the obligatory

i wasn't going to comment on the u.s. election result, basically because, though i deplore the things that dubya bush has done and shudder to think what he will do in the next four years, i never put much hope in there being any significant change under kerry. however, i thought i'd pass on a couple of very good articles: why kerry lost from 'christians for dean' and progressive faith did not lose this election by jim wallis of sojourners.

it seems to me that those who oppose bush tried to make kerry (or whoever else had been nominated) into a kind of messiah. as a christian at least, my hope for change is not in political power. the truth is that whoever is in the white house (or the lodge), it is only human power, only this or that lot of humans doing the mouse-wheel thing in a human-devised system.

jesus made it clear that 'true religion' isn't centred on a place, but the whole earth is god's temple and every human being has dignity, glory and honour as carriers of his image, not just the anointed priests. in the same way, i think, we can't put our hope in the centres of political power as the places where change is going to happen. true change only happens in the individual, and each of us is completely free to live as dignified beings treating others with dignity, regardless of who believes they're running things in washington, canberra, or wherever.