Elections are going on here in Texas and around the nation as I write this blog. Every numerically odd year Texas has a Constitutional Amendment Election in November. Sometimes there are candidates on the ballot, or bond issues or some other “emergency” initiative that a governmental entity needs to place on a ballot to receive voter approval. This year my political area has a candidate filling a vacant position for a Texas Senate position. The political ads have been relentless, sometimes receiving multiple mailings every day along with cell phone texts and calls. 

Sometimes the ads are braggadocios, painting the candidate with broad strokes of goodness. Sometimes the ads are meant to cast disdain on their opponents for some flaw based on the perspective of the candidates opinion. Ultimately the ads are meant to give the non-informed voter the minimal amount of information that will result in their favorable vote at a polling location. We can lament these tendencies, but the reality is that the majority of voters seem to not care enough to have any relationship with their elected representatives, be they Legislators, Judges or Officials. Historically it seems that people made voting decisions based on what they knew about the person’s beliefs and values. They knew the tenets of our nation’s constitution, and they evaluated the candidates based on questions and responses provided by the candidates in person in relation to what they regarded as constitutional law.

Our society has drifted from this standard, and we are reaping the results. As an example, more people today and for quite some years seem to think the government should provide a fail safe social safety net, not recognizing that the government can only give what it takes from others that produce wealth and value. My personal belief is that this is a misreading of Scriptural doctrines regarding personal and governmental responsibility. The fairy tale story of killing the golden goose is an apt message of that current fallacy. Where did these false beliefs come from? In part, perhaps, because of a lack of meaningful relationships where people can talk with each other, rather than the echo chamber of a few friends that adhere to the same heresies.

The unfortunate reality is that people often have itching ears to hear what their deceptive hearts tell them in the shadows of their minds. Those so deceived may never be exposed to the antiseptic of true Christian fellowship that can reveal error in their beliefs before those beliefs become lethal to their spiritual health. In short, a church culture that holds no one accountable and does not take a proactive approach to apply Scripture to the issues of the day becomes the broad highway that leads to cultural and spiritual death. The narrow road is relationships that are willing to invest time to seek Truth and wrestle with how to live in this present age in accordance with the teachings of Christ and the Scriptures that have been passed down to us through generations of ardent believers.

The result of this dereliction among Christians is the growth of fallacies that result in a majority of the population embracing them without so much of a thought. Because people are not used to dialogue, a fallacy can take root when the different parts or gifts to Christ’s church, the body of Christ are not present, or are suppressed when addressing potential fallacies. As I stated earlier, the very structure of the modern American church seems to work against this type of relational fellowship and spiritual growth. There are numerous books by Christian authors that discuss this problem in more detail. Alisa Childers has podcasts that often speak on the issue of deconstruction among Christians that have embraced false ideas that have been promoted by the pulpit/parishioner church culture. I believe Christians are the ones most responsible when a culture or nation is confronted with destructive, fallacious ideas that need to be exposed before they can take root.

One fallacy that is being heavily promoted primarily by leftist politicians is the idea that they speak for all the American people when they vote on a given issue or respond to a current issue. The arrogance of this opinion is revealed when election voting results indicate that some do not share their beliefs and views and do not trust their leadership. An elected leader should vote their conscience regardless of what their constituents think, and take personal responsibility for their votes. To vote according to the “people’s wishes” when ones personal beliefs and values are clearly at odds with the vote is to betray ones conscience. It is a slippery slope that ultimately justifies much evil when it is not constrained by a conscience untethered from the moral standards of ones conscience. To force a politician to vote against their conscience leads to a belief that truth is found in a mobocracy, versus a standard that exists in our Constitution. The “people’s voices” can be wrong, as our Founding Fathers debated. They knew about the evils of a “mobocracy”, which is why America was founded as a Constitutional Republic and not a Democracy. It is a fallacy that any political leader speaks for all the people. Politicians are rare that can articulate their beliefs and stand by them against a vocal minority or majority while acknowledging that they vote according to their conscience on the matter, which can be changed by reason, but not by coercion in violation of ones conscience.

Another fallacy heavily promoted by alleged conservative organizations is the idea that one cannot truly own their property if there are property taxes. Is there such a thing as a fair tax? I wonder if the heart of this fallacy comes from those who harbor anarchist beliefs, or at least a minimal government that has no power to resist and punish evil. A government without the power to resist and punish evil is not a government that can foster the freedom to do right and provide a civil society in which one can exercise human rights given by God.

The ultimate natural effect of eliminating property taxes, which are levied at the local level of governments is to force a reliance of the local government entities on the finances provided by higher state and national governments, or cease to provide services that contribute to societal civility. The elimination of local funding to school boards, municipal functions such as police and fire and other local governmental activities is to effectively lose local control of these entities to higher levels of government. This is just as arrogant as the leftist notion of speaking for all people, in that the subtle result is that the state has the ultimate power over local communities. While left leaning politicians attempt to place themselves as authoritative by lying about their support, conservatives deceptively promote a policy that results in fewer people having greater control and authority. Power is best shared between sinful humanity. When power becomes centralized, history shows us that bad things ensue. I reviewed and approved city budgets and tax rates for 10 years in my city. My neighbors and I were able to talk details about proposed budgets that would not be possible if the state provided the financing for our city services. We had the power to adjust taxation for the needs of the community that the majority approved and wanted. Property taxes provide substantial revenue to support the services of the city and schools in most communities, enabling local control and accountability by local voters in these entities. I have not heard a cogent response to smaller communities funding if they were not receiving revenue from property taxes for their municipal responsibilities. 

The solution is for people to understand their own sinfulness, along with the reality that God loves each one of us and desires to have relationship with us. That gives us the foundation to be open to relationship with others as we allow God’s love to permeate our understanding of how we should live among those who are no better or worse than we are.