An election is coming. Get ready for the ads. Get ready for the debates. But you know what I am interested in? I will be curious as to how the parties present their leaders. I remember a few elections ago there was a leader that some perceived as less then friendly. So after a few meetings with consultants and some strategy sessions, it was determined that this candidate needed to stop wearing ties and spend more time flipping burgers at BBQs and community events. The statement that was clear to me was that it wasn’t about policy, but how people perceived their leader.
Elections the past few years in both Canada and the US have become more about personality then they have about policy. It doesn’t get too hard for me to think back through the past couple of elections on both sides of the border to see what history has shown. South of the border, whatever you may think of Trump, there is no question that he was first a TV personality. What I found interesting was that after he was elected, there was a lot of discussion that Oprah Winfrey needed to run to compete against him. In Canada, after Trudeau took the leadership of the liberal party, it became of great interest to see Kevin O’Leary step up into the leadership race of the conservative party. In case you weren’t aware, Kevin O’Leary has often been compared to Donald Trump–both wealthy and both successful TV personalities.
In other words, what appears to be happening is that we are making a shift in how we pick our leaders. We are shifting from what was once a matter of policy to personality and physical appearance.
This concerns me. Policy should be a critical element of our decision making. Don’t get me wrong, who the person is matters. But how can we measure a person’s character? Is the candidate with a history of drunkenness better then the candidate who has been unfaithful to his spouse? Is the candidate who has had a long history of suspicious financial dealings better then the person who has been married multiple times? How are we to judge? Of course character matters. In fact, were it is possible, what we need to do is find out what really motivates a person, what kind of a heart does the person have. It is like the story of Samuel choosing the next king. Appearances can be very deceiving so God told Samuel to look at the heart. A person’s policies will reflect his heart.
While appearances can be deceiving, what a person claims to believe in terms of their spiritual or religious life can also be deceiving. I have heard some people of faith suggest that they will only vote for a person if the candidate shares the same faith as them. In fact party affiliation doesn’t even matter to them as much as shared faith. It reminds me of the quote that is often attributed to the great reformer Martin Luther… “I’d rather be ruled by a wise Turk than by a foolish Christian.” Some now seriously question if Luther even said this. But regardless, the point is well made. While we might desire to have someone in office who shares the same faith as us, the competency of the individual and the nature of the policies being advocated are far more important. If as a Christian, I only look for a candidate who is a Christian, that could be very detrimental. What if that Christian candidate doesn’t share the same views on immigration or on deficit spending? What if they don’t agree with me on justice issues or on how to handle natural resources? This candidate may say they are Christian, but clearly would be supporting and implementing policies that would frustrate me a great deal.
The implication of all of this is that who we vote for needs to go far beyond what a person looks like and what a person says. Please don’t reduce your decision to the cult of personality. We need to do the hard work of trying to really understand who the candidate is and what kinds of policies and ideas they represent. Only then can we truly make a well-informed decision when we get to the ballot box.
Then when the election is all over, we need to be clear in at least one thing – we need to pray for and respect whoever takes office. (Romans 13:1-8) So, we have plenty to think about this summer. I pray that you are able to find the time to look into all the candidates and so make the best choice for you.