God is in the details

Three chances at a vote, three equally audible bellows of "yea" and "nay."

While the Democratic National Convention passed without anybody having conversations with furniture, the omission of God from the Democrats' 2012 platform had politicians and analysts alike outraged and confused.

And while it was not the only thing originally left out from the platform (a firm stance on Jerusalem's position as the capital of Israel was also omitted), it was easily the most talked about aspect. Republicans argued as if it were proof their rival party didn't care about God anymore; many Democrats retaliated by saying the Republican reaction was proof that politics is too controlled by the party's beliefs.

This is what Wednesday's incident proved: Faith - on both sides of the political battle - still matters and will continue to matter.

The voters don't get the same look at the platform as the politicians on the floor at Charlotte do, and nor do they care to - or at least they didn't. When one three-letter word managed to escape the written views of the nation's executive political party, everybody's heads turned. Suddenly, everyone cared.

After months of associating religion with the Republican platform, there was noticeable dispute over the inclusion of the G word in the Democratic platform. There was outrage, and there was apathy. When it was restored, there were cheers, and there were boos.

So what does this mean for the country and the upcoming election? Possibly that the advocates for editing "The Pledge of Allegiance" or the back of the dollar bill are going to have to fight even harder despite what box they checked off on their voter registration.

It means those on the far right will probably take this incident and build an entire attack campaign on "the Godless Democrats" and "a country that is losing its values."

But it definitely means it's not an issue that boils down to a simple "yea" or "nay" or to the red and the blue. Whether you take it out of the platform or base your platform entirely around it, faith in politics is not going to vanish. It will continue to lead everything from the abortion debate to foreign policy with Israel. Even if you don't want it to.

Even if you pray it away.

Email: editorial@ubspectrum.com