Scott Kamps
It’s barely May and I’m already sick and tired of hearing about the presidential election – especially since everybody already knows who they plan to vote for!
And most election talk is sensationalized and overly dramatic.
In September of 2016, Michael Anton wrote an essay titled, “The Flight 93 Election.”
He begins, “2016 is the Flight 93 election: charge the cockpit or you die.”
The basic idea was to illustrate the desperation that conservatives needed to have looking at a potential Hillary presidency – a desperation that should compel them to vote for Trump.
While I understand the seriousness of elections –elections really do have consequences – and felt like a Hillary presidency would have been like driving off a cliff, it would do us good to keep things in perspective.
As we approach the 2024 election, we’re now hearing similar hyped up comments from all quarters.
Trump recently said, “If we don’t win this election, I don’t think you’re going to have another election in this country.”
He communicates similar sentiments frequently.
According to Biden, democracy was on the ballot in 2022 (see his Nov. 2, 2022 speech); in another speech given Jan. 5, 2024, Biden declared that this year, “Democracy is on the ballot; your freedom is on the ballot!”
There we have it from both sides: No more elections if Biden wins; no democracy/freedom if Trump wins.
The reality is both men are politicians appealing to our fears and our false sense of security in modern politics – on both the left and right. The appeal is their promise of human mastery over the social world by mobilizing mass support for political action – bringing us peace, security and hope for the future.
And it’s in our power as voters to bring in this change: “Yes, we can!”
Except, you can’t. Neither can I. The things I listed (peace, security and hope) are religious aspirations; they are things human beings should look to God for. When people believe political progress will solve the problems of the human condition, they will live like there is no God – whether we go to church or not. While modern ideologies are new, the root problem is not new at all: God addressed fallen man’s proclivity to forget Him in Deuteronomy 8:11-14. A good test to see how worldly you are is to consider whether you are more passionate in your prayer life or your political life: God’s Word is very clear which one is more important.
True hope is found when we humbly recognize the future is secure, but isn’t under our control; therefore, we’re not finally responsible for how things will turn out.
Scott Kamps writes a bi-weekly column for The Graham Star. He can be reached via email, thestableguy@frontier.com.