While thinking about how we would vote this November, we both decided we must first discern our most important values.
For one, we want health for our family, friends, community and society, always striving to help all people of the world attain health. We also need and desire good air, water, soil, and nutritious food. We want healthy forests, rivers, oceans, animals and ecosystems. And we need good government that justly works for the good of all diverse life!
It seems to us most people want these or similar things. So why do we feel despairing when we hear the current political discourse?
We know we cannot live together without good, just governance that works for the common good. There are too many of us in this world, and too many aspiring dangerous dictators and bullies trying to destroy the earth and people with potentially uncontrollable weapons and too many false fears.
We know Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians and independents who have worked in government. They spent their careers doing their best, moving us towards better governance as best they could. Each generation has the opportunity to improve upon past processes and help make all of our lives better.
Why, then, the rhetoric that declares government bad, aiming to destroy it? Why aren’t we supporting our friends and neighbors who work in government to make it better? People who oppose our democratic experiment appear starved for power over other people, bent on controlling other people through negative hateful rhetoric. Some seem eager to hurt others.
All the ancient spiritual faiths came to a common truth: In some form or another, we as humans are to love our creator, energy, spirit that birthed us into existence, and love ourselves and each other. All of creation is sacred. Our first gift for life was the earth and her air, water, soil, food, plants and animals.
Yet many modern religions now are misleading swaths of people into hating and destroying their neighbors, hating people who do not agree with them, people who are different from them, people who they are jealous or afraid of, anybody who they falsely think interferes in their lives. They bully and lie, and they attack people of different races and faiths, LGBTQIA+ folks, women, anybody who thinks differently about the need for abortion accessibility or public education, and those whose politics differ from their own.
In the last decade, it has become extremely difficult to talk with many of our state legislators even in our low-population state. Town hall meetings have disappeared. Some politicians refuse to answer questions they are asked. It is very difficult to know who they are and what they plan to do to our citizenry.
So, here are a few questions we would like to ask people who are running for office:
• How will you help our society keep its waters, rivers, air, plants, food, wildlife, humans healthy — physically, emotionally and spiritually?
• How do you find your answers to polarizing questions? Where do you gather your information? Who do you engage to help you understand polarizing positions? What is your process?
• How do you define the common good?
• Why do you think anyone would think it is ok to attack minority groups such as transgender, LGBTQIA+, Blacks, Asian Americans, American Indians, or immigrants during a political campaign?
• What is the end result of unregulated natural resource extraction?
• Who do you think should decide where and how our limited energy and water resources are found, processed and distributed?
• Is it acceptable to you that our political talk now uses fear and hate to pit us against each other? Do you think that helps us work together and resolve conflicting interests?
• How would you advance and protect equality among us? What needs to be done to heal our polarization?
If our basic needs and desires are similar then communication, compassion and empathy are necessary for just resolutions. Silence on life and death issues is denialism, escapism or cooperation with destruction. We encourage open discussion and voting one’s conscience.
Anna and Heikes are retired pastors of the United Methodist Church of Boulder.
