Voices Without a Vote and Political Idolatry

I don’t know about you but I am really excited about tomorrow primarily because no matter what the outcome, the election will be over. Nick Rynerson recently wrote a feature on why he isn’t going to be voting this election and while I disagree with the premise behind that article, videos like the one below illustrate Nick’s point about the pervasiveness of political idolatry in our country.

This video was made by im2moro.org, a group committed to “returning our nation back to constitutional principles.” The video has received over 1.3 million views on YouTube so far, and was shown in some evangelical churches this previous Sunday. The group claims no party affiliation but most anyone who watches the video will be able to figure out within 30 seconds that its goal is to get people to vote Republican tomorrow.

I don’t have a problem with political videos designed to get people to vote for a particular candidate. I do, however, have a problem with such videos being shown in churches and with voting being conflated with one’s Christian duty, as this video insinuates.

While the video seems designed to scare people into voting for conservative candidates by making a lot of unsubstantiated claims about their liberal opponents’ agenda (e.g., “I don’t need the government giving guns to Mexican drug lords,” “I don’t need the government forcing me to drive an electric car”), that is not the most troubling thing about it. The most troubling aspect of the video is the way it attempts to frame this election:

It’s the most important, most critical [election].

It’s do or die.

It’s now or never.

November 2012, my future hangs in the balance.

By all means, go out and vote your conscience tomorrow. Vote for the people you think will best lead our country. But given that this video was shown in evangelical churches on Sunday morning, I find it necessary to be crystal clear about one point that this video gets horribly wrong. It is not “do or die.”

When the results come in tomorrow, no matter what they may be, Jesus will still be king. The reality of Christ’s kingdom having come to earth and being built on the foundation of the gospel is the source of our hope — not politicians, not government.

I hope you vote wisely and thoughtfully tomorrow, but please, don’t buy into the idolatrous lie that your future hangs in the balance. If you are a Christian, I would encourage you, regardless of the results of tomorrow’s election, to be gracious, kind, and humble. Show the world that your hope is not in this life or in the things of this world, but in the One who offered Himself on the cross as a ransom for sinners.