In my 40 years (yikes!) this is the most palpable election I've ever experienced. I definitely think it's because the stakes are so high now - with the housing collapse, high gas prices, layoffs, and the continuing war in Iraq. We have a huge mess to clean up and it's going to take time to turn the ship around.

From the start of his campaign, I feel Barack Obama has proven that his eyes are on repairing the country and not on getting accolades for his own gain. Case in point: he chose to work on revitalizing poor neighborhoods in Chicago after graduating Harvard, when he really could've gotten a high-powered, prestige job. He speaks to the real problems that people face on a daily basis in a personal way. He doesn't belittle, pander, or manipulate his message for something that "sounds good" or what he thinks people want to hear. The stakes are too high for that. In a phrase, he's a grown-up. He's not going to stomp his foot and take all the toys unless he gets his way. We're facing major, real-life problems, and we don't have time for nonsense.

However, McCain and his team are choosing to play the same old nasty game - a game that not only goes nowhere but turns off a huge amount of people. It's easy to just play the "mean" card. That requires hardly any thought. It takes a bigger, and I think more secure person, to see our country and our problems in a broader context. Have you ever wondered about the Republican continual outcry of higher taxes? If that's the priority argument, especially with all of the major problems we're facing now, don't you think that's a bit selfish? You know, when I was about 8 my sister explained the party differences to me this way: she said that Republicans were more for the rich and Democrats were more for the poor. She said she was putting it in simple, generalistic terms, but when you really get down to it, she was on the mark.

What this election has made crystal clear to me is how black and white some view life, and how this can make for ignorance. Now mind you, I'm not one who believes that everything is relative and that there are no absolutes, however, much of life falls into the gray area, whether you like it or not. Take Palin's daughter. Republicans have long stood on the platform of conservative family upbringing, but this still happened. Life happens. It's almost as if they can't or don't want to grapple with the complexities of life so they condense everything into simple, black and white boxes. If it doesn't fit somewhere, it doesn't have to be dealt with. You either like it or hate it - there's no in-between. It's almost a Stepford-like utopia where all the other countries just go away and we're celebrating with our guns and American flags...oh, and everyone is rich, well-educated, and has no problems.

Another huge difference I see between Democrats and Republicans is their worldview. We share a planet with almost 200 other countries, most of whom want the same things we do and have every much of a right to a good life. However, it seems that the conservative viewpoint is again terribly ethnocentric - that it's a "fact" that we're the "best" country in the world. According to whom?

Don't you think that stomping across the world like a Godzilla for over a century would just possibly annoy some folks? Why do we think we have the inherent right? What makes it OK for us to be king of the mountain and not Bangladesh or Sweden or Peru? This type of bully viewpoint does not serve us at all and makes it hypocritcal for us to still try and stand on a platform of justice and freedom. After a while, the downtrodden revolt. I digress, but you get my point. It's just one facet of the conservative ideology that I intensely disagree with - an ideology that is immature at best and destructive at worst. I didn't see any airplanes flying into downtown Stockholm buildings. Don't misunderstand me here, I'm not saying we deserved the attacks on 9/11. That was an incredibly horrible event. I'm pointing out that if our foreign policy is purely selfish, uses threats, and condemns other countries for the same wrongs that we do, honestly, what leg do we have to stand on in telling the world what to do?

And finally, when did the Republican party corner the market on religion and Christianity? For the record, I'm a Christian, I guess you'd say "born again" ever since finding Yokohama Christian Center in Japan in 1995. This election has really shown me how foolish, wasteful and shameful it is to align Christianity or any other religion to a political party. By doing this, the church has automatically alienated half of the country (or at least a sizeable amount). Moreover, their platform has hinged mostly on two issues: gay marriage and abortion. It's practically left all other issues of helping the needy aside. And if you're not 100% on board, you may be seen as compromising or worse, 'liberal', with all of the lovely connotations to go with it.

There truly is no room for moderation. Case in point: I'm a Christian but I agree more with Democratic views, but I also can't stand the ACLU, and I currently work in conservation. I like contemporary Christian music and also Michael Moore's films. Sounds conflicting, doesn't it? It's too bad that I don't fit neatly into either side. I feel like a double-agent at times...all because of the way our country has slammed people into stereotypes and because of the sometimes extreme behavior of some which has resulted in the incredibly tainted and loaded words like "liberal", "feminist", "Christian", "environmentalist", "conservative". I know a woman who started a "green" group at her church to start recycling, etc. and she was branded a Communist. I kid you not.

This is huge people. Jesus admonished the religious leaders of the day for being self-righteous and prideful - looking holy on the outside but being "unclean" on the inside with hate and judgement. He also shocked the people by declaring forgiveness for BOTH the Jews AND the Gentiles. His love was for everyone. This completely changed the game and shook up the establishment. What does this mean for us?

It seems to me that it shows that Christianity isn't "owned" by Republicans or Democrats for that matter. Moreover, if a particular party adopts Christianity as their own in order to appear "better" or more moral, and uses it to disparage others, how can they honestly, effectively reach others for Christ? What kind of example is that? Do you think He'd be pleased with the meanness, attacks, sarcasm, and mockery? Would Jesus align himself to a political party today? I don't think so. It would be completely counter to His mission.

There is light at the end of the tunnel however. Thankfully, a growing number of pastors are collaborating to try and get political devisiveness out of the church and to address environmental issues. Pastors Joel Hunter and Ken Wilson of the Ann Arbor, MI Vineyard Church are two that are making terrific strides. There are also a number of books out there on how the conservative agenda has divided the church and damaged the faith. Randall Balmer and Robin Meyers are two such authors.

It's amazing how broad-reaching this election is and the lessons to be learned from it. And it's not over yet.