Being British, I don’t get to vote in the US elections. I kind of feel like I deserve a vote, since we seem to have heard almost as much about the race for the White House over the last year as we have about Gordon Brown! Besides, given our close alliances in this globalized world, the US president might actually have more influence on our future than our own government.
So, we’re all depending on you to make the right choice, for yourselves, for us, and for the world.
I’m not going to say who you should vote for, but to draw from Jim Wallis’ book ‘God’s Politics’, here are some important considerations for making a choice that is beyond the old categories of left and right, and beyond the narrow range of Christian/secular issues:
“We will measure the candidates by whether they enhance human life, human dignity, and human rights; whether they strengthen family life and protect children; whether they promote racial reconciliation and support gender equality; whether they serve peace and social justice; and whether they advance the common good rather than only individual, national, and special interests…
Do the candidates’ budget and tax policies reward the rich or show compassion for poor families? Do their foreign policies include fair trade and debt cancellation for the poorest countries?
Do the candidates policies protect the creation or serve corporate interests that damage it?
Do the candidates policies pursue ‘wars of choice’ or respect international law and cooperation in responding to real global threats?”
For Wallis’ full text see ‘God is not a Republican…or a Democrat‘ (pdf)
The Earthbound Report 