Category Archives: Politics

Post-election blues

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Well, the election did not go the way some of us wanted, and there are varying degrees of feelings about that.

I’ve been heartened, though, to see on Facebook and various peoples’ blogs reminders that “promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Psalm 75:6-7) and “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes” (Psalm 118:8-9). I wonder if we would be reminding ourselves of those things if the candidate that we wanted had won? I think as Christians we can fall into the trap of “trusting in man” when the “right” candidate wins. Perhaps the Lord will use this to call us to greater prayer and dependence on Him.

And we have to remember that just because Obama was elected doesn’t mean he will automatically be able to do everything he wants to do. Study the issues, be aware (maybe even more aware than you would otherwise have been), write to him and to your representatives, using your voice and influence in those issues which concern you. And above all else, as I mentioned yesterday, pray “for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (I Timothy 2:2). If I remember correctly, Paul wrote that while either Nero or one of the Herods was in power, neither of which was conducive to Christian values. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will” (Proverbs 21:1).

This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
~ Malt­bie D. Bab­cock

(Updated to add: Chris Anderson shared some similar thoughts but expanded to many more good ones today.)

A prayer for our leaders

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I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks,
be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority;
that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

I Timothy 2:1-2

Election Eve

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(Image courtesy of stock.xpert)

Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual–or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country. — Samuel Adams

Tomorrow is election day in the USA. I encourage each to vote her conscience, to make whatever effort it takes to exercise this right and privilege we have to have a voice in our government.

You can find a voter’s guide here.

I normally don’t get too political here. I normally don’t care much for political discussions at all. I do believe in voting, in contacting our officials, in keeping up on issues, in researching our candidates’ positions beyond the ads and their records.

Personally, McCain was not my first choice as a Republican candidate, but the two I most liked canceled each other out by splitting the vote. But of the two major candidates he is closer to my views. And I do admire a lot about him though I don’t agree with him on every single little item.

If there were a third-party candidate that I strongly agreed with, my conscience might dictate that I vote that way, and I really wish we had three strong parties rather than two, but as it is I think a vote for a third-party candidate will ultimately be a vote for Obama, splitting votes away from McCain.

I don’t mean any offense, I have dear friends and family members for Obama, but. honestly, he scares me to death for mean reasons. He’s likable, personable, articulate…but scary. The two main reasons have to do with his views on abortion, extending even to the denying of aid for those babies who survive an abortion procedure, and his socialistic (if not Marxist) views on the economy and the “redistribution of wealth.” The Common Room has documented many of his views in interviews and such: I encourage you to go there and look around.

I know many feel he is more committed to ending the Iraq war as soon as possible. I agree that war is horrid, but it is important to finish well. I lived through the Viet Nam war era, and the worst thing we could do is pull out leaving the people worse off than when we came. We need to end it, but we need to end it right. There are many good things going on there that the press never seems to bring to light. The husband of a friend has spent many months there helping rebuild the infrastructure and sends back great reports. And this soldier is one of many who believes in the cause he fought for:

Whatever happens, I will be glad when tomorrow is over. And God will still be God and our hope will still be in Him no matter who is leading our nation.

Psalm 118: 8-9: “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.  It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.”

Remembering 9/11

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(Originally posted 9/11/06)

I used to volunteer at my sons’ school every Tuesday. On that particular Tuesday morning in September, a little after 9 a.m., I turned on the car radio to catch a bit of news on my way to the school. I was confused at first — I could tell something serious had happened, but couldn’t make out what. Finally the newscaster explained that an airplane had hit the World Trade Tower. I was stunned. I sat in the parking lot at the school and listened to the news coverage for a few minutes. Then I went into the school office, with the words, “Did you hear…?” on my lips. They had heard and someone had set up a TV in the office. Many of us stood, motionless, stunned, shocked, and watched the coverage. We thought we couldn’t be any more stunned — then we saw footage of a second plane hitting the other tower. Then we saw people leaping out of windows to try to escape. Then we saw the first tower collapse.

I don’t remember how long I stayed there. The function that I usually helped with was canceled for the day. Several parents came to pick their children up and take them home: they just wanted to have them near. The principal had a TV set up in the gym for those students and teachers who wanted to watch the coverage. I think most of the high school classes were canceled and students could either watch the coverage in the gym or study quietly in one of the classrooms.

For the rest of the day and the next several days, with most of the country, I was almost glued to the TV as more news came in and pieces of the puzzle came to light. I clicked on news sources online and read coverage and looked at pictures in magazines.

There are several things I remember from that time:

  • Feeling in shock.
  • Feelings of vulnerability.
  • Feelings of horror that anyone could do such a thing to other people.
  • Feelings of fear, wondering if this was but the beginning of a larger effort, of a war.
  • Feelings of empathy with those who had died, those who had lost loved ones, those in parts of the world for whom terrorism is an almost everyday occurrence.
  • A feeling of unity in our country that I had never experienced in my lifetime. That is one thing I miss.
  • Feelings of…awe? gratefulness? wonder? inspiration? I am struggling with the right word to express what I felt on hearing the stories of heroism, of bravery, of decency.
  • Feelings of more joy upon hearing the stories of so many who unexpectedly missed flights or were late to work at the towers.
  • Feelings of comfort as the Lord ministered to hearts afterward.

Regarding that last item, one of the young men in my sons’ youth group shared this verse with the teens, I believe that first Wednesday afterward:

Isaiah 25:4: For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

How that ministered to my heart! I shared it with many loved ones via e-mail. There is only one true Refuge.

The question has come to many a mind, “Why did God allow it?” I don’t know that we’ll have the answer until time is over and we are with Him. But, surely we don’t mean why did God allow that to happen to us? We’re such a blessed nation, even in the state of spiritual forgetfulness and indifference we are in now — do we think we’re exempt from the troubles many nations experience daily? This was of a greater magnitude, yes, but many countries face the possibility of car bombs and suicide bombers every day. Then we get into the larger question of why God allows evil at all. All I know is that He allows for us to have and exercise a free will, and that results in sin, because we all choose our own way over His all too often. There will be a time when “sin shall be no more,” when every tear shall be wiped away and there shall be no more sorrow, sadness, death, crying (Revelation 21:4). That time is not yet. Until then we have to deal with a fallen world. But those who love God have this promise:

Romans 8:28: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

It is at the point of deep need that we learn the truth of that verse and others. We know it so well it almost become cliched to us, until we truly need it.

One of the “good things” to come out of 9/11 was the salvation of one of my son’s friends. He realized that life can end suddenly and unexpectedly and that he needed to be ready.

There are some who think we should remember 9/11 only with silence, who feel that replaying and reliving the events of that day only plays into the hands of the terrorists, inspiring more terror. I disagree. I can understand those for whom it might be too painful to reflect on much, but I disagree that we’re playing into the hands of the terrorists by remembering that day. It’s good to remember. We need to remember the fallen, to memorialize them. We need to remember those whom they left behind. We even need to remember our vulnerability. Psalm 9:20 says “Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men.” I can’t presume to say that that was one of God’s purposes for allowing this, but we do need to remember that we are “but men” (or women) even though we’re a “superpower.” We need to remember that “The horse [or the fighter pilot or the tank or whatever we might use in warfare] is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD” (Proverbs 21:31). We need to remember the empathy, the inspiration, the acts of courage.

My husband and I were saying yesterday morning that we wished they would do away with the Labor Day observance and instead have a 9/11 observance. But then we thought that, after a while, it would just be another Monday holiday. It would seem the height of disrespect to turn it into another day for retailers to have sales. I wonder if WWII veterans are horrified that Memorial Day and Veterans Day, beyond the occasional parade and wreath-laying ceremonies, are regarded by most people as an opportunity to be off work and go to the mall. May we as a country remember all of our fallen better than that.

Alarming indeed

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Through a series of links from other places, I discovered some alarming truths about Obama.

This is from an op-ed piece by Rick Santorum titled “The Elephant in the Room: Obama: A harsh ideologue hidden by a feel-good image.”

Granted, the first-term Illinois senator’s lofty rhetoric of bipartisanship, unity, hope and change makes everyone feel good. But it’s becoming increasingly clear that his grand campaign rhetoric does not match his partisan, ideological record. The nonpartisan National Journal, for example, recently rated Obama the Senate’s most liberal member. That’s besting some tough competition from orthodox liberals such as Ted Kennedy and Barbara Boxer.

John McCain’s campaign and conservative pundits have listed the numerous times in Obama’s short Senate career where he sided with the extremes in his party against broadly supported compromises on issues such as immigration, ethics reform, terrorist surveillance and war funding. Fighting on the fringe with a handful of liberals is one thing, but consider his position on an issue that passed both houses of Congress unanimously in 2002.

That bill was the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. During the partial-birth abortion debate, Congress heard testimony about babies that had survived attempted late-term abortions. Nurses testified that these preterm living, breathing babies were being thrown into medical waste bins to die or being “terminated” outside the womb. With the baby now completely separated from the mother, it was impossible to argue that the health or life of the mother was in jeopardy by giving her baby appropriate medical treatment.

The act simply prohibited the killing of a baby born alive. To address the concerns of pro-choice lawmakers, the bill included language that said nothing “shall be construed to affirm, deny, expand or contract any legal status or legal right” of the baby. In other words, the bill wasn’t intruding on Roe v. Wade.

Who would oppose a bill that said you couldn’t kill a baby who was born? Not Kennedy, Boxer or Hillary Rodham Clinton. Not even the hard-core National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). Obama, however, is another story. The year after the Born Alive Infants Protection Act became federal law in 2002, identical language was considered in a committee of the Illinois Senate. It was defeated with the committee’s chairman, Obama, leading the opposition.

Let’s be clear about what Obama did, once in 2003 and twice before that. He effectively voted for infanticide. He voted to allow doctors to deny medically appropriate treatment or, worse yet, actively kill a completely delivered living baby. Infanticide – I wonder if he’ll add this to the list of changes in his next victory speech and if the crowd will roar: “Yes, we can.”

How could someone possibly justify such a vote? In March 2001, Obama was the sole speaker in opposition to the bill on the floor of the Illinois Senate. He said: “We’re saying they are persons entitled to the kinds of protections provided to a child, a 9-month child delivered to term. I mean, it would essentially bar abortions, because the equal-protection clause does not allow somebody to kill a child.” So according to Obama, “they,” babies who survive abortions or any other preterm newborns, should be permitted to be killed because giving legal protection to preterm newborns would have the effect of banning all abortions.

Justifying the killing of newborn babies is deeply troubling, but just as striking is his rigid adherence to doctrinaire liberalism. Apparently, the “audacity of hope” is limited only to those babies born at full term and beyond. Worse, given his support for late-term partial-birth abortions that supporters argued were necessary to end the life of genetically imperfect children, it may be more accurate to say the audacity of hope applies only to those babies born healthy at full term.

According to this source, these are Obama’s own words in arguing against the bill:

Number one, whenever we define a previable fetus as a person that is protected by the equal protection clause or the other elements in the Constitution, what we’re really saying is, in fact, that they are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a — a child, a nine-month-old — child that was delivered to term. That determination then, essentially, if it was accepted by a court, would forbid abortions to take place. I mean, it — it would essentially bar abortions, because the equal protection clause does not allow somebody to kill a child, and if this is a child. Then this would be an antiabortion statute. For that purpose, I think it would probably be found unconstitutional.

The second reason that it would probably be found unconstitutional is that this essentially says that a doctor is required to provide treatment to a previable child, or fetus, however way you want to describe it. Viability is the line that has been drawn by the Supreme Court to determine whether or not an abortion can or cannot take place. And if we’re placing a burden on the doctor that says you have to keep alive even a previable child as long as possible and give them as much medical attention as — as is necessary to try to keep that child alive, then we’re probably crossing the line in terms of unconstitutionality.

It is sad — beyond sad — that he is more concerned with how this bill would have affected the ruling on abortions than the effect and ramifications of it on human life. His reasoning is right that this ruling would recognize an aborted baby as a child, a person with rights: his conclusions are wrong that such a recognition means that such a child should be left to die.

I hope and pray this man is not elected as our next president.

Note to politicians

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I do not base my decision about who to vote for on the phone calls I receive, either the number of quality of them.

In fact, I am tempted to decide not to vote for the next campaign that calls me. But that would be shallow.

I will be so glad when our primary is over tomorrow. I have never in my life been inundated with so many political calls. I guess it’s because there are still so many candidates. Most annoying are the recorded calls which say, “We’re so sorry to disturb you, but this call was meant for your answering machine.”

I think I am going to write to Congress this year pleading that political calls be included in the  “Do Not Call” exclusions.

“I’m tired”

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I received this in an e-mail a few days ago and thought for the most part it was great. I checked it out on the Urban Legends Reference Pages, and it’s legit. Though I usually stay away politics here, I felt this was worth sharing:

“I’m Tired”
by: Joe Repya,
Lieutenant Colonel , U. S. Army

Two weeks ago, as I was starting my sixth month of duty in Iraq, I was forced to return to the USA for surgery for an injury I sustained prior to my deployment. With luck, I’ll return to finish my tour.

I left Baghdad and a war that has every indication that we are winning, to return to a demoralized country much like the one I returned to in 1971 after my tour in Vietnam. Maybe it’s because I’ll turn 60 years old in just four months, but I’m tired.

I’m tired of spineless politicians, both Democrat and Republican who lack the courage, fortitude, and character to see these difficult tasks through.

I’m tired of the hypocrisy of politicians who want to rewrite history when the going gets tough.

I’m tired of the disingenuous clamor from those that claim they ‘Support the Troops’ by wanting them to ‘Cut and Run’ before victory is achieved.

I’m tired of a mainstream media that can only focus on car bombs and casualty reports because they are too afraid to leave the safety of their hotels to report on the courage and success our brave men and women are having on the battlefield.

I’m tired that so many Americans think you can rebuild a dictatorship into a democracy over night.

I’m tired that so many ignore the bravery of the Iraqi people to go to the voting booth and freely elect a Constitution and soon a permanent Parliament.

I’m tired of the so called ‘Elite Left’ that prolongs this war by giving aid and comfort to our enemy, just as they did during the Vietnam War.

I’m tired of antiwar protesters showing up at the funerals of our fallen soldiers. A family whose loved ones gave their life in a just and noble cause, only to be cruelly tormented on the funeral day by cowardly protesters is beyond shameful.

I’m tired that my generation, the Baby Boom — Vietnam generation, who have such a weak backbone that they can’t stomach seeing the difficult tasks through to victory.

I’m tired that some are more concerned about the treatment of captives than they are the slaughter and beheading of OUR citizens and allies.

I’m tired that when we find mass graves it is seldom reported by the press, but mistreat a prisoner and it is front page news.

Mostly, I’m tired that the people of this great nation didn’t learn from history that there is no substitute for Victory.

Sincerely,
Joe Repya,
Lieutenant Colonel , U. S. Army
101st Airborne Division

I don’t think, from the last couple of points made, that this man is advocating mistreatment of ministers; rather, he’s commenting on the disproportionate treatment of that kind of thing in the media as opposed to the other things he mentions.

Something else that is disproportionate  in media coverage is all the good things going on in Iraq as a result of our people being there. A man in our church spent several months there helping to rebuild some of the infrastructure and brought back many positive reports that are never mentioned on the news.

People may not agree on whether we should have gotten into this war, but I hope they would agree that we shouldn’t leave a job half-done.

I saw at Kim’s a link to a  moving letter from a military chaplain to his wife: I think you’ll find it very much worth the read.

Cal Thomas hit the nail on the head

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I don’t often give the op/ed page in the newspaper much more than a quick glance, but Cal Thomas’s column caught my eye today. It’s titled “Closing one door, opening another” (it is dated May 4 at this link but was just in our paper today).

I won’t go into the details he discusses, but these paragraphs echo something I have thought for years:

This is not to say there is no role for conservative Christians in the civic life of their nation. There is. But Christians must first understand that the issues they most care about — abortion, same-sex “marriage” and cultural rot — are not caused by bad politics, but are matters of the heart and soul.

Some evangelicals wish to broaden the political agenda beyond these issues to poverty, social justice and the environment. Politics can never completely cure the ills of any of these, but the message Christians bring about salvation and redemption can. Besides, they can never “convert” people to their point of view.

Nothing in the Bible commands believers to reform or redeem society through government and politics alone, or even mainly. Neither is there any expectation that non-Christians will be converted to the Christian point of view, which can vary on some topics, through politics.

This is so true.

We have a rare privilege in this country to be able to make our voice heard, to tell our leaders what we think, to write letters to the editor, to have a part in campaigns and causes. And we should. I think many of us will be accountable for our lack of action in many of these areas.

Yet, as Mr. Thomas said so well, our hope is not in politics. We’re never called to “redeem the culture.” We’re called to share the gospel and make disciples. Christ is the only One who can change hearts.

People’s opinions on issues are not going to change unless their hearts are changed.

If we did get legislation changed to outlaw abortion and restore a Biblical view of marriage and restrict the indecency so prevalent in our culture, yet all of the people impacted went to hell when they died, what good were our efforts?

Good question

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Christians=American fascists???

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I usually avoid politics here — it so easily stirs people up and too easily lends itself to people carrying on about things they don’t really know about. But I just read an article this evening that astounds me. A man named Chris Hedges has written a book titled American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America. He asserts that “Those arrayed against American democracy [i.e., evangelical Christians] are waiting for a moment to strike, a national crisis that will allow them to shred the Constitution in the name of national security and strength” (pp. 201–202).

Since when are Christians arrayed against democracy and just waiting to shred the Constitution???

For a review of the ridiculousness and inconsistencies of this book, see this article.