Politics

Two weeks ago I was discussing with David about why politics is such a touchy subject. He mentioned something I had known but hadn’t put my finger on before: people are so passionate about politics because it reflects their values, their world view – something very near and dear to them.

When I look at it from that angle, it makes sense why many people who share the same faith in Jesus Christ, share similar views on politics. What was interesting about this most recent election is how Christians seemed to be on both sides of the fence; I didn’t know who to vote for until the last remaining week or days.

Who To Vote For

I found myself getting lost and confused in all the campaign crud – the “he-said-she-said-he-voted-she-quoted” mud slinging that was supposed to sway our emotional fervor to the candidate’s side. I think it made me sick of politics all over again rather than help me make a decision.

And also, living in a particular city/state known to be liberal, made it hard for me to hear anything positive about the Republican candidates. I guess it comes back to people’s world views, which, I can respect someone who has a different thoughts than me, and I’ll listen to their view, but now I’d like to share my view on politics here for anyone willing to listen.

My political view comes from my relationship to God. And so when it comes time to vote for a leader of our nation, I, generally, choose whomever will protect the lives of the unborn children, and who’s view of marriage matches what God says is right. I also weigh out whomever I think has the best leadership qualities.

When it came to the the issues of abortion and the institution of marriage, it would be a given that Republican was the way to go. But when I saw how Senator McCain handled himself in the debates, I was disappointed in his finger pointing, his repetitive rants, and his overall rude mannerism. Maybe he was just being strong for his campaign to be more successful? I don’t know. But my impression of him wasn’t favorable.

When it came to Senator Obama, he seemed to make a lot of lofty promises, but also seemed like a good listener (taking time to think before answering) and his overall personage seemed less prickly. There was talk of him being inexperienced, or not possessing enough patriotism. But how are you to pick out what’s true in all the mudslinging? I mulled over several other issues, including war, but really the main problems for me were… he won’t choose to protect babies’ lives (thus our country’s genocide continues), and he is ok with legalizing unions that God never intended when he created men and women.

To Kill Or Not To Kill

“What about rape victims, retardation, or threat to the mother’s life? Isn’t abortion better in those cases?”

I agree about rape being a terrible wrong, and I could just imagine the horrible trauma a woman would go through finding out she was impregnated by the abuser. But it isn’t the baby’s fault she was conceived, so why not give her the chance to live, to be adopted by a couple who can’t have children but wants her? Who’s to say that child won’t grow up to become a great medical researcher and find the cure for terrible diseases or cancer? Who’s to say that human being won’t grow up to become a future president of the United States?

When it comes to retardation or deformities, I am a strong believer that God doesn’t make junk. That child is precious to him, and the greatest discovery any parent can make is that children are really an eye opener to ourselves. All children with their particular strengths and weaknesses can teach us a lot about life. There’s a purpose for everyone.

About the threat to the mother’s life. I am limited on my medical knowledge of cases where abortion can save the mother. I’d imagine that with the technology we have these days, that doctors could remove the baby (at a survivable age) and try to save his life first, rather than just kill him out right. Perhaps ectopic pregnancy is a case where the baby and the mother both can’t live. In that case, of course the mother’s life should be saved.

What About War?

Another question to consider is “What about all the men and women who are dying in the wars? Why is that ok and abortion is not?” My view is that those who serve in our military, made a choice to serve. (Thankfully there’s no draft right now.) They signed their lives away, knowing the risk it would involve. It doesn’t make me feel any better about them losing their lives, but in short, they made the choice. Aborted babies are not given a choice.

Topic For Another Post

On the issue of marriage, God has a lot to say about it. And for the sake of making this post a little less lengthy, I may write my thoughts about it another time. If I get to it.

My Decision

Back to McCain and Obama…. I didn’t like some things about McCain, his analogies of hacking the budget with an axe, and neither candidate had great health options that I could see (or they wouldn’t affect me as much since my health care doesn’t provide the majority of health care I need).

I was put off by Mr. McCain’s abrasiveness but I didn’t want that to be the only reason to keep me from voting for him. I have worked for a couple of bosses who remind me of him with their age and gruffness. But I stuck with the jobs long enough to find that they had a good heart inside, and they should be shown respect. I may be persuaded by the attitudes of people in my area, but I didn’t have much confidence in his Vice President choice. So that made me sway back and forth for a while.

Mr. Obama’s choice for Vice President doesn’t sound good either from what I’ve heard. But again, that is talk. I’m not fully read up on either side’s VP to have a truly informed opinion. While I appreciate Obama’s plans to help our economy and environment, and while I agree that we should try to leave this world a better place as we are able, when it comes down to it, there will eventually be an end to this fallen planet. Creation will not have to groan any longer because there will be a new heaven and a new earth. The the things that will remain are the souls, the people God created. So not to say the other issues are not important, I think some are more important that others.

When it came down to voting day, I didn’t feel easy about voting for either. The knowledge that the Supreme Court Judge would be appointed by the future president, and that most of the Senate are of the Democratic party, weighed in as a big factor. I actually wanted to vote for Senator Obama, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it because of feeling I would be a part of our nation’s bloodshed of the unborn. I hoped that Senator McCain would pull through and make good choices for our country in all areas of government.

Things Under Control Of The Sovereign King

But now it is decided, and I believe we are to respect the authorities God allows into office. I have hopes for lots of good things to happen in our nation during President-Elect Obama’s term(s). I also have hopes that he will be willing to listen with an open heart to the views that I’ve shared above, because he said he’ll listen “especially when we disagree.”

When it comes to patriotism, I believe he has a good share of it, judging from his recent speeches. I also think he is good at rallying the youth of the nation. And so if he asked everyone to be better at budgeting their finances and try to rid ourselves of personal debt so as to help our nation’s debt, I could see some people willing to listen to him. He seems a respectable and honorable person that people are willing to follow.

Just this Sunday, our pastor gave a sermon on government, which reminded me of things I had known before, but which I’d forgotten somewhat during this voting season. Not to plagiarize Pastor Randy, but to reiterate some of his points that I wish to take to heart:

God says to respect authority for they are set there by him to protect and direct us. We are to do all things as unto the Lord. To show respect, we are to pray from the heart for our leaders. We are not to rebel when we disagree. We show respect by obeying the laws of the land and paying taxes with the right heart. The time to go against government is when it asks us to disobey God.

It is true that I am a citizen of the United States of America here on earth, but am also a citizen of heaven. I am willing to pay respect and honor to President-Elect Obama, but I won’t put my hope in him. I’ll pray for him, but I’ll be putting my hope in God.