Pray. Vote. And Don’t Ditch Family and Friends.

Politics don’t care about you. When it comes down to it, most politicians are unconcerned about what happens in your interpersonal lives. They will demonize their opposition with no restraint. So, they won’t be heartbroken when you decide to break off family connections and long-standing friendships that don’t align with your feelings political fidelity.

Why do we give politicians so much clout? You have a right to vote for whomever you choose. Don’t be emotionally blackmailed by anyone in your life before or after you’ve voted. Don’t allow people to hold your relationship hostage.

And we know this is largely one-sided. Ever hear of Biden Derangement Syndrome? Or Clinton Derangement Syndrome? Of course not. Even the New York Times acknowledges the imbalance, saying: “Democrats have dug in their heels, and in some cases are refusing to sit across the table from relatives who voted for President-elect Donald J. Trump.” I’ve never cut anyone off in my life because of a vote for the candidate I strongly opposed. I have never severed ties with anyone whose vote ensures the wholesale slaughter of millions of unborn lives. I’ve never barred from my social circles those whose votes supported the dismantling of natural marriage: the union between one man and one woman. I’ve never conditioned my cordiality with someone based on their support for racist “anti-racism”. No one should ever love politics more than people. Ever.

A recent Axios/Harris poll reveals that a shocking number of people, twenty three percent, lie about their vote. That’s nearly one in four people! And guess who lies the most? A whopping 48% of Gen-Z voters surveyed commit post-voting fraud. Heaven forbid, in this day and age, you be who you are. The irony! The percentages drastically decline with each previous generation: 38% for Millennials, 17% for Gen X, and 6% for Boomers and older Americans.

With all of this said, the Truth is divisive. And that’s a good thing. How else do we know how to separate fact from fiction? Watching or listening to mainstream media news or the latest trending podcasts, one would think America is more divided than ever before. America’s always been divided. Which country isn’t? It’s the nature of forming one’s own opinion. That will always put us at odds with others. It doesn’t, however, need to make us hostile toward one another.

Although sometimes it does.  Lincoln won the pivotal 1860 election (an election split among four candidates) with a mere 39.8% of the popular vote. In January 1861, seven states seceded from the Union. Four more states joined in April of that year. There were 620,000 deaths caused by the ensuing Civil War fought by Democrats, and the Confederacy they constructed, to protect slavery. Yeah. America has been far more divided many times before our present election. So, fear not.

The Party of Lincoln has a radically different worldview than the Party of Andrew “Jackass” Jackson. Jackson embraced the pejorative during his campaign, and the unofficial donkey branding stuck. On the most fundamental issue – Life – there used to be a huge contrast between the parties until the GOP recently caved and nearly aborted the Party’s entire pro-life position. (I’ve challenged this cowardly capitulation here, here, and here.) However, there are massive differences, still, on the injustice of abortion between Democrats and Republicans. Just look at the ten radical state pro-abortion ballot initiatives (all pushed by Dems) and contrast that with the success of the GOP in thirteen states that have virtually banned the violence of abortion.

There are other major moral issues that divide one party from the other.

The Democratic Party – once the Party of slavery and Jim Crow – has become the Party of unlimited (taxpayer-funded) abortion, Planned Parenthood, transgenderism, Critical Race Theory, anti-school choice, illegal immigration, censorship and religious discrimination. The Republican Party remains the one that defends the entirety of the First Amendment, school choice, parental rights, secure borders, women’s sports, pregnancy help centers, faith-based nonprofits and Israel’s right to exist.

But many want to ignore the substance of the party’s positions for the personality of the candidate. Thankfully, we’re not voting for the Pastor-In-Chief but for policies that shape or misshape our nation. And for the so-called “Evangelicals for Harris”, I’m not sure what mental, spiritual and rhetorical contortions you have to twist yourself into to vote for someone’s whose worldview is openly hostile to Christianity. We often hear the refrain, “I’m voting for Democrats to reduce abortion.” Sure, and voting for rabid pro-slavery politicians reduced slavery. It’s about as ridiculous as anti-slavery advocates in 1860 deciding they would be “Abolitionists for Stephen A. Douglas.” Oh, the chasmic cognitive dissonance.

Remember too that pro-abortion Kamala Harris tried, but failed, as California’s Attorney General to force pregnancy medical clinics to refer for or promote abortion. The lawsuit failed as she and her cohorts were slapped down by the Supreme Court for violating the First Amendment. Her administration called people like me “terrorists” for being informed and involved parents challenging school boards across the country. Oh, and of course, if you vote(d) for Trump, you’re a fascist or a NAZI?!? There’s nothing like diminishing the sheer evil of the Holocaust like lazily throwing around NAZI comparisons.

It’s important for informed citizens to go beyond campaign soundbites. (A lot of the rhetoric from both campaigns has been disgusting and beneath the honor of the Office of the Presidency.) Ignore fake news media because they’ve become toxic. They’re too busy churning out the disinformation they claim they’re protecting us from. Unsurprisingly, a 2022 Sienna/New York Times poll found that a whopping 59% of American voters found mainstream media to be a “threat to democracy” eclipsing the 45% who felt this about Trump and 38% for Biden. We all need to know what each Party believes and plans on making reality through the government (yes, more and more and more government) through their platforms. As a Christian, I need to match my civic actions with a sound Biblical worldview. After you’ve put in the work, follow your conscience.

Voting often requires undeserved faith in very flawed individuals to carry out great responsibility in an institution established by God. Not voting won’t shield you, or those you love, from politicians who make bad decisions. It might assuage you for the moment, but every vote (whether for, against or absent) has reverberations for generations.

Pray. Vote. And please, don’t ditch the people you love for politics.