I'm a little late on commenting on this post by Vince, but it deserves more commentary. 

I'm assuming that most people who view this blog will tend to either be liberal or maybe even post-liberal in their political orientation. That being said, I'd say that either of those outlooks are probably scratching their head thinking, "What the fuck do we do now?" The mythic-membership/american dream worldviews still rule the day here in the U.S. of A. The problem is as most of us know from our own experience of that perspective, they just don't have the depth of complexity necessary to deal with the mounting world problems... War on Terror (an enemy to abstract to track), mounting tension in the biosphere, nuclear weapons possibly landing in the hands of unstable middle east powers (Iran) in the near future, to name a few....

That's why I sit back in state of utter sobriety this morning as the Presidential election comes to a close, and it becomes obvious that we'll have the same administration for the next 4 years. On top of that it appears that the Senate has drifted even further to the right, with some Senators (Jim DeMint of SC) being elected who believe that gays & unwed mothers are not fit to teach in the public educations system. Mythic-membership to the core, and that's who we have representing us in a world which is hurtling toward massive complexity....

That about sums up my feelings about the election as well.   Go read the whole post.

In addition, it brings up the relationships that exist between: politics, religion in general, and integral theory/politics. 

I shake my head that the level of discourse around God in the world alternates between a, basically theocratic literalist fundamentalism, and a basically atheistic democratic attitude - and these are in opposition to each other.  Both of these attitudes and beliefs are so thin, fragmented, shallow, as to be absurd. 

And yet, what is the proper role of religion in the public discourse?  What is the proper role of an integrated viewpoint, commenting on theological matters, in the public discourse? 

My instinctual answer to the first one is that religion should not be attached in any way to powers of state - they are totally different realms, one dealing in materialistic power, the other dealing in matters of ultimate concern. 

But the integrated viewpoint, DOES have something to say about politics in general, as attention must be paid to this sphere of life, as to every sphere of life.  And the policies that are taken, influence, to a degree, the free practice of religious life.

I don't have any answer to the questions I raise.  But this is something that, after the election, is important, even if in the ultimate scheme of things, it is something from which to not get attached to.