Two Final Things to Share – countdown days to go

Here we are, just days away from what will no doubt be in some way or another a historic presidential election. I had hoped to write about it more – the issues which are ripping us apart, the issues which should be bringing us together, how the whole voting process even works (ie the electoral college) – but here we are.

Two things I need to share. First, please click on this link and read the article. https://www.npr.org/2020/10/29/928791633/guns-protests-and-elections-do-not-mix-conflict-experts-see-rising-warning-signs

 I’ve been concerned about that very thing for months and with each passing day, my concerns lean more towards outright worry.

Second thing is a story about the integrity of one man and the power of those political parties.  

My father-in-law was Lloyd Kincaid, a former state senator and assemblyman, from the early seventies to the early nineties. Fairly early on in his career, a bill came up which would adversely affect the people of his district. He represented small rural communities in northern Wisconsin, and this bill was designed to help residents of the larger cities at a cost to towns like his.

When his political party found out that he intended to vote against this bill, the leaders of his party told him that if he didn’t vote for it, that they would find someone else from the party to run against him in the next election and they would be sure that person would win.

He would have nothing to do with it. He talked to the leaders of the other political party and they told him they would always support him. So, he switched parties. (And just to be clear, in case you research this and discover which party is which in this story, either one of them would have done the same thing. And neither party really supported him to the end.)

Moral of that story is that political parties have wielded this kind of control for decades. Reminds me of the movie “Mr. Smith Goes toWashington”. If the television networks weren’t already run by one party or the other, they would be playing that movie incessantly right about now.

But the other thing to remember is that there have been men and women in office who have had integrity, who were committed to the voters who elected them and not to a political machine which is running rampant throughout this country. We need to seek out fresh individuals who are willing to stand up for what is right and good, and serve their constituents instead of some political party.

That’s all I have for this week. May God be with you all in the coming weeks. I will be praying for us all.

Chris