Killing the Sacred Cows
One of the problems with our little democratic society is fear. Our politicians, no matter how well-meaning they are, have no guts when it comes to tackling debilitating social problems that tug at the heart-strings (and the purse-strings) of their constituants.
There are more than a handful of these sacred cows that need to be turned into hamburger:
- social security: acknowledged by everyone as a broken system, yet the boomer voting block keeps it off of the chopping block every electoral cycle.
- education: the US is lagging behind other nations tremendously, but the teacher’s unions have the democrats terrified of any real reforms.
- welfare: who want to be known as the guy who is taking money away from the poor?
- immigration: this issue has polarized, either you want to ‘kick them all out’ or ‘legalize’ them all. there hasn’t been much room left over for a balance of compassion and justice.
The problem with politics comes down to a deeper human issue: you can’t stand for righteousness and remain popular. And to get elected, well, you have to be popular. You have to ‘appeal’ to a broad range of people over very different races, worldviews, and yes, even religions.
This touches on my point in a previous post that we can’t expect much in terms of justice from natural governments. We need a supernatural government.
The sermon on the mount will never get you elected - and it’s God’s version of justice that reflects the heavenly kingdom’s values. That’s why if it comes down to voting OR praying - praying is preferred. I think we are soon approaching the point where voting for either or the major parties will be dangerous. I mean, Guiliani? C’mon.
