A View of the Election from Lincoln...

Hello, friends!

For as long as I can remember, politics has been a passion of mine. I'm sure that Mama can confirm that at some point when I was little, I said I wanted to be President of the United States when I grew up. (NOTE: I will officially be eligible for that office in 2020. =0).) My degree is in Political Science, and before I signed on with InterVarsity, I had a job offer as a congressional aide in Missouri's first district, held by the honorable William "Lacy" Clay. Politics is part of my life-blood and this election season was no different. In fact, I actually spent my election day working as an election judge for Boone County, MO. I helped set up the polling place at 4:30am, worked until 7 checking in voters, and helped tear down the polling place and count the votes until 8:30pm that night.

Wednesday, to say the least, was unexpected and surreal. I have lots of thoughts about the election, about the candidates, and what Tuesday says about our country as a whole. I considered using this space to articulate those thoughts but decided instead to share about my day at Lincoln yesterday.

I normally go to Lincoln on Wednesdays, so this was nothing new. If I'm not out with a proxe station, I'm inside the cafeteria, talking to students and trying to insert Jesus into the conversation as much as possible. Lincoln is a historically Black University so I knew going into the cafeteria that there would be some processing that would need to happen. The following experiences really happened. I post them here because while we can argue politics and strategy all day long, we cannot argue with experiences. These are things that people are really feeling. You may disagree with their feelings but you cannot say they aren't real.

1) A Full Prayer Box. I normally put the prayer box outside the cafeteria every week I'm there. It's just a little brown box that says "FREE PRAYER" on it with some cards and a pen. Every week, I'll get between 8-12 cards. The requests range from the specific ("Please heal my mother's cancer") to the general ("LORD, help me") with all points in between. Most don't put their names and that's OK. Yesterday, when I went to go check on the prayer box, it was jammed packed, and more than one person wanted me to pray for our country.

2) "Is Trump the Anti-Christ?". When I got into the cafeteria, I went to fill up my water bottle and one of the food service workers (a middle-aged White woman), asked me what I thought of the election. When I told her that I was surprised, she asked me if I thought Trump was the Anti-Christ. I told her I didn't think so, but I could be wrong, but I hope I'm not.

3) The Alpha Comes to Talk. Alpha Phi Alpha is one of the fraternities on campus. As I was sitting with a student, eating lunch, one of the Alphas pulls up a chair right across from me, and says that he needs to talk about the election. We talk for about 20 minutes about his thoughts, fears, frustrations, and hopes moving forward.

4) Voting Your Values. When I'm at Lincoln, I usually connect with a local pastor who leads a church on campus. We have had great partnerships and one of the IV students attends his church. As we were eating lunch, he told me about the series he just finished at church about Voting Your Values. We had a great conversation with his students (who joined us around the table) about how neither party or platform aligns perfectly with what Jesus taught.

There are so many things that I can glean from a really rich and full day at Lincoln. This election rocked the campus in a profound way. I've NEVER had people come up to me before and want to talk. This election is what did that. I've NEVER had so many prayer requests. I've NEVER had such in depth conversations about politics. As I listened to these students, read their prayer requests, tried to help them process, and generally tried to figure out my own feelings, I kept coming back to this thought:

Politics isn't a game. It's real life. These students are really scared. They are really hurt. They legitimately don't feel like the rest of the country cares about them. They want to know how a man who can say the things that he has said and do the things that he is done, can be trusted to be "for them." I don't know how many people who voted for Trump had conversations with people of color about their vote but my guess is that many didn't. I believe that a few more conversations like the ones that I had at Lincoln may have changed a few minds. Maybe it wouldn't have done anything. I don't know.

Voting for Trump or for Clinton does not make you more or less of a Christian. Voters have their reasons and everyone has the right to vote. You make your decisions. My one request is this: if you voted for Trump and are now happy that we will be the next president, please think of Lincoln students before you fire off that Facebook status or tweet. Remember that politics isn't sports and people are legitimately dismayed and afraid. Remember that empathy is the only thing that will lead to a healing of the deep divisions in our country.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam