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Today is the last day to register to vote. Please register to vote. Then vote.
In my world (Duke Div/Religion) there’s a lot of talk about not voting as an act of political witness by the church. Paid family leave is one of the myriad of places where I have a difficult time seeing how local community action or “church witness” is going to help change the situation of women like the single mom in the video I posted. Even if you don’t address paid leave on a federal level, it’s going to need to be legislated by the state. The reason: the free market system works off of greed and fear. No one is going to grant paid leave unless it is legislated (even well-meaning, family-supportive Catholic institutions like the one where I work).
This is also why I continue to bring up the demographic of the non-voters in my theological circle. The most vocal are heterosexual, middle-class, educated, white males who have no history of disenfranchisement. They also continue to allude the questions of how exactly we plan to address extremely timely issues that require resource investment on a national scale: health care, global climate change, war and paid family leave. As much as I appreciate the church’s alternative politic, I’m also interested in knowing that the most vulnerable parts of our world will be protected and cared for immediately, not when the other 90% of the church wakes up and realizes that it’s an alternative politic.
Until that day me and my people will be casting a vote in November, not as a way to shirk our local community activism or to worship at the throne of Caesar. But it’s one vehicle for change and I encourage you all to use it.
