily write off or mischaracterize people with different views and voting records, I think it is important to say why I am voting the way I am. I think if we could tell and listen to stories, sharing the personal beliefs and experiences that have led us to our political preferences, it would go a long way to healing some of our divides. What if we started by trying to understand where others are coming from, without feeling the need to argue or try to change them? It feels like there are so few spaces where we can do that, but I am hungry for that exchange.

So this is part of my story and perspective. I would welcome the same from you, in whatever form or space. If you've come this far, I appreciate your willingness to read, whether you think or vote the same way or not. I know and love that I have a diverse extended community that reads some of my ponderings.

I grew up thinking that being Christian and voting Republican went hand-in-hand. There was much about the Republican party platform at the time, like fiscal responsibility, and "family values" that appealed to me. As a youth I was also encouraged to ask questions about my faith, to think critically about why I believe what I do, and how I live that out. I came to see that being Christian wasn't just about me and my personal salvation project, but about coming to know the love and mercy of God that embraces me and the whole world (God so loved the world, not just Christians or Americans). I saw that the call to love my neighbor meant orienting my life toward others and trying to help build the Beloved Community, rather than what was best for me and mine alone.

I began to see my vote, and the larger call of citizenship, as an important way to love my neighbor. And God kept stretching my own definition to include more neighbors . . . LGBTQ family and friends, people of other faith traditions and none at all, immigrants working among us and showing up at our border, people of color still experiencing racial oppression and violence, people with disabilities, women on the margins who feel damned if they do, damned if they do not have the baby, and the planet itself. I'll confess, I continue to find it way easier to love Jesus, than to love all of his friends. Lord, have mercy.

I don't believe I can love my neighbor and vote against their wholeness and thriving. So I vote for candidates and policies that come closest to a Christian ethic of caring for all, and particularly those most neglected and despised. No party or person or platform is perfect, or in complete alignment with my beliefs and values, but I am not looking for perfect. I am hoping we as a people, as a democracy, guided by our elected leaders will do more good, and less harm, to help every American thrive. Even with all that currently ails us, I still really believe in the American project of democracy, and how we can all contribute as citizens to make it a more perfect union. I love the Biden campaign slogan, Build Back Better, because it is forward looking, and says our best days are still ahead of us.

As for this particular election . . ..

I am so weary of the divisiveness, incivility, and meanness among us. I think Trump's divisive, cruel, bullying rhetoric has brought out the worst in all of us, preyed on our fears, and made us more hostile to one another, myself included. I want a President who at least tries to bring us together, to call forth what is best in us, who will be a President who cares for all Americans, not just those who support him. Joe Biden is a fundamentally honest, kind, caring human who has devoted his whole life to public service and his family, and I believe he will take care of all Americans with everything he's got. While I can't imagine all the suffering he has personally had to endure in his life, losing his first wife and infant daughter in a fatal car accident in 1972, and then losing his beloved son Beau to brain cancer at just age 46, I think those experiences of extreme pain have shaped his empathetic nature, and how political policies actually impact real, human lives.

I want a President that I can let my two young sons watch on TV and listen to on the radio. I'm tired of having to change the channel or explain how the most powerful leader in the world speaks and acts in ways we find unacceptable. I will be proud to let my boys watch both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as wonderful (again, not perfect) examples of humanity and moral leadership.

I am voting for Biden and Harris because I believe our nation needs to confront in a more serious way our original sin of slavery and racism, to stand consistently and unequivocally against white supremacy, and to foster conversation and policy changes to root out the racism and prejudice still embedded in our system. I really don't feel like we can move forward into a brighter future for the beautifully diverse nation we are without addressing our past and present failures.

I am voting for Biden and Harris because I want every American to have adequate and affordable healthcare that does not bankrupt them when something devastating happens.

I am voting for Biden and Harris because I want to protect my LGBTQ+ friends and family who have finally been able to marry the loves of their lives and to enjoy all the rights and responsibilities afforded to married couples.

I am voting for Biden and Harris because I believe we are facing an existential environmental crisis, because I trust what the climate scientists have been warning about for decades, that we must make radical changes in our collective lifestyles, so that we, our children and grandchildren continue to have a hospitable place to live, and don't have to face ever-greater natural disasters than we're already experiencing.

I am voting for Biden and Harris because I believe every American who works hard should be able to provide for themselves and their family. The wealth inequality in our country is a moral disgrace, with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. I do not believe everyone should have the same, but that everyone should have enough. I do not know how to have honest, searching conversation about this without being unfairly accused of being a socialist. I believe we should have an economy that values people over profit, whatever you call that.

I think being pro-choice OR pro-life is a false dichotomy, one that has been so manipulated and weaponized that it's hurting us all. I passionately support life from womb to tomb, and STILL believe those tender decisions belong between couples and their medical professionals (and God if they're believers). I would desperately like to reduce the number of abortions, but I do not believe making them illegal will achieve that, AND it will do so much more harm to women and families. Like a majority of Americans, whether they identify as pro-life, pro-choice or somewhere in between, I believe abortion must remain legal, while continuing to push for policies that make it less necessary. That is why I as a pro-life, pro-choice Christian support Biden, Harris and Democrats.

I am voting for Biden and Harris because what is happening at our border and in our detention centers (families separated, kids in cages, women sterilized against their will) is morally abhorrent and unacceptable. I want immigration reform and a path to citizenship.

I am voting for Biden and Harris because I believe they will restore America's respect and standing in the world, becoming a leading voice for democratic values again, and honoring our commitments to our allies, while taking a strong stance against foreign enemies and dictators.

I am voting for Biden and Harris because I believe they will surround themselves with thoughtful, highly competent leaders of integrity, and have a more collaborative approach to the very complex task of guiding this great nation. I was so impressed with the diverse field of Democratic candidates for President this year, and would love to see many of them in a Biden-Harris cabinet. I hope together, they can restore relationships between the Administration and our armed forces, our intelligence community, and the Department of Justice. I love that Biden and Harris have such a warm, mutually respectful relationship, while also being able to have rigorous debates on a number of important matters. I believe Presidential decision-making must be made through thoughtful, grueling debate among diverse perspectives, not by unilateral tweet rants.

I am so grateful for the awesome freedoms and opportunities that come from being an American citizen. In gratitude, I want to invest (yes, pay taxes) in a democracy where we can all thrive, not just the people who look and think and believe and work like me. What an awesome vision of what we can be --glorious people of multiple races and ethnicities, faith traditions, and ways of being, learning from and enriching one another, while doing the messy work of trying to figure out the most just and equitable ways to live together and protect this land and democracy we love.

I'm all in for a Biden/Harris administration that leads us closer to that brighter future. 

However your beliefs, values, and experiences have shaped your own perspective and politics, I hope you will exercise your right to vote in a thoughtful and safe manner.  As the late John Lewis said, "The vote is the most powerful, nonviolent tool we have.  We must use it."

Grace and peace to you, 

Kimberly