But when I got to college, and began studying politics and religion, it all started to slowly make sense to me. I didn’t buy the compassionate conservative stuff— it didn’t work. I appreciate the idea of limited government in some ways, I mean, I’m against wasteful spending. But the problem I have is that Republicans don’t actually believe in limited government—they believe in cutting programs that don’t get them votes. I didn’t all of a sudden say ‘I’m a Democrat’ but I slowly began to realize that there was a lot of injustice out there. I felt that both religion and politics had a role to play in dealing with these problems, and that the Democratic party was best equipped to tackle the problems that the church can’t on its own, especially with regards to health care.
They are a bit confused because of what’s going on—a lot of them have been told by their parents we’re in Iraq because they attacked us first. We talk about whether it’s a just war, why we should be over there. They know something should be done but they’re scared to death because they don’t think they can do anything about it. One of the things I try to tell them is that getting involved in politics, especially voting (when they’re old enough), is a way to actually change things. It’s not fair for me to say, ‘It’s gonna be alright,’ because I’m not sure what’s gonna happen.
Barrack doesn’t just co-opt evangelical language in order to appeal to the lowest common denominator of religious voters. So many politicians just say God or Jesus or the Lord and I feel like those are just code words to try for ‘I’m faithful, you should vote for me.’ At the Call to Renewal conference, he talked about doing more than just doing lip service. He presented a more nuanced understanding of religion—making religious values a part of your life. He talked about the way someone disagreed with him on abortion and how there is real room for people to disagree on fundamental matters of faith in a way that is civil and not divisive.
Here’s a picture of Dalton and his wife Stacey. They married in January.
For Dalton, Barack’s message of hope resonates on a deep level. “I tell the young people I work with that the Gospel is a message of hope and to remember at all times to be hopeful.”Dalton, who is working and paying his way through Seminary, gave ten dollars to the campaign. “It’s not a lot, but it’s what I could give considering my circumstances. I think it’s important to become involved the best way you can,” he says.Dalton was counted among the more than 40,000 of you who have given in April. Now it’s your turn. Stand up and be counted.
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