elections – Aspirational Adventures

Renly outside our local polling station.

Today was a local election. Not even a county one. Just a town one. But because it is an election I believe it is my moral duty to all those people, not just the women, who fought so that everyone could have the vote, not just a selected few, that I need to turn up at the polling station.

But that’s where the dilemma comes. I have been a socialist, as a teen and young adult I even joined the Communist party for a while and subscribed to The Morning Star. As time has passed I’ve become more and more disillusioned with politics. They all seem a bit same old same old and not really in touch with day to day life.

So the choices were – a local lad of just 19 doing a politics degree in the capital four hours drive from our town, someone from Reform UK and then I noticed a name I recognised, a poet I had worked with 7 years ago.

The nineteen year old was keen and knocked on doors, handed out leaflets, but then he was funded by the local Conservative party who have money to spend on campaigning. He was lovely to chat to, very keen, very enthusiastic. And he was the only one to knock. But the bit I struggled with was the Conservative party rhetoric of it almost being every man/local area/community for themselves whereas I’m more of a global person believing what we do here does affect people across the world.

The Reform UK guy might have come round but his leaflet came when we were out so who knows. But then I find the whole thing of blaming immigrants for the ills of our country is not the way to look at things. Again to me it that global thing that we all need to be working together, supporting each other. I also believe that most people who migrate to another country do it because their own country isn’t safe to live in. I think most of them would rather stay at in their own lands but cannot do it for fear of so so much we’d never understand int his country.

The poet guy I know didn’t appear at all. Or if he did we were out. And he didn’t drop in a leaflet so we don’t know his views on anything.

But then at the last general election we only met our Labour candidate though knew a couple of the others because they were local – so we knew them and their blemishes too.

So who to vote for? It is so hard especially as there seems to be such a lackadaisical approach from those who were standing – apart from the Conservatives and their budget to campaign. But still I made my way to the polling station with my dog and put my cross where I felt it was right to put it and walked away hoping I was helping to keep democracy ticking over.

Praying About Elections

It is interesting the response from the losing side when there is a referendum or an election. In the UK I’ve heard calls for proportional representation, or after the Brexit vote how it shouldn’t have been a 50/50 split, and today was reading about the way Trump has won in the US.

Democracy in the modern world is still newish. Yes it comes from Ancient Greek but really that was mainly the elite in the city state. And until recently most of the Western world only let those who owned property and were male vote, or over a certain age. Voting for every adult no matter what their status in the UK only came into being in 1969 – a mere 55 years ago! So we are all still new at it.

I’m picking up lots of newsfeeds, etc from people I know or know of, in the US and they are depressed, upset, confused and more. But then I am only reading ones from people who are like me. I’m suspecting that, if I followed those who did vote Trump I would hear a very different story. I do need to remember that what I hear is only from those I follow who are more like me than not.

One thing though I have been thinking about is prayer. Now I know lots of people who were praying for the US elections. I’m not sure how many were praying “let your will be done, Lord”, how many were praying “God protect our land” or something similar or how many had their own agenda. And I am sure that people on both political camps were praying too. Does this mean God was being dragged back and forth not sure what to do because Democrats were asking for a different result to Republicans?

But this got me to thinking, if we pray for something, are we trying to manipulate God to do our will or are we trusting they will do as they know to be best because they can see the bigger picture.?

If the Creator of the Universe can see the beginning and the end and middle and whatever then do we have to trust, especially when we pray for big things, that all will be as it will be.

How often have you or I prayed for something and it hasn’t worked out as we’d like, even to the point of someone dying, and some well-meaning, slightly insensitive Christian says “that must be God’s will”?

Henri Nouwen talks for how when we pray we shouldn’t come with a list of instructions for God but should come with a list of problems, issues and worries and then spend our prayer time handing them over to God and trusting that God will do as God will do and that our role is just to love and trust our Creator more and more.

So with that in mind, even though I do find the US results strange and unsesttling, though not unexpected, instead of being angry I am willing to spend time in prayer and be asking “what are you trying to show us, God?” and also moving into a place where I can trust that a Higher Power knows so much more than little old me.