Beware The Danger Of Keeping Candidate Faith On The Down-Low
Much ado is being made over Governor Romney’s recent address about his Mormon faith. And, much more ado should be made.
The American people are perceived as being so politically saavy that the faith of a candidate for President, or a candidate for any other public office, has little or no bearing on their electability. Platform and politics over prayer. Spin over spirit. Facts over faith. The voting public needs to reconsider its position in the next round of elections, especially as it votes for the next Commander-In-Chief of the United States. The vote should not be political, the vote should be prayerful which means it will require faith.
If Governor Romney’s potential Presidency will not be influenced by his faith then, what will it be influenced by? Every person has faith at his or her core, even if it is anti-faith. Everyone’s lifestyle has its basis in some personal belief system, otherwise known as faith. But one who claims a particular brand of faith privately, who is not also willing to confess it publicly, either to their glory or to their shame, must give an account of exactly what belief system will be employed in the rapid-fire mode of Presidential decision-making should they be elected.
What a candidate knows, as defined by education, experience, and intellect, is important. But, a candidate’s beliefs, as evidenced by their faith, shapes the value system which will serve as the foundation for their ability to govern. Every candidate should have a basic level of integrity within their composition that demands singularity of purpose. Any candidate who implies that their choices will not be influenced by their faith is deceived about what faith really is, and as a result, not worthy of a vote. According to the old adage, stand for something or fall for anything. It is unacceptable for candidates to have a private life of faith and a public life as a political candidate. Inevitably, what is practiced and believed in secret, will come to light. A candidate’s personal belief system will be tested and demonstrated on a national level once they are elected. Therefore, every candidate’s faith must be the foundation upon which their candidacy rests. If this is not the case, they are not fit to run the concession stand at the Friday night football game let alone a country.
The voting public deserves to know what every candidate believes. The faith question must be answered by anyone who wants to see their name up in lights in November 2008. The faith declaration must be made, honestly and openly, by every candidate. Spin-free. Why? Because candidates are not robots despite the fact that they, at times, seem to be. Candidates are human, just like the people who will be voting. No amount of compartmentalization will prevent them from ultimately responding out of their humanness; this will be particularly true in times of challenge. In the times of personal or national crisis that are certain to follow the next Presidential election, the incumbent will not persevere because of what they know or how much experience they have had. Their university, their party, and even their constituents will be unable to see them through. The only force that any candidate can and will instinctively rely upon in times of tragedy and crisis will be the force of their faith, what they believe, their ideology. Faith, then, should not be just another issue in the next Presidential election, it must be the issue that decides the next Presidential election.
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