Vote Common Good rally.
Two weekends ago, Danielle Bell and I had the chance to join Vote Common Good's "Faith, Hope, and Love" bus tour when they visited Canton, in Cherokee County.
It was an opportunity for me talk about my philosophical alignment with VCG's Christian commitment to the ethic of love in our public and political lives.
VCG's leaders shared their belief that God is love—1 John 4:8 says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love”—and that His love manifests in ways consistent with the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13. And I shared my favorite wisdom of Epictetus and Christ and how their words guide us toward a better way of governance and a better way of being neighbors.
Vote Common Good is a national voter-outreach organization that targets white Evangelical and white Catholic voters, urging them to resist the reflexive urge to support Trumpism, Christian Nationalism, and Republicans.
Candidates for Common Good have committed themselves to leading with values consistent with using the common good as a guiding principle in how they govern, what policies they advocate, and the ways in which they interact with both voters and other candidates for office.
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Transcript
This is actually a bit surreal. The first time I ever spoke anywhere as a candidate was on this lawn at a Cherokee County Democrat event a little over a year ago.
Part of why I'm really excited to have been endorsed by Vote Common Good, as many of you know, is that I am an atheist. And when we first spoke, that was something I was nervous about. I didn't want it to look like I was trying to take advantage of something. I didn't want to be disingenuous. But I do have very observant religious children and I encourage them in that if it’s what they want, if it’s what they need, and if that’s the choice they make for themselves then that’s the choice I'm going to support for them.
And I think there's something in that—not to brag on my own parenting too much, right?—but I think we could benefit from that at the government level as well. We live in a pluralistic society where there's lots of different ways to think and there's lots of different ways to feel and there's lots of different ways to believe. And it's not the place for the government to say any one of those ways is right or wrong over the other.
I have a graduate degree in history and I really enjoy philosophy. And I often think of these two, quotes—one of which you guys will know well and one of which maybe you won't.
The first is from the stoic philosopher Epictetus, who reminds us that we are each and only ever responsible for ourselves. You cannot control what other people do. You can't control the past. You can't control the future. You can only control yourself. It's very Zen, right?
And then the other is, of course, from Matthew, where Christ tells us that we should treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves.
I think there's a guiding principle for government right there: To acknowledge that we are each only given a very finite scope of control, and within that very finite scope of control, we should treat people the way that they should be treated—in the way that we want to be treated.
And so, if I could close with something, was driving over this morning and I was thinking about the last time I was at a church—which is not that long ago, actually. As a candidate, you get to go to visit churches and the political director for my campaign—Noël Heatherland, who's a really spectacular person—they and I went and visited a Lutheran Evangelical church down in Atlanta. And something they said has stuck in my brain since that day: There are people out in the world, politically and socially at every level, who hate people they’ve never met. And so, if someone else can hate someone they've never met, I'd rather do the opposite and love people I've never met.
And I think that's the first step in having the empathy that leads to being a good neighbor. And hopefully being a pretty badass legislator. So, thank you guys for coming out to Cherokee County and giving us a platform.
JD JORDAN FOR GEORGIA STATE SENATE DISTRICT 56
For anyone in East Cobb, Roswell, or Woodstock alarmed by the state’s escalating attacks on our bodies, our families, our doctors’ offices, our classrooms and libraries, even our polling places, I’m running for State Senate district 56 to fight for our freedoms and to deliver a better future for everyone in Georgia.
And unlike my opponent who’s spent 14 years rolling back our freedoms, failing to safeguard our kids, and gerrymandered his district to stay in office, I promise to bring everyone in the 56—regardless of ideology—the best possible constituent experience so you feel heard, valued, and supported. As we all deserve to be.
I’m running for the 56. Let’s make a better Georgia for all of us.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT
Jordan For Georgia, LLC
10800 Alpharetta Hwy Ste 208 #629
Roswell, GA 30076-1467
jdjordan@forthe56.com
706.804.0456
