Politics Again

I know I said I would only have one post about the election but I couldn't help myself. Besides, this is really not so much about the elections as it is about policies toward the poor.

Even though I have voted Republican for a long time now I get frustrated when I hear well meaning people view the Republican party as the only party a Christian should vote for. The moral vote that we heard about seems to be about the morality of the abortion and homosexual issues. I understand that but it is amazing to me that so many are oblivious to all the other moral issues that the Republican party doesn't seem to care about.

The biggest one is helping the poor. I am enough of a cynic to think that many on both sides use the poor for their own gain and couldn't care less. I always find it interesting when they release the candidates tax returns and we get to see how charitable they are. But I also know that there are people on both sides who do genuinely care about the poor but have different approaches to helping them.

Having been on the Republican side of this issue I have read about Adam Smith and the like. I have studied Cowperthwaite's ideas and his work in Hong Kong. I have seen first hand the effects of giveaway programs both here and in the third world. The principles are sound have withstood the test of time. We have a history of cutting taxes and then having an increase in tax revenue. It is on this information that I have always stayed the course with regards to the best way to help the poor.

Now I'm beginning to wonder if our world is changing so fast that those principles no longer work. How long do we continue to stay the course trusting that in time we will see fruit? When do we say it's not working anymore?

I also wonder about the effect of dealing with the poor on such a large scale has on me. I read about how Cowperthwaite managed to reduce poverty in Hong Kong by such and such a percentage. I think how wonderful it would be if we could do that here. But in the middle of the numbers am I not looking past the poor right under my nose in my own neighborhood?

I'm not usre exactly what the answer is but I do believe that it is an issue that must become part of our regular conversation. Our church needs to have this conversation. Our denomination needs to have this conversation. The Church needs to have this conversation.