Barack Obama

I sent the following letter to my local newspaper this morning:

I sit on the board of a local faith-based, not-for-profit agency. I am friendly with and like the other members of the board and, yet, I have not questioned any of them about their politics. If I were to run for public office, should I be held responsible for something one of them did in their past?

I sit in the pews of a local church with Christians who are striving to do God’s will. I know these folks well enough to know that we often don’t share political views. If I were to run for public office, should I be held responsible for something one of them said in my presence?

I am a member of a congregationally-based church, similar in governance to the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where diversity of opinion is valued as representative of the many different parts of the body of Christ. That is, we are all beloved children of God and we all have something to add to the community. None of us --including the pastor--have the one right answer to the difficult questions. When conflicts arise in our church we strive to continue loving one another and prayerfully living together as we work through our differences.

While I suspect that many of the people with whom I share the pew disagree with me, I support Sen. Barack Obama for President. I do so for many reasons but one of those reasons is because he did not disown his Christian brother simply because his Christian brother said something with which he disagreed.