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RSS FeedShould voters investigate a candidate's faith or just focus on politics?
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| Politics | 66% | 117 votes | Total: 176 votes | |
| Faith | 34% | 59 votes |
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Add to FavoritesUnless a particular candidate is involved in a religion that practices satanic worship, for example, voters should not normally be concerned with investigating the candidate's faith. The idea behind the election is to select a candidate whose politics coincide with the majority of the electorate. A candidate's faith should, therefore, be irrelevant.
Unfortunately, in today's climate of investigative journalism, we nevertheless learn everything about our candidates, especially those running for president. Barack Obama's religious affiliation, for example, has come under very close scrutiny. This scrutiny was not necessarily religiously based, but rather spilled over into the realm of the extreme political views expressed by Obama's Chicago pastor, Jeremiah Wright.
Rev. Wright's sermons, which can only be characterized as political, soon became an embarrassing liability to Senator Obama, who eventually resigned from the congregation and disassociated himself from Rev. Wright's radical views. In this instance, then, it might be appropriate for voters to consider the fact that Obama was a member of the congregation and a close friend of Rev. Wright for about 20 years. Voters might wonder whether Obama is being ingenuous when he claims no previous knowledge of Rev. Wright's views (e.g., the US Government inflicted AIDS on th Black population).
It is significant to note, then, that no such scrutiny has been applied to John McCain nor Hillary Clinton. The faith or religious affiliation of neither of those candidates have had nothing to do whatever with how Americans viewed them. In a previous campaign, however, candidate George W. Bush's faith became a political issue. Bush succeeded in connecting his religious faith with his reformation. A former heavy drinker, George W. Bush in several interviews and debates pointed to how his conversion played a part in his recovery.
Whether George Bush's religious allusions were merely a cynical ploy to deflect criticism of his past or as a foundation to his subsequent pro-life and anti-stem cell research stances is a matter of opinion. However, many voters actually supported Bush and focused on his faith, which seemed integral to his politics.
Finally, there was the case of John F. Kennedy, who succeeded in diffusing religious faith as a political issue. A Roman Catholic, Kennedy actually had to make a speech to assure the American people that his faith had no bearing whatsoever on his politics or decisions. Back in 1960, some Americans believed that the influence of the Pope might intrude into Kennedy's judgment and policies. He insisted otherwise, and the issue was dropped.
Ironically, two other Massachusetts Catholic politicians, John Kerry and Kennedy's younger brother, Ted, carried JFK's legacy to the extreme. Both of Kerry and Kennedy have consistently refused to condemn abortion and upheld the woman's "right to choose," in stark contrast with Catholic teachings. Some Catholics have called for the excommunication of John Kerry because of his stated views on abortion.
Returning to the question, "Should voters investigate a candidate's faith or just focus on politics?" - Yes on both counts. If the candidate's faith is an integral element of his or her political belief system, it will draw attention whether deservedly so or not. If not, and under most conditions, we should focus on politics and let God sort things out.
Learn more about this author, Jerry Curtis.
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Faith
Yes, of course. It is important for the voters to know everything possible about the candidates that are running for office. In many ways a candidates faith can be a big issue, although to many of us, in a general way. The exception to that would be if the candidates faith was to an unusual extreme or what would be considered fanatical.
So what does a persons' faith have to do with how they do their job? In the case of politicians, it has a direct bearing on their work. More so than many other professions. Many of the issues politicians deal with and vote on, are directly linked to morals and values. For this reason, their faith is very important to the voter.
As we all know, in the United States, freedom of religion is one of our basic rights and that's how it should be. However, we are all influenced in our daily lives by our faith and beliefs. While we are not interested in taking away anyone's freedoms, when it comes to candidates, it is essential that the candidate and the voter have similar beliefs. We are also aware that faith does not always involve religion. Atheists and agnostics have faith too. Faith being a firm belief in something, we all have that. A set of values and morals we live our lives by. This is the knowledge we need to have when picking candidates we want to support.
It is not whether a candidate is Catholic, Protestant, Jewish or any other religion that influences us, in most cases, but rather, how that effects their ethics, morals and values. Are their principals similar to mine? Will their code of ethics make them draw a line as to what lengths they will go to in order to achieve their goals and ambitions?
When it comes to short comings or mistakes they may have made in the past, I would much rather hear it from the candidate "up front" then to hear it from an opponent or the press, leaving me to wonder if they were trying to hide it. I'm of an age that enables me to be aware that we have all made mistakes. None of us gets through life without doings so. Just be honest and move on. That way when the exaggerated version finds it's way to the evening news, I am somewhat prepared.
If politicians have learned nothing else over the last few decades, they should have learned that their life has now become an open book. The American people are going to know everything that can be dug up about them. Between the press and their opponents very few things, if any, can be kept secret. From John F. Kennedy forward, we have seen the folly of politicians trying to cover up and failing miserably. I am more interested in how a mistake is handled, than I am in the mere fact that one was made. How did they deal with it?
Most of us have specific traits we want to see in our candidates. These vary from voter to voter. What is most important to one may not be what's most important to another. I want my candidates to be as open and honest as they can be. I want their values to reflect mine. Also, I want my candidates to have compassion. A person without compassion will not be effective when dealing with certain situations. Our politicians deal with many sensitive issues.
I believe many of us now are not so interested in the political parties as we are in the ethics and views of the candidates. I am much more interested in how a candidate feels about things like freedom, health care, national and homeland security, the national debt, than I am about whether they are democrat or republican or whatever. How would they handle the complicated foreign affairs while preserving the values and image of this country. These are all priorities, in my opinion, when choosing politicians.
With local politics the issues may be different then at the federal level, however, the criteria for selecting suitable candidates remains the same at all levels.
Many of us become disillusioned or disappointed in the candidates we have chosen. It seems we are always wanting perfection. We have a hard time accepting the reality that no one person can be without fault. The best way to avoid disillusionment is to research your candidates thoroughly. Keep in mind that nobody is ever going to be perfect in every aspect.
Learn more about this author, G. Schettino.
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