little philosophies

Well, tomorrow is election day, so I thought I would theme this weeks' little philosophy on something regarding political participation, democracy, etc. But first! A beautiful photograph (not mine) of a sunflower in frost (November florals):

Now that you have smiled at a thing of unique beauty, let me just note that I have been greatly troubled this Fall by my lack of enthusiasm for either Presidential candidate. Especially as I take political participation and awareness quite seriously. 

I found myself voting (in my first election!) for No One, a penned-in protest vote voicing the dissenting belief that voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil. As I do not happen to believe that either candidate is more godly than the other, and am unimpressed by economic policy on one hand and foreign policy on the other, well, it couldn't be helped. And while reminding myself that I pledge allegiance only to my sovereign God, I still rather wanted to vote enthusiastically and bright-eyed for a vibrant and passionate candidate . . . ah, to have been of age in 2008. 

So. Count your beauty in the flowers of the field, put your hope in the voices of your children and in the wisdom of your elders, and pen in a vote even if your heart isn't in it. For the patriotic exercise, the political one, the protest one, or the intellectual one - but make it an exercise of participation one way or another. 

These are my thoughts on tomorrow, but mostly I am just praying that the church (and I as the church) would not be divided by partisanship, but have the courage to stand for peace and for love in the next four years and those to come.

xx Tor