Published: April 26, 2008 06:34 pm            

VASICEK: Tokenism, slips, and real issues

It doesn’t matter if the president can spell correctly.

I am among those who believe character counts; I also believe every person is a sinner and has evil inclinations that need to be kept in check. I am convinced every person makes mistakes, and I know we do not always say what we mean.

As I watch the interaction between the three primary candidates for president, I also observe the demanding, unrealistically perfectionist, and trite expectations of the media. Sometimes I am like the man who goes, “Ha, ha, ha. Clonk!” You know, he is laughing his head off. It is hilarious.

The president of United States (whoever he or she is) is the most powerful and influential person in the world. Does it really matter if he spells “potato” the Canadian way, “potatoe?” If Dan Quayle was a dunce for this reason, I am worse. My spell check program has already corrected three spelling errors, and I’ve only begun!

John McCain slips up and says, “Shea” instead of “Sunni” Muslims (or was it the other way around?). He knows the difference, but merely used the wrong term. As a public speaker, I probably do this regularly.

Obama makes his “elitist” statements. Let’s face it: someone who rises from a single parent family and graduates from Harvard is going to take pride in his accomplishment. Hillary Clinton and her tall tale about her danger in Bosnia is Hillary-ious.

Although every top-level politician probably ‘distresses’ the truth (like leaving out information that might counterbalance one’s arguments, for example), at least we must agree that neither Bill nor Hillary are good at telling fibs.

I am not surprised at the lies (sorry, but I expect this from high level politicians); I am surprised how easily they are caught in them.

But goof ups—we all make them. Let me share a couple of mine. I send out an email “update” to the folks in our church every week. One time I forgot the letter “o” in the first word. So it read, “Hell, this is Pastor Ed.” Nice way for a pastor to greet his flock, isn’t it?

Back in the early ’90s, I made one of my most embarrassing blunders. I was preaching a biographical sermon on the biblical character John Mark (author of Mark’s Gospel). Here is what I said, “We meet John Mark as the young man mentioned in Mark’s Gospel who had nothing on but a sheet. When they arrested Jesus, a soldier grabbed Mark by his sheet tunic, so he fled away naked.” So far so good. But note what I said next: “This is our first exposure to John Mark.”

The congregation erupted into roaring laughter. I turned beet-red with embarrassment. I didn’t mean it that way! If the media was after me, there goes my credibility. I could be labeled as the pastor who greets people with “hell” and tells off-color stories from the pulpit.

Returning our focus to the political arena, I have some problems about making mountains out of molehills. It IS entertaining, I admit. Sort of like a variation on “American Idol;” we can call it, “American Gaffer.” When we take these lip slips too seriously, we are exchanging tokenism for the real issues. Whoever gets elected will be imperfect. Make no bones about it. Why are we surprised?

We have significant issues to examine, like stances on abortion, gay marriage, the war in Iraq, or how to address our economic downturn. The real questions are: “Do the candidates take stands with which I agree? Do they have realistic plans? Do their plans have a chance to get through congress? Are they speaking idealistically or practically?

Talk is cheap. Some of our best leaders have said some of the goofiest things. Take FDR’s famous words: “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” With the Great Depression, the rise of Fascism – there was plenty to fear! Millions of Americans would soon die in World War II. Denial is never a good quality.

Whether a president can spell really doesn’t matter. His ability to phrase himself well does not change reality. Whether he or she gets tangled up with words really doesn’t matter.

Ed Vasicek is pastor of Highland Park Church and a weekly contributor to the Kokomo Tribune.

        

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