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| courtesy of theindependent.com |
wälle;
ne Re'jiarung derjchem Folkj
I n the 29 Oct 2012 issue of Mennonite World Review (MWR), Berry Friesen pondered the question: If neither major candidate sufficiently reflects Christian values, why support one?
Inside his essay, he ponders not voting -- not as a return to Mennonite "quietism" or "separation from the world," but rather as a political statement. But once we, as an ethnicity or as individuals, have determined the possibility of voting or have actually voted, our participation in the democratic process would seem to co-opt us. Our decision to vote or to not vote merely reflects our general agreement with one or none of the available candidates -- to not vote is still to vote.
I would submit that the only way one could remain free to reflect a personal stance rather than a united democratically corporate stance within the larger society, would be to refrain from voting altogether. In placing ourselves "outside" of the system, Anabaptists become an "Other" that is not associated with the "system." We are then freed to express our own political perspectives and pursue personal and social policies that most conform to our individual consciences and within the general consensual guidance of the congregation. But we can only be an "other" if we are not part of the system.
