Today my wonderful wife Linda and I delivered our party’s voter information and candidates’ literature in clear plastic bags to two long streets in our precinct in Wauconda, Illinois. We each walked a different side of the same street. It was a sunny day, but windy and quite cool. We didn’t see a soul; well, maybe we saw one or two people coming or going in a pick-up truck, and we waved at each other. I think it helped those who might have been inside the houses to see that I had a big red and white name tag identifying me as a bona fide carrier of political information. We covered these two long streets in precinct 337 in 1 hour and 15 minutes, delivering information to approximately 75 of the 175 Republican-voting homes in our neighborhood. We didn’t ring people’s door bells this time but just hung our bag of info on their doorknobs, and I think most people were glad not to have to go to the door to discuss politics on President’s Day, a national holiday. We weren’t bitten by any dogs or yelled at. We were careful to not walk across yards, but walked up driveways or sidewalks, showing common courtesy and respect to homeowners. Included in the plastic bag was my 8 1/2″ x 11″ “information sheet,” the text printed on both sides on bright yellow paper. It was impossible to miss. We just hope that the packets get into the houses and don’t end up simply littering the neighborhood. We made it back home from our “walk” to pick up Linda’s mom (93) on time , and, to cap it off, she cast her vote for her choices of candidates on the mail-in ballot she applied for on-line (with our help)and she received. She seemed glad to finish it and even recommended I visit her neighbor to see if she might want to get a mail-in ballot sent to her. All in all, it was a productive morning “spiritually and politically,” and physically invigorating.
Now it is about 5 days later and we and I have done more of the same to the entire precinct 337 neighborhood in Wauconda, IL. That’s 175 homes with my yellow sheet of information hanging from people’s doorknobs. It has taken some courage and foolishness on my part to do this and to run for precinct 337 committeeman. (Yes, I’m on the ballot, and what have I gotten myself into?) The big question is how to connect with the people in my precinct who have lost hope in themselves or in the political process or in our country’s government leaders. We are a very isolated people. I am encouraged that, one by one, little by little, I see glimmers of hope in the people I talk to and with. I believe it will be a long process of “obedience in the same direction.” How can people once again believe in America or in the God of the Bible? How does Christianity relate to politics in America and in the world and what would Jesus do? Do we believe that God is in control of our lives and our country? Chuck Colson says freedom of religion is the practice of living our faith in public, not just in having freedom of worship on Sundays. That’s not what most Christians are comfortable in doing. We want our privacy. The great challenge is to stand up for the truth (in public and in private) in various areas of service, and to trust God for the outcome. I believe prayer to God for ourselves and our country is a big part of the answer. We (I) then need to stand up for the truth in this world and sometimes that is not a comfortable process or an easy thing to figure out or to do.
Sincerely, a new imperfect blogger,
Mike Bailey,
michaelrbailey315 