Choosing Between Obama, Romney And The Bible: How I ALMOST Made The Decision Not To Vote In This Year’s Election

October 31st, 2012 - By Jazmine Denise Rogers

I have a confession. A confession that would make my sixth grade history teacher cringe. A confession that would probably  make black suffrage advocates shake their heads in dismay.  I almost drank the Kool-aid. I almost decided not to vote in the upcoming election. Hear me out.

Prior to news breaking alleging that many black pastors were advising their congregations to opt out of voting in this election, I hadn’t really put much thought into the candidate that I would be voting for. As a young adult and a student, it just seemed to me that President Obama had my best interests in mind and at heart, and that was who I had planned on voting for. However, my firm stance was shaken as I made my rounds one morning, scanning the web to see headline after headline implying that black pastors were advising their congregations not to vote in the upcoming election because of Obama’s advocacy for issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion. Apparently, deciding between Obama and Romney was like choosing between two evils. Call me naive, but I had never really even taken those factors into consideration. Yes, his stance on the subjects directly conflict with basic biblical principles; however, I never stopped to make the correlation between my presidential candidate of choice and my religious beliefs prior to reading these headlines.

But the more I thought about it, the more conflicted I felt. Would me deciding to go to the ballot box and vote for the Democratic party be a direct contradiction of my Christian beliefs? Yet the thought of voting for Mitt Romney made me absolutely sick to my stomach. Because I couldn’t find a peace of mind with either men at the time, I decided that I would do like the other Christians mentioned in those articles I found online–I had decided not to vote. I knew it wasn’t the best choice, but what was I to do? Considering how much Christians endorsed President Obama in the fist election, comparing him to Dr. King and all, compared to the way in which they are at odds with him now was like watching two parents fighting and being unsure of which side to choose. So, I made up my mind to do what most children would do when caught in the middle of two feuding parents. Stand there and do nothing.

All was well in the world again. I didn’t have to choose between my Christian upbringing and my political party of choice. “May the best man win,” I thought as I made myself comfortable, nestling in the gray area instead of choosing sides. That is until one day, while on Twitter, I came on across this image of a man hanging from a streetlight post with a sign on his chest that read: This N-Word voted. I felt hot tears well up in my eyes as everything I’d ever learned about the Civil Rights Movement and the fight for black suffrage came rushing back to my memory. I thought of all the people who lost their lives so that I could have the right to vote. In that moment I came to my senses. Voting is a responsibility and a privilege. No one ever said that choosing between presidential candidates would be easy, but blood was literally shed so that people like you and I could be able to vote and choose. Deciding not to participate in this presidential election is a cop out that I almost took. But I am so glad that I came to my senses. While deciding between presidential candidates in this current election is a hard decision, know that someone died just so that you would have the right to make that decision. I don’t know about you, but I know where I’ll be next Tuesday…

Jazmine Denise is a freelance writer living in New York. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise

All photos are courtesy of Shutterstock

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  • lovely99

    I enjoyed this article. I understood where you coming from. Some people actually take their faith seriously. I became an undecided voter when Obama endorsed Gay marriage. I ended up voting for him bc he was the best out of what we had to choose. I think the only reason he came out was due to thats where a lot of his money comes from.

  • Rosey

    What happen to the concept of “Separation of Church and State?” This is the Founding Fathers basic principle on which our Constitution is built! Since God the Father will do the judging on that Great Day, who are we to say which man is God’s choice? What we as a Christian should be concerned with is if we did what God require of us as the master of our souls as an individual who must give in account of our deeds; such as did we do for the poor and those in need, or did we do what was best for the rich with the hope that the rich would allow a to crumb fall down to us where every man is on his own.

  • CommonSenseAintSoCommon

    Either way we are going to have a President so rather you be very dumb and sit at home that is not going to stop the process. The wrong candidate could very well just add to the problem. If one is not competent enough to separate their own personal beliefs from politics and just everyday life, I know you have to be ready to jump off a bridge, especially in America. We are too much of a melting pot for you to believe you are going to have someone that believe in everything you do. I love being an Atheist it’s the freeing thing ever. I’m able to be around anyone without blinders and am free to follow my inner righteousness and morality. People have way more strength than they give themselves credit for, but hey to each is own.

    • Yeah

      And since everyone gets their own “inner righteousness and morality”, there is no right or wrong…just differing opinions of soulless, talking apes.

  • Lovely One

    I may not vote (still undecided) but I will say this. Many people talk about the hypocrisy of Christians and how their statements do not match their actions. That being said, it is disheartening to witness many people state that someone’s faith should not dictate their vote. But shouldn’t all of our decisions be guided by the Lord…if we are in fact practicing Christians?

    For the record, I am not excited about Obama or Romney but I cannot see the “positive” in placing my faith and my God to the back burner to make any decision. Isn’t this act, the very act that makes Christians “hypocritical?”

    IJS

    • Yeah

      Fantastic comment!

  • Plumbline

    This is probably one of the most important elections in recent years……..as a christian, I will vote not for the words of a man, but his actions…………..what he supports, or doesn’t support…….do they encourage immorality, or discourage it……..do they support religious freedom, or hinder it………..but vote we must………God Bless……..

  • Ms_Sunshine9898

    Everything is not going to be perfect. There’s always gonna be a flaw somewhere, and to think otherwise and use that as an excuse not to vote for the better of the two candidates is foolish. You can’t get everything you want, but it’s better get some than none at all and then be upset when the outcome is the exact opposite of what you wanted *looking at you people who complain about GOP antics but won’t vote for Obama because he “didn’t do enough” to help black people*. . .

  • natasha

    Im sorry but the first thing that came to mind was um you do know their are like 5 or 6 presidential canidates to choose from? Obama and Romney are just popular ones. Not only that but you would have to be an idiot to not understand that the only reason politicians mention God at all is to get votes. Please get more informed about politics. I am a christian and I beleive their is a clear need for separation of church and state. Your relationship with God is just that yours, and should have no place on how a country that consist of more people that just the christians in it, is run.

    • NicPal

      Natasha question who are the other three or four candidates you can choose from. Because when you go to vote there will only be two names at the very top that you will have to choose between in the prime Presidential race? Now the races to choose which candidate will run for either the Democratic or Republican party in the primary race I’ve always understood it that there are more then one candidate. If those are the races you are referring to then fine. I’m just trying to comprehend exactly what your saying.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1604244 Raimi Nicte

        Umm there are other political parties besides democratic and republican. There is a libertarian presidential candidate (Gary Johnson) and a green party candidate (Jill Stein) to name two of the prominent few. You are also welcome to write in the name of any candidate you wish.

        • NicPal

          Ok

  • bits

    it is sooo sad that people don’t have the power to decipher reality from what is in a book that was written thousands of years ago and has entire chapters missing from it (this has been proven and plenty of documentaries on it). Many have not come to their senses and will let this crucial election pass them by without casting their vote because of their religious beliefs. not only is it naive but its very scary that there are so many irrational people in this country.

    • Ms_Sunshine9898

      faith is irrational. . . right. . .

      • bits

        no religion is irrational. faith is great!

        • Yeah

          Well, Jesus belonged to the Jewish religion and established the Christian religion. If He was okay with religion, then so am I.

          • bits

            no where in the bible does it say that jesus “established” the christian religion. man “established” the christian religion. jesus never told anybody to be christian.

        • Yeah

          Well, our Savior was a member of the Jewish religion and established the Christian religion. If He was okay with religion then so am I.

  • get real

    “Call me naive”… Yes you are if you going to let a make believe book written by some goat herders tell you how to live your life. I mean it’s 2012 and people still wont question the nonsense that’s in the bible. Smh. Religion is the biggest scam/most divisive thing that white men have put into place (along with racism and politics. Between the three I don’t know which is worse)I’m not going to get deep but you can tell some “women aren’t equal” chauvinist white male wrote it. “women obey your man” “submit to your man” “do what your man says” “cater to your man” “greet him at the door when he comes home” “have his dinner ready when he gets home” “rub his feet in alcohol” etc. I got a little sarcastic but you see what I mean. And besides black people, there’s hundreds of who people who DIED for us to vote and this is how we repay them? By not wanting to vote because your pastor says so? A pastor that was 9x out of 10 paid off by some Republican politican to get his congregation to stay home or vote Republican? Wow.

    • bits

      yes! yes! and yes! now if everyone else could just see through the bs.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=8210721 Joy Kamille

    Happy you came to your senses and decided to share your story. I don’t fully support everything Obama has done but I am casting a vote for the best leader based on the qualifications of those in the running.

    • A

      Yes, I agree that people died so that we have the right to vote. On the other hand Christ died so that we could become christians. Choosing someone who endorses gay rights no matter what he does for the country is against God’s will. Who would you rather align yourself with God or man?

      This is in no way an endorsement for Romney.

      • Ms_Sunshine9898

        Sometimes you have to look at the big picture, and vote for the overall message instead of separate individual issues. I don’t support gay marriages or abortion, but overall I believe that Obama has a better hand on seeing to the needs of the people, and I have enough faith to believe that God that will take care of the rest. . .

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=2015378 Katrina Anderson

        I don’t know where to begin. First, not all Americans are Christians. Second, even the founding fathers of this country thought religious beliefs were a personal matter which shouldn’t be endorsed by the government. Second, the Bible has been used numerous times to persuade people to vote a certain way throughout it’s history…one of which, was to endorse slavery…another, to keep women from voting. And third, the Bible has little to say about the rights of a fetus…except to say that if a man causes a woman to miscarry during a fight, the man responsible should pay a fine to the woman’s husband (Exodus 21:22).

        So before anyone says they’re voting with the Bible, research how well that’s been played out historically. Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.

        • FAMURattler85

          Cosign 100%! Some Christians may not like what you said but it’s what everyone using the word as an excuse not to vote needs to hear. This is not a country strictly for Christians so why anyone would think it’s ok to push their religious beliefs and/or morals on another group of people if they don’t want the same done the them is beyond me. There is a simple solution to handle things one doesn’t “believe in”, and that’s don’t do it! If you don’t believe in gay marriage, don’t marry someone of the same sex. How is a gay couple affecting anyone else’s life? If you don’t believe in abortion, don’t get one! Simple as that.

  • http://www.facebook.com/amanda.browne.7165 Amanda D. Browne

    Well said.