Voting Values

The media is ablaze with the story of my recent local congressman known as Charlie (Good Times) Wilson. The history channel has run a story about the life of Charlie based on a book by George Grile a 60 minutes producer. Hollywood picked up the story and has produced a movie called Charlie Wilson's Secret War. The movie stars Tom Hanks as Wilson and Julie Roberts as the Houston mistress Joanne Herring. There is a scene from the saga in which Charlie is sitting clothed only with a glass of bourbon in a hot tub. (Depending on which account you take there was cocaine mentioned.) Wilson is sitting in the tub with a couple of playboy bunnies who are wearing nothing. Charlie is watching Dan Rather on a news broadcast. To lots of people in my region among the moral lapses mentioned here the most severe is watching Dan Rather!
After viewing Rather's report on Afghanistan he is convicted that he needs to use his position as a Congressman from Texas to help these freedom fighters. He uses his influence to double the secret support given to the people fighting the Soviet Union. Joanne Herring, a wealthy anti Communist leader learns about Charlie's efforts. She meets with Wilson and tells him he needs to keep up the effort. She encourages him to help the freedom fighters defeat the mightiest army in the world, destroy the Soviet Union and end the cold war. Charlie responds that he does not have time because he has Dairy Queens to worry about in Lufkin! Wilson takes up the cause and the rest is a history most of us did not know about. The war is secretive with the U.S. giving increasing aid to the fighters to the tune of almost $200,000,000 a year. Our government did not want to get directly connected with the freedom fighters for fear of engaging the Soviet Union in a world conflict. Thus Charlie conducted a secret war with the aid of a rogue CIA agent not officially recognized as conducting foreign policy.
Another interesting moral dilemma happens in Egypt when Wilson gets a belly dancing woman friend to dance before the Egyptian in charge of Soviet stashes of arms. This works and using Soviet weapons is done to further hide the American involvement in the war. Eventually President Reagan allows Charlie to get Stinger Missiles which the Afghans use against Soviet helicopters. This ends the war and the Soviets retreat defeated and as a result of the war their economic system is dealt a death blow.
During all this legendary story Wilson is almost derailed by an election. Word gets out about the cocaine use and Charlie becomes known as "Cocaine Charlie". Local loyal Democrats voted against Charlie in his election during this period and he almost lost his seat. He went to bed thinking that night he had lost his place in Congress. What saved the candidate was the black voter precinct in Lufkin. The black voters of this city had always been loyal to Charlie. You might make the case here that the black voters of Lufkin, Texas saved the world from Communism and ended the cold war. The point being that ethical possibilities abound regarding voting our "values". So called Christian conservatives could have messed up a secretive war that did not cost one drop of American blood. Wilson lamented the fact that we did not go and help the people of the region rebuild their schools and hospitals. Thus these peoples never knew who helped them which produced by our failures to help a Taliban, 9/11 and Iraq.
Foreign policy is a complicated issue and simply voting for the candidates who share our values regarding abortion and gays over simplifies the issue. The picture of Roosevelt and Churchill standing next to Stalin is an ethical case in point. Foreign policy is complex. Wilson claims that many of his friends who helped defeat the Soviets are now in the Taliban.
Being recently gravely ill my family sought out specialists to help me recover from the dangerous meningitis. They wanted doctors who had knowledge and training. I doubt they cared what these physicians believed about the Lord's supper or baptism.
Voting values is a complicated thing. John Kennedy, never known for his abstinence, probably saved the Southeastern United States by not invading Cuba. We now know they had missiles. That might be a moral value to consider along with some of the rest of our Christian issues.
One author said the reason why people liked Charlie Wilson was because he did the one thing politicians were not supposed to do. He told the truth.
Christians might consider some of these concerns as they go to the polls to voice their concerns this fall.