Jesus is My Co-Voter

[cleanhippie]

Why do you suppose we have the secret ballot?

The answer is something most of us understand instinctively. In the one vital moment when a citizen gets to express his/her own individual political opinion, no one – not mom and dad, not your wife or husband, not your boss, not the local sheriff, not stern-faced community or union leaders, not your well-meaning neighbor – gets to loom over your shoulder and help you vote “right.”

The principle is enshrined in election law all over the world. Here in the U.S., various measures prevent overt campaigning within a certain distance – as much as 300 feet in some places, the length of a football field – of the polling place. Not only can you not stand outside the door and hector people entering, in many places you can’t even wear your own quiet campaign buttons as you go in to vote.

It’s really an issue of freedom, isn’t it? On the theory that every woman and man has the right to wrestle with their own political conscience and vote their heartfelt private values, we protect from outside influence those final moments prior to voting.

Except when we don’t.

I have a postcard on my desk telling me there’s a county primary election on September 13. Among other details, the card reminds me of where I vote. In a few days I will be required, once again, to enter the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in order to cast my ballot.

--snip--

One thing’s for sure: If you believe, in any measure at all, that the Almighty Creator of the Universe is looking over your shoulder as you make such decisions, it HAS TO affect your vote.

--snip--

And I think the practice is out of line and should be stopped.

Surely each voting district has value-neutral places – such as, in my case, a YMCA only a mile away from Good Shepherd Lutheran, or a public school even closer, plus a nearby public library and town hall – where citizens of all faith traditions, and no faith at all, can be free of the intrusively goddy influences looming over us as we enter the voting booth.

Hmm. On the other hand, since I’m REQUIRED to go to this church to vote … I wonder what would happen if I showed up in this:



http://freethoughtblogs.com/bluecollaratheist/2011/09/03/jesus-is-my-co-voter/

[rrneck]

1. k&r nt