In times of political campaigns…
J. D. Pendry
It is unfortunate, but I believe Frances Quarles’ verse accurately describes the attitude of too many Americans. I also believe that if it we rewrote it to read, “Our God and Soldiers we alike adore, in times of political campaigns and not before…” it would hold even more meaning for today.
Most Americans, above 80 percent according to various surveys, believe in God and claim the Christian faith. When poll driven people vie for the leadership of our country, it is not surprising that we receive a healthy helping of their professions of faith. I saw an interesting combination of words in my reading this week. Phony religiosity. I caused images to pop into my mind of our collection of Presidential candidates. Not one in particular, but instead, the entire collection. Especially those that we are told to believe have the best chance of making it to the Whitehouse.
We have one candidate who’s Christianity has been heralded by some as his most valuable attribute. That is fine. That is an important attribute from my perspective, but I do have a problem with using it as part of the political campaign. Saying that I am a presidential candidate and also a Christian is quite different from saying that I’m a Christian who is running to be president. That means you are running on an identity more than on your total qualifications for the job. That is not good. It is not unlike saying I am an African American or a woman who is running for president and implying that the identity is reason enough to get my vote.
We have one candidate that belongs to a church who’s Pastor and leader recently recognized Louis Farrakhan with a lifetime achievement award. This is the leader of the Nation of Islam who is an anti-Semite, racist, bigot. We are counseled now that this is the pastor of his church not the candidate himself and that we should not tie the thoughts and actions of one to the other. I think I would call that faulty logic. The pastor leads the church and as such speaks for its membership. Christianity and the hatred and bigotry preached for years by Farrakhan are not compatible. The candidate either embraces the direction of his church or he does not.
We have one candidate that tells us that her faith got her through the hard times. Google “Clinton faith” and you’ll find the story headline on every news link. What is unfortunate is the documented, undisputed, vulgar and abusive behavior [profanity alert] attributed to her. This is hardly the behavior of one with strong faith in God. Maybe she has since repented.
We have one candidate that is having his religion used against him by some. I do not share his theological beliefs, but I’ve seen nothing that convinces me that he is out to change us into a nation of Mormons just as John Kennedy was not out to convert us all to Catholicism. His faith and politics did once allow him to support abortion, but now he seems to have experienced an epiphany. Maybe so.
That is just a glance at some of the so-called top tier, but all of them and some more than others, have highlighted a degree of religious faith to appeal to voters. Study the character of the candidates and what they do rather than what they say if a candidate’s faith is indeed important to you. As for the candidates, they would do well to etch in their minds that “the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.”
Soldiers and Veterans are a different matter. The politicians view them from the leanings of their political ideologies. If asked directly, all of them will tell you what great people Soldiers and Veterans are and how much they support them, but just as with their religious affirmations their actions regarding support for Soldiers and Veterans do not always match with their rhetoric? They will all insist that our Soldiers get what they need to succeed in their politically assigned missions and then some of them will act just the opposite of what they say. Some will tell us how the war and our neglect has turned Veterans, according to the New York Times, in to homeless, drug addicted, murderers. What they won’t ever share are the facts about veterans that show that as a group compared to their counterparts, Veterans are better educated, have higher median incomes and lower unemployment rates. The facts do not support the ideology they hope to sell.
Finally, all of the politicians appealing to the heart strings of America will lament about the poor job that the agencies tasked with delivering benefits to Veterans are doing implying always that it is the fault of the actions of one political party or the other. It is always a popular item for their political campaigns, especially during a conflict. What they never tell Americans is that these administrative agencies struggle at best to “administer” the laws, regulations and bureaucracy created by politicians of all persuasions. No, it cannot ever be the fault of a politician.
After election, both alike requited, our God’s forgotten, and our Soldiers slighted… Count on it.
Copyright © JD Pendry 2008 All Rights Reserved.
January 20th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Our soldiers and veterans are “out of sight, out of mind”. It is a national disgrace that ONE veteran is homeless, or that one military family is being forced to use food stamps. It is a disgrace that we as American citizens allow those in Congress or the Oval Office to continue to fund a war and fail to fund complete physical and mental healthcare for our returning troops. If there is one thing we must do, it is to demand that we no longer fund this war or any other until we fund the necessary care for our returning troops. We have hailed our heroes and forgotten them quicker than it takes to go through a McDonald’s drive thru. It is now up to us to demand better for our fellow citizens… those who have sacrificed what the rest of us don’t want to see. We should write, call, and email our elected officials until we get the funding these troops need to properly reintegrate into society with health care, housing, and the benefits we promised.
April 3rd, 2008 at 5:32 pm
As a retired VA nurse, I was proud of the care we gave our vets in Tucson. Now as a part time home care nurse, I often identify and help vets who aren’t aware they are eligible for benefits become enrolled in the VA system.
I’ve seen many patients with other resources choose VA care over private care because of the excellent level of care and the continuity provided (especially useful for “snowbirds” who travel).
While the “system” may be cumbersome and initially difficult to navigate, it is much more responsive to the unique needs of our vets than the private sector. Most of the problems within the system come from rules, restrictions and regulations formulated by politicians, not by the VA itself.
(I’ve often thought every senator and Washington politician should be required to receive their medical care from the VA while they are in office - then they might begin to understand the ramifications of budget cuts, stupid rules, etc. Like back in the winter of ‘95-’96 - when we all went to work to care for our patients despite not getting paychecks. I doubt the politicians who were holding up the federal budget were worried about putting food on the table or getting their kids a Christmas present. Oh yeah - that’s when Billary was President.)