A student in our Christian high school had just returned from a trip to Kenya, Africa, and he was asked to share his experience in an assembly with our middle school students.  While the young man did an adequate job of relaying highlights of his trip, it was weakened by one comment.  He said, "The people there all love Obama, but it's not because they like his politics. It's just 'cause he's from there."

While this did not surprise me, as the student is the son of state politician known for his extreme views, it was nonetheless troubling.  Misinformation aside (he's not 'from there'), it's a horribly arrogant, racist statement.  Was he really saying that Kenyans are so lacking in intelligence or integrity that they'd support a politician simply for his ethnicity?  In fairness, the kid was 18 when he spoke to the assembly, and he's from an environment that pushed this type of cultural-centric thinking.  But I'm afraid he's not alone.

I've heard evangelicals three times this young man's age speak as if one's eternal life was determined in the voting booth.  At its ridiculous extreme, there were all the 'Obama is the anti-Christ' rumors.  More likely, it's snide comments made from Christian to Christian implying that we all know God is a conservative Republican.  But on the Crow reservation in Montana, all the evangelical churches seemed to have a strong pro-Obama tone.  Are we to assume that Indians aren't as smart as us?  Do they vote out of selfishness or laziness, while white Christians vote with integrity and morals?  No.  The fact is, while much of white evanglicals consider abortion the primary moral issue of the day, native girls on the rez generally aren't having abortions.  They're having babies... at 15, or 16... usually without health care.  To them, health care for pregnant girls who are choosing life is the primary moral issue of the day.

This reminds me that when we waged war on Iraq, most evangelical Christians in America supported the action, but most evangelicals world-wide opposed it.  Are we reading the same Bible?  Are we supporting decisions out of our own best interest?  Is the rest of the world out of touch with God? 

Or maybe some political issues fall into the same category as the book of Romans places vegetarianism, drinking, and eating meat sacrificed to idols.  Maybe voting is not always a moral absolute, but often up to individual conscience.  What a radical idea.