Scenes we’d like to see

At an open forum, Ask Me Anything, public town hall

In any Republican Congressional district or a state with one or two GOP Senators

Questioner: You describe yourself as a Christian, and your public profile says you’re a member of … Church. How do you reconcile your faith and beliefs with your support for the person who said this: “MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL  . . Includ[ing] World Leaders, both good and bad, but none of which are as EVIL and SICK as the THUGS we have inside our Country . . . . [Including the] Woke Military, Russia/Ukraine, Israel/Iran, All Electric Car Lunacy, and so much more, [who] are looking to DESTROY our once great USA. MAY THEY ROT IN HELL. AGAIN, MERRY CHRISTMAS!”? I’ll wait while you think about it.

Responder: ?????

Questioner: Who won the 2020 election?

Questioner: What was the major cause of the Civil War of 1861-65 in this country?

Of course, the notion of an elected Republican having an open, unscreened, public forum where they’d have to deal directly with constituent questions is, at best, wishful thinking. That said, however, any candidate for election at any level for any position should be confronted with these questions and the answers are fairly simple:

1)    It is impossible to reconcile Christianity (or any other major faith tradition) with the misanthropic, narcissistic, and hateful pronouncements that come from many Republicans in addition to the former president and failed insurrectionist. At some point, people, especially those who consider themselves religious leaders, will have to confront the conflict between their professed faith and the demonstrated behavior of the politicians they support and advocate for.

2)    Joe Biden, and there is no evidence at all, anywhere, that says otherwise. Reasonable people can disagree about policy, but no reasonable person can debate the outcome of the election and we need to make sure we’re only electing reasonable people to office regardless of party affiliation.

3)    The major cause of the American Civil War was chattel slavery and the desire of a minority of Americans to enable its spread across the country to maintain their otherwise unsupportable economic structure. There can be no reasonable debate about the foundational value of equality under the law as the basis and moral justification for this country’s existence any more than there can be about the inherent equality of all of us as human beings. As above, we can no longer afford the luxury of electing people to office who fail to agree with and support the basic values on which the Country was founded and who fail to live up to the oaths they’re called upon to swear in order to take office.

It's up to each of us and all of us to know enough about the people we’re asked to vote for that we can make reasoned and reasonable decisions. Whatever the party affiliation, there are certain essential values that must be at the core of any candidate’s belief system and, if they don’t both speak them and live them, we have a responsibility to keep them out of office. If there’s any doubt, Jesus gave us some good advice when he said “by their fruits you shall know them”. Look carefully at the produce being offered.