"We live in a beautiful world."
That's what Chris Martin wrote, anyway. i mean sure, the statement depends solely on your point of view in said world, but right now i can definitely see that. It has been snowing for i think three days solid? I love the snow. That's why the world i'm living in is at least superficially beautiful, for now. That's the thing about the superficial, though. It's always changing face and definition. What's great and awesome today is outdated and faded tomorrow. Great and awesome. I need to do a better job with my adjectives. Anyways, more deeply, the world is beautiful in some ways that have absolutely nothing to do with the various points of view contained in it. Jesus said, "I am making everything new!"
Today the United States of America inaugurated its 44th president. Barack Obama is his name. aka Change, Hope, etc. i don't usually delve into politics here, but i care a great deal about it, so why not. If you hate me for what i say, then shame on you. If you hate the words themselves, well, shame on them i guess. There's no shame on me because this is my blog. I did not vote for this man. This doesn't matter much, though, because enough people did so that he was rightfully and legitimately elected. But i am starting to hear a message that goes somewhat like this: "We all just need to root for him because our country needs him at this time in our history. Just put aside our differences and help the man." This is a huge bunch of rubbish. If i wanted to Obama to succeed, i would have voted for him. As it is, i disagree with every single ideal he has put forth, though they are few and far between and scattered amongst a bunch of words like "change" and "hope" so that even if he has no substance he still is a savior. What i want is for the U.S. to succeed, and i think it has its best chance succeeding if most of what Obama is saying (especially regarding the economy, abortion, foreign diplomacy, social reform, etc.) never, ever happens.
There are many Christians who voted for Obama in large part because they think that he will help the poor more and provide more aid to third world countries. These are things the Bible teaches, and so i can easily see why his economic policies would strike a chord with those of us who care about those less fortunate than ourselves. The problem is that we Christians are often even more ignorant than the rest of the population and have no idea that policies like increasing the minimum wage will in fact do nothing but hurt the poor in the long run. They have no idea that in taxing the rich until they bleed will eventually cause that tax bracket to become nonexistent. Nevermind that those countries most in need are most corrupt. Why not try to change the root of the problem? Nevermind that it is nigh impossible for the Federal Gov't .to monitor "foreign aid" once it gets to countries like Nigeria. Nevermind that it is well documented that the most efficient aid comes from places like the Red Cross and other organizations that go to those countries directly with help, bypassing their corrupt governments altogether.
What i can't figure out is, where in the Bible does it say that governments are supposed to help the poor and unemployed? It doesn't. What it does say is that Christians should be doing that individually. The only reason why there is an issue is because we haven't done nearly enough. Start doing more yourself and stop complaining about the government.
i know i sound like sour grapes. But really, i am not. i know that God for some reason put Obama in that seat, and i also know that it wasn't because He agreed with his politics. That is the reason why i will continue to fight against the tide that embraces emotion and words without seeking truth. People say they prayed about voting before voting for Obama, good for you. But did you use your mind to dig into the issues for real truth? You can't change your vote, but you can change your intellect. You can choose to do some research. You can refuse to just take at face value the things that sound good. For heaven's sake, please just stop being content with everyone else's "knowledge" and seek some for yourself.
2 comments:
Thank you. Thank you very, very much.
I would appreciate it if you would not assume that those of us who voted for Obama did not search for knowledge and depended instead on emotion and on what 'other people' said. I am deeply involved in Christian/evangelical academia right now--at the graduate and post-graduate level--and it is highly insulting and false for you to state that these issues are issues of emotion and borrowed 'truth' alone for those of us within that circle who supported President Obama. Maybe you should be more willing to admit that the issues are more complex than you present them here...
love,
your oldest sister
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