Monday Morning Manna: My Grandfather’s Political Practices

My grandfather was a “Yellow Dog Democrat” – a political term applied to voters in the Southern United States who voted solely for candidates who represented the then conservative Democratic Party. They would allegedly vote for a yellow dog before they would vote for a Republican. He was also a faithful member of the Central Christian Church, then a very conservative part of the Disciples of Christ denomination. Along came the presidential election of 1960. The Republican nominee, Richard Nixon, was not even on my grandfather’s radar. But the democratic nominee, John F. Kennedy, was a Roman Catholic, and my evangelical, conservative grandfather would never vote for one such nominee. I’m not sure how he voted, he may well have written in his own name, but I know for a fact that he voted, considering it his sacred duty as an American. Two other things I know for sure: (1) Whoever he voted for didn’t win, but he prayed for him daily, because his Bible told him to pray for those, “who are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:2), and (2) He never protested the results of the election, in fact, I never heard him say one negative word about his new president. In these days of non-voting, (“because I can’t approve of either candidate”), name-calling of the candidate, and family), threats, accusations, protests, and even rioting, may the memory of my grandfather’s political practices, if not his persuasions, live again.

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.