Well, it is less than a month until the next round of presidential elections and I find that I have so far successfully put off learning anything about our candidates.  I’m not proud of this reality of mine, nor am I exactly enthusiastic to right the situation.

I’m not entirely sure what accounts for my serious aversion to understanding politics.  Maybe it is my passionate pursuit of truth that steers me away from truth-bending banter between candidates; maybe it is that I never really grew up around heated political debates; maybe it is because I had a less than enlightening experience in a ninth grade political science class.  In the end however, I cannot escape a conviction that I have been given rare privilege and I am called to be a diligent steward of such a gift.

I feel the weight of the reality that I am a woman who has the freedom to participate in the political decisions of our nation.  How many women around the globe wouldn’t love such a luxury?  Even as I do my research tonight to learn about each candidates’ platform, I am learning more and more about how women are still fighting an uphill battle for equality.  I used to think it didn’t really matter, that I was pretty happy with my life and I didn’t need to get involved with politics, or women’s issues, or taking a position on education or healthcare.  But then somewhere along the way, a girl became a woman and everything started to matter.

I work with clients in the school and I see the decrepit state our public school system is in; I am a master’s level professional earning less than some men who barely have a high school education; I am a mental health professional whose very calling in life is governed by states’ legislature–as are the very programs that help my clients receive the resources they need to keep their families together and healthy.

Everything around me is effected by politics–even the air I breathe.  I have a responsibility to myself and to the generations next to no longer remain ignorant.

But where do I start?  I checked out some websites tonight: National Platforms and Vote Gopher.  Both sites had each candidates positions on major issues; Vote Gopher showed the comparison side by side.  I finished reading with no less clarity on the issue.  When I read each candidate’s platforms separately, I kept thinking, “Oh that sounds good,” or “Yeah, I’m all for that!”  And each one seemed to sound positive and helpful.  When I read the side-by-side comparison, I found myself leaning more in one direction than the other.  But even so, I found I had to do even more research to understand the bill or act is that each candidate is either for or against.

It is a fact that we live in difficult and complicated times politically–both globally and domestically.  The older I get and the more aware I become of what is going on in the world the more tempted I am to flee to some unmapped island and live the life of a hermitess blissfully ensconced in ignorance.  As delightful as this may sound, several things prevent me: my conviction that God has placed me on this globe at this time as a woman with all of the giftings and passions I possess for a specific reason and purpose and my first responsibility is to be obedient to His call; my work as a therapist–especially one who has a particular heart for kids in the foster and justice systems–demands my diligence to be an informed participant in the legislation that not only mandates my position but the programs that help or hinder my clients; my conviction that while so many women continue to be silenced around the globe, I have a rare opportunity to use my voice for change, for healing and for hope and to remain silent and ignorant when given the chance is to insult my sisters around the world.

I confess freely that I am still painfully ignorant and I ask for grace as I work to educate myself about the things which matter not only to me, but to the generations that come after me–the generations starring up at me with wide and wondering eyes.