I’m Undecided.

Good news!  The New York Times tells me I’m not stupid!  Apparently undecided voters have been getting a bad rap in the media- mostly at the hand of comedians and rabid pundits.  Well, I’m taking solace in the Op-Ed piece “Your Brain’s Secret Ballot” in the October 27, 2008 edition.  The piece states neuroscientists have found that “Even when it takes no more than a second, decision-making is thought to involve two parts, gathering evidence and committing to a choice…”  These scientists also find there is a trade off in decision making as well, “Commit early and you can get on with your life. Take more time and you might make a wiser or more accurate decision.”  I’d like to think my undecidedness in next week’s election is that I want to make a wise decision and not merely procrastination. 

I’m an undecided voter.  And there a few of reasons for this. 

• I am not comfortable making a decision yet.  I still don’t know enough.  I know, amazing after 20 months of campaigning, but it is hard to see truth through all the campaign mud flinging and hyperbole. 
• “Twice bitten, once shy.”  I’ll admit it, I voted for George W. Bush twice.  The first time getting swept up in the evangelical fervor around him.  The second time holding out hope and almost in defiance of his detractors.  This time around I want to vote my faith, not fervor. 
• I feel a shift in my political beliefs as I am intentionally trying to view the issues through the lenses of my faith.  It is amazing how compartmentalized I have been and embarrassing as a seminary student that I have not done this before.  I still don’t know where this journey will take me or how it will influence my vote next week.  (Although, as I write this I have an inkling- uh oh, maybe I am becoming decided.)  One thing I do know for sure, the journey does not end in the voting booth next Tuesday or get tucked away for another four years.  This is something I intend to be intentional about.

Another publication gives me reassurance that I am not alone in my undecidedness and more importantly in my disenchantment with the way evangelicals have used their voice in politics in recent years.  The November 2008 Sojourners magazine has an article entitled, “The Meaning of Life”.  The authors interviewed several evangelicals across the nation and asking about what it really means to affirm life.  What the authors found is an expanded definition of what it means to be “pro-life” including poverty, environmental, peace, and health care issues.  With the abortion issue so volatile and in a deadlock for so long in our nation, these ideas are breathing new possibilities and solutions to the issue.  It is like opening a window you forgot about into stuffy and stifling room. 

I think many evangelicals are like me.  We’re tired of the same old answers, same old solutions that do not really work, the same old platform.  We are tired of being defined by one or two issues.  We are tired of the same voices speaking for us- voices that are not even speaking in their areas of expertise; we did not elect them and they do not speak for us.  We want creativity, to see the issues with fresh eyes and theologically reflective hearts.  We want to be freed from the myths that beguile Americans and see clearly what can be done in our society by those who have been romanced by Christ and His Kingdom.  I feel like I may be a little late in moving to this viewpoint, but at least I haven’t missed the boat.