Don’t let the title fool you. I’m not electioneering for one side or the other. Our whole political process has gotten very confused, nasty, and complicated. I have my opinions on issues, but that really is not important at present. I see the surveys reported in the media asking what issues one considers most important in our current election. Is it border security, the economy, abortion, or what? All issues are important, but if I had to pick one it would be one that is usually not in the current list. I’d have to say it is the moral character of those running for office.
I am old enough to have been born under the Franklin Roosevelt administration. That goes back a bit! I can remember the Harry Truman years. I guess I was a Republican because my parents were, but at the time it didn’t mean a whole lot to me. Since then, however, the issue of personal integrity has become more central in my thinking. It is out of this that every other action flows. It is also here where we have seen so many more open issues among politicians in recent generations. It has always been so to one degree or another, but flexibility with truth and integrity seems to have become a necessary way of doing business today.
I expect I’m rambling a bit with these comments, but what appears on the daily political news is anything but civil discourse. My daughter remarked that it used to be that two politicians could have strong disagreements in debating issues, but then after the sessions they could go out and have a beer together. In today’s atmosphere the tone of debate is more acrimonious with personal attacks and causing lasting harm. This has a way of working its way down through the voting public.
I said that I go back a lot of years to previous elections. I ran across a quote from President Harry S. Truman that I appreciated. I think in the mid to late 1940s I was opposed to Truman only because my parents didn’t vote for him, but it really didn’t mean all that much to me anyway. Since then however I’ve gained respect for this president as a man apart from political issues of the time. The quote I refer to was,
“Work hard. Do your best. Keep your word. Never get too big for your britches. Trust God. Have no fear; and Never forget a friend.”
I think there is good counsel in those words. I wish they were heeded by more of those today in public service.
However, I don’t think it is going to change. I rather expect it to get a lot worse. But then we are in the Last Days of the Church Age, whether they be five years or many more. Only our Father in heaven knows. In any event I think President Truman’s words can be good counsel for all of us. Our Lord is the only One in whom we will find love, peace, and lasting hope.