Elizabeth Kucinich, Spirituality and the 2008 Election

Use your imagination to picture Elizabeth Kucinich as First Lady, and you will have one of the most entertaining experiences possible in the entire 2008 presidential election season. Don't use your eyes. Just use your imagination now. it is true that Dennis Kucinich has the most stunningly beautiful mate of any presidential candidate, but there's more to her than just that. Elizabeth Kucinich is someone who dares to be a different kind of political wife than anything America has seen before. She doesn't follow the conventional model of the prospective First Lady. She expresses herself in a fresh and honest way, and with a radically different cultural perspective. Consider how she writes about what she believes to be the spiritual context of the 5th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001:

"It is said in physics that every action causes a reaction. Similar too is the concept of Karma. These can be understood to be the material and spiritual laws of balance. When they are translated into our day to day life experiences, every action indeed causes a reaction, a karmic narrative. To awaken vision and to touch balance in Justice’s scales, we must introduce sincere reflection between the phases of action and reaction. This year marks the fifth anniversary of 9/11, a series of events that marked a day of awakening for the people of the world to the revelation of the very real and powerful forces at play in these times. Not falling prey to the black hole of 9/11 rhetoric which highlights the evil of otherness, rhetoric into which our lives have been sacrificed, together with our freedom and liberty. No, I am speaking of the forces at play within the depths of each of our hearts and the dark side of our souls traveling the shamanic journey into the underworld and the opportunity for our transformation into beings of light. "

What Elizabeth Kucinich writes here is not the kind of formulaic consideration we'd often hear from politicians about how the Christian God wants America to prevail, and will smite down evildoers. I'm not a believer in karma, and I'm not sure if the American public has really been going on a shamanic journey into the underworld, but I appreciate someone who is willing to deviate from the standard recipe for mixing politics and religion. Personally, I don't think that religious commentaries are helpful for dealing with secular issues, because religion divides Americans rather than uniting us in a common vision. However, if a political figure is going to get religious, it's certainly much more interesting when they do it from a perspective that is outside the cultural mainstream. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Religious Right reacts to Elizabeth Kucinich, showing us what they really think about freedom of religion. Lest you think that I'm getting too personal about Elizabeth Kucinich, let me note that this piece of writing is on a blog written by Elizabeth Kucinich that is part of the Kucinich for President in 2008 web site. What Elizabeth Kucinich has written about karma and shamanic journeys is part of the Kucinich presidential campaign. That's a pretty brave move for Dennis Kucinich to make, demonstrating a good deal of confidence in his wife, and in himself. Say what you like about the chances of the Kucinich for President campaign, but you can't say that it isn't earnest. Above all else, the Kucinich for President campaign should be imaginative and interesting. That alone makes it worth watching.