i was reading the chicago sun-times this morning over a short-stack of the world’s greatest pancakes at salt-n-pepper diner, and came across an interesting article. i’m a somewhat politically interested person, so i was immediately drawn to an article about the recent senatorial race in illinois between barack obama and alan keyes. i’ve followed this particular race closer than most because i have been very impressed with barack obama. from the moment i first heard him speak, he struck me as an intelligent, principled man who cares deeply for his family. all of these qualities are important to me when picking a political leader. his demeanor stood in sharp contrast with that of his opponent, alan keyes. mr. keyes talked a great deal about character throughout the campaign. in fact, the entire article i read this morning was about how mr. keyes would not call and congratulate mr obama for winning the seat in the senate, because he believed that mr obama’s political agenda would only lead to the further moral decay of our society. one could argue whether any senator truly has the power to govern the morality of a culture, but that’s a completely different blog for another day.
the most amusing point of contention in the senatorial race happened about 3 weeks ago. both during their televised debate and in a news interview, alan keyes stated that, “jesus wouldn’t vote for barack obama. he would vote for alan keyes.” this statement begs the question: h.w.j.v.? how would jesus vote? if only i’d thought of this sooner i could have mass-produced bracelets that could have been worn to the poles last tuesday, and christians everywhere would have been reminded to vote correctly. [please read the above sentence with a moderate tone of sarcasm to accomplish the writer’s intent.]
i’m tempted to launch into a few more paragraphs outlining why jesus wouldn’t have voted for alan keyes, or even if he would have voted at all, but that too is for another day. i will say this: to assume that you are worthy of leading jesus, and of receiving his vote, could suggest a lack of true understanding of who jesus is. if you read through the new testament of the bible you actually find that jesus spent his time with people who didn’t think themselves worthy of his unfailing belief in them. people who would have never expected his vote and who were amazed by his love. and, upon receiving that love, they would have never thought themselves “more holy or deserving” than any other person. because, compared with him, no one measured up.
so, h.w.j.v.? all i know is that he probably wouldn’t vote for me.
i was emailing a friend today who is currently living in japan. he was writing about an upcoming adventure he’s taking into the mountains of japan where wild monkeys roam. he was considering taking bananas to feed them. this line of thought caused me to wonder, “do monkeys actually like bananas?” what if all along monkeys really wanted green beans and eggplant? maybe that’s why they swing from trees yelling. they long for the day that their bananas are replaced with mixed vegetables. it would undermine every monkey characterization ever expressed. and, if monkeys don’t like bananas, then dogs might not really like bones, birds might not really like seeds, and babies might not really like “baby talk”. the world we think is true could be a total lie. 
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