Recently an ex-mayor, several rabbis, and the editor of a liberal magazine told Jews that they should vote for President Bush tomorrow.  None of these Jewish Bush fans are conservative and none have supported President Bush’s domestic policies, especially those having to do with abortion and homosexuality.  Some of them argue that it is the only way to assure Israel’s future.  Others urge we vote for Bush in gratitude for all he’s done for Israel. 

Last night, on the Toward Tradition Radio Show, I interviewed a courageous African-American pastor who has been a lifelong Democrat but is now urging all American blacks to vote for President Bush.  His reason is that since Abolition, Republicans have always done more for African Americans than Democrats.

I am happy that these men are defying ethnic doctrine in this election, because I am grateful for every Bush vote regardless of motivation.  However, those Jews who oppose the president do so in full knowledge of his pro-Israel positions.  My goodness, if President Clinton was still in office, the Terrorist-in-Chief, Yasser Arafat, would be in Bethesda Naval Hospital, not Paris.  No, Jews who loathe the president are, at best, apathetic about Israel and at worst, view the Jewish land as a sore on the face of international tranquility.  The Jewish community’s dirty little secret is how many Jews care more about keeping America liberal than they do about keeping Israel secure.  Reminding the Jewish community of the president’s pro-Israel policies won’t achieve very much.

My African-American pastor guest is fond of telling his flock to “value their votes and vote their values.”  He’s right of course, but how many of us will vote according to what we are told are our values instead of according to what we perceive are our interests?  In general, just as in the Jewish community, the religious are voting for Bush, the others aren’t.

As I explained in my book America’s Real War, there is no longer a Jewish vote.  Religious Jews vote like religious Christians and secular Jews vote like other secularized Americans.  Similarly, most religious blacks along with most religious whites are voting for President Bush.  Most, but not all.  You see, not all religious people see the connection between their faith and their voting.

In addition, therefore, to urging Jews to vote Republican because of Israel, and urging blacks to vote Bush because Republicans care more about a person’s character than the color of his skin, there is one crucial question we ought to ask.

Choose the statement that comes closest to your belief:

A:  People occupy this planet on account of a lengthy process of unaided materialistic evolution that transformed primitive protoplasm into Bach, Brahms, and Beethoven.

B:  People occupy this planet because a benevolent God created us in His image and placed us here.

If you chose “A,”  John Kerry is your man.  If you chose “B,” the only way to retain your integrity is to commit your vote to George W. Bush.

You see, by choosing “A,”  you are unavoidably affirming that other than for some superficial biological differences, such as brain size and opposable thumbs, you think that people and animals are similar.  From here it follows logically that as animals, smart and sophisticated animals perhaps but animals nonetheless, we are products of our natures just like denizens of the zoo or occupants of the farmyard.  It should also be said that like those animals we are in need of a zookeeper or of a farmer to care for us.

Like cows and sheep it is appropriate that we deliver all our productivity to the farmer and like lions in the zoo, it is appropriate that resources like food are distributed to all animals equally.  Resembling animals, we ought to dismiss the quaint notion of “family” along with such terms such as “evil,” “soul,” or “faith.”  Needless to say, homosexuality is perfectly “natural” and harvesting the young for their skins or stem cells is perfectly “normal.”

But if, in the choice above, you chose B, you are identifying all humans as God’s children, each of us touched by the finger of the Divine.  To remain consistent with your beliefs you have virtually no choice but to vote for a candidate who is comfortable using terms like “axis of evil.”  You have no choice but to vote for a candidate who shares your basic belief about the origins of reality because more of his decisions will be in accordance with that belief of yours.  And what is more, sitting it out is no option; you had better vote.

Remember this: Politics is no more than the practical application of your most deeply held beliefs.  It is tough to live in a social environment in which your beliefs are ridiculed and in which their political implications are suppressed.  Just ask all the refugees from the former USSR who are voting for Bush.  For you, the choice is George W. Bush who clearly also believes that people are here because God created us.  That makes him a better choice for Jews who care about Israel and for blacks who care about winning a color blind society.  But most importantly, it makes him the only choice for all Americans who know that each one of us is far, far, more than merely a smart gorilla.

Rabbi Daniel Lapin is the Founder and Director of Toward Tradition, working to advance our nation toward the traditional Judeo-Christian values that defined America's creation. Reprinted with permission from Toward Tradition.

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