I’m listening to the radio, waiting for the election results. It looks like another Conseravative government. I asked a Christian man today what the main factor is that decides his vote; he’s a stalwart supporter of the Coservatives, as are most Christians around here. It seems that the Tories are the Christian party, just like the Republicans in the U.S. The man answered that it’s because of the values of the party, since, as he says, their values are mostly Christian values.

I wish people would stop saying that. It’s not that the Conservatives have necessarily poor values, or that I think that a Conservative vote is a bad choice. There is a lot of good that they have to offer our country. For most Christians, though, our votes go to the Tories by default, because voting otherwise is unchristian. And what are the issues for the majority of these people? Homosexuality and abortion. For real. Last time I checked, true religion was about looking after the widow and orphan – the oppressed and disadvantaged. As for the issues, the Conservatives’ official stand on abortion is that they won’t bring it up. Bringing it up splits votes, and it’s not worth bringing up. Very Christian. And giving gay people rights? If Christians are really concerned about preserving “the sanctity of marriage,” we should lead by example, not by legislation. We forget that this is not a Christian nation, and dictating morals to non-Christian people doesn’t seem right to me.

A Conservative government is a great choice for people who are middle class, and can more or less take care of themselves. Shouldn’t those who can easily take care of themselves look to how they can take care of people who can’t?  I know that churches do some of that, but shouldn’t we be happy to pay taxes for social programs and environmentally friendly incentives? And yes, taking care of the earth is a Christian duty, not an option we consider when the economy is looking good.

I know that the issues are much more complex, and the party platforms actually don’t look very different from one another for this 2008 election. I’m just focusing on a certain trend that bothers me quite a lot. Christians are supposed to stand for love and peace and justice, not just against some nearly non-issues. Am I right?