The Weight of the “Uncommitted” Vote

America is voting in the national elections this year. This, of course, raises our awareness of what is going on in the world and how our leaders are responding. Beyond this, we have the ability to voice concerns in a real (data driven) way.

Super Tuesday – a day where many states go to the ballot box to vote in the primaries – was yesterday and some things were unsurprising. Both Trump and Biden received the most electoral votes in their respective political parties. The small opposition candidates didn’t put up much of a fight. However, on the Democratic side, one outlier proved to be a thorn in the side of the establishment.

Uncommitted

In protest to the ongoing Israeli support from the United States, Michigan organizers pushed those who were upset with Biden’s actions to vote “uncommitted”. This protest vote in Michigan gained over 13% of the vote in their primaries a couple weeks ago. Throughout the primaries and caucuses on Super Tuesday, there was a range of 3% voting ‘no preference’ to almost 18% voting in opposition to the policies of the current administration. In Minnesota, ‘Uncommitted’ was voted over their own representative.

It’s not surprising that so many people are feeling the need to protest this conflict. After over 150 days of violence, the world is tired. We see many other countries removing support and making it more difficult for Israel to continue their war. The news is flooded with images and videos of the destruction of Gaza and the people of the region. So why hasn’t America changed it’s course?

Theological Underpinnings

America is a deeply Fundamentalist country. If we had a State Church, it would be Christian Fundamentalism. You can see it in the rise of Christian Nationalism – a form of Christianity and Patriotism that derives from a literalistic reading of the Bible. Over the last couple decades, the influence of this Fundamentalism has permeated the political – just look at the Seven Mountain Mandate.

While there is (of course) economic and political reasons why the U.S. continues to back Israel without question, there is a strong Christian Fundamentalist reason as well. The dominant form of Christianity in America ascribes to rapture theology. The 10,000 foot view of this idea is that – at some point in the future – Jesus will take the Christians out of the world and allow those who are left to destroy themselves. Then – Jesus returns to finish the destruction and start a new kingdom.

Usually there is a lot of steps before this will happen. One of which is unrest in the Middle East. In the popularized Evangelical reading, there will be a peace treaty between Israel and the (then hidden) Antichrist. There has been a lot of speculation over the years on who could be the Antichrist. While this isn’t really the point, it does tell us that there needs to be unrest in the Middle East for this to happen, which leads to accelerationism by some extremist in the Fundamentalist camp.

What Now?

If your theology doesn’t lead to loving your neighbor and loving God, it’s time to take a look at what you believe. The worst part of what’s happening in Gaza is that decisions are being made by people who aren’t affected. It’s regular people – citizens in Gaza and Israel – who are paying the price for the political moves.

You can support a safe place for Israel. I want to see a future where Israel has a home. However, I also see Jesus telling us that there is enough for both Israel and Palestine. We have enough for everyone to come to the table. How do we get this message across to our politicians? Maybe this “Uncommitted” vote will help move the conversation. We need a better, more Christlike way forward, to stop the suffering happening in Gaza.