Let’s take our cue from the U.S. elections: change equals hope

By Joe Couto and ChristianWeek | March 1, 2008

To truly understand and appreciate the current presidential nomination races in the United States, it helps to go to the U.S. and talk to ordinary Americans. The main theme of the races is "change," which seems to reflect the near anguish of Americans for a new course when it comes to their national politics. Canadians would do well to listen.

"Change" can mean a lot of things to different people. I recently had the opportunity to do a walk through at several malls in Baltimore, a unique city in the U.S. largely because of its location between Washington and New York City.

When I mentioned "change" to store clerks, shoppers, and even the very nice police officer who asked me why I was button-holing people in the mall, the response was usually immediate and emphatic: after eight years of George W. Bush, it's time for a clean break from what is seen by all sides of the American political spectrum as a frustrating, if not a failed, presidency.

Some of the people who identified themselves as Republicans were disappointed that Bush has played to the social conservatism of his party but not quite delivered. While this seems to be a bit of a fallacy (Bush has been strong on issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion), this likely reflects the fact that for such Republicans, not enough has been done to "save America" from its moral downslide.

Other Republicans seemed to want someone like Arizona senator John McCain because (a) he is a "different" type of Republican, and (b) he represents the best chance to beat the Democratic candidates, New York senator Hilary Clinton or Illinois senator Barack Obama.

Democrats, on the other hand, see "change" as both a chance to make history (the first female or black president) and an opportunity to move the country away from a path that seems to only lead to war and the climate of fear fostered by the war on terrorism while America falls apart at the seams.

It's funny that such an open-ended idea such as change can offer hope to both Republicans and Democrats. Many people fear change, but in the U.S. political context, change means a chance to pull away from what's staring America in the face: an un-winnable war in Iraq, a likely nasty recession, a crisis in the education and health care systems, etc.

It's also ironic-and just a little disturbing-that the need for change isn't coming from the one constituency where it should: evangelicals and those Christian "family values" types that are desperate to battle what they see as the drift in their society toward godlessness and a lack of fundamental values.

On the Democrats' side, both Clinton and Obama are presumably anathema to evangelicals, who represent some 30 per cent of the American population, for their liberal views on everything from homosexuality to social welfare. Yet, it seems that even ordinary evangelicals (especially blacks and hispanics) have decided that neither democratic senator is the Beast. Obama, in particular, seems to be riding a wave for change and inspiring a new belief that public service can offer hope for a better life for the millions of Americans who've been left behind under the Bush presidency.

McCain, the Republican nominee, is equally distrusted by evangelical leaders, so much so that they and some of their followers have backed no-hope Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee-a former Baptist preacher-to no effect. McCain's softer, gentler conservatism has won over even conservative evangelicals who prefer him to either democratic candidate.

Whatever the outcome of the election, what I was impressed by during my foray to Baltimore is the hope that these nomination battles have produced. I have always believed that, as Christians, our faith is infused with change. The hope found in Jesus Christ is all about change-the changing of my life when I give myself to Christ, the change in my family when we put Jesus first, the change in our community and our country when Christians believe that they can be agents for good by being agents for change.

It should disturb us when Canadians generally see our own political system as being anything but cynical-a system from top to bottom that sucks out hope from our bones because all our political leaders aren't really interested in changing our world.

Add to that an unaccountable judicial system and mainstream media that is either comfortable with the status quo or out of touch with real people, and is it any wonder Canadians can be excused for their cynicism?

Fundamentally, change equals hope. Let's hope that some white knight-our own McCain or Obama-surfaces in Canada. Maybe then young people, new Canadians and people who've simply lost faith in our democracy may get excited again.