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I'll be the first to admit that the electorate baffles me a great deal of the time. Take for example the widely held belief that George W. Bush is a Christian and John Kerry isn't. I am thoroughly flummoxed as to how anyone, having seen G.W. up close and personal for over four years now, could even suggest such a proposition.
Not only do millions of voters and potential voters suggest Bush is a Christian, and infinitely moreso than John Kerry, but it is an unshakable bedrock belief. Having closely watched Bush's method of operation, I have to say that he talks a good game to the Christian right, and more importantly to a sizable and mostly silent group of moderates, to whom a constant theme of "moral certitude" seems quite appealing.
Yes, Dubya talks a good game. He talks about "faith based initiatives" on one hand, while he quietly throws the poor out into the streets, slashing section eight housing funds. In the Bush presidency, "faithed based initiatives is just code for, "What we really want to do is gut every social program." And for the most part that is what he has managed to do in over three and a half years.
Now I ask you, is that Christ-like? If I'm not mistaken, didn't Jesus focus on helping the poor, the disposessed, the sick and the malnourished? Would Jesus have turned his back on the middle-class and the poor in this country, in favor of lining rich people's pockets? Somehow I don't think so.
The president has also told Americans that this needless war we are in is a "righteous" cause, and that "God is on our side," thus turning one of the biggest mistakes ever in foreign policy into a modern day Crusades. His skilled propaganda machine has made the shedding of young soldiers blood palatable to millions of Americans, who proudly say that they trust his steady leadership, in times of such uncertainty. He is a man of unshakable conviction, they say. A man of vision.
But would Christ wilfully mislead his people into war, (assuming of course that he would ever have led anyone to war, which I doubt...) in order to serve his own needs? Would he have rushed into war, knowing the sacrifices so many would have to make, before exhausting every possible effort to avoid it, and yet seek justice?
If Jesus were running for president, could you imagine him running one of the dirtiest campaigns in memory? And if his surrogates did something he did not approve of, such as personally trashing his opponent, don't you think Jesus would reprimand that surrogate and publicly denounce his actions? If Dubya is such a Christian, then why won't he come out publicly and condemn ads that personally smear John Kerry?
Would Christ allow corporations to wantonly pollute the earth, causing us to become sick from the air we breathe and the water we drink? Would he roll back hundreds of environmental laws and standards, which only benefit corporations, at the great expense to the rest of the country?
So tell me, please tell me just WHAT is so Christ-like about George Bush? What is it about him, in the face of all he has done, (let's not forget the record number of Texas inmates who were put to death while he was governor) that would allow you to feel comfortable in saying that he is such a man of faith?
Looking back for a moment, we are reminded that it was George Bush who was a hell raiser. Not John Kerry. George Bush partied and chased women till he was forty years old, and supposedly became a Christian when the family intervened and Billy Graham "saved" him. Anyone can say they are "born again." Anyone can say that they've had an epiphany. Most people say if you are going to talk the talk, then you must walk the walk. That is a saying that does not apply to George W. Bush.
John Kerry doesn't wear his faith on his sleeve for all to see, but it's there. He has been labeled one of the most liberal politicians in Washington, which is true. It is interesting the the very people who label him a liberal, try to cast it in a bad light, as if it is something to be ashamed of. Now why, if they are people of faith, would they be against a man who has spent his life championing the causes of the poor and the voiceless? Why would they spend such vast amounts of resources trying to denigrate a man who served his country honorably, and with valor - a man who has worked tirelessly to protect our environment for the good of all people? If "liberal" means working to insure better lives for ALL Americans, then John Kerry fits the bill. At least he walks the walk.
Joe Fields
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