Election Reflections

A random assortment of thoughts from last night:

> Watching states get "called" for one candidate or another, I was impressed with the networks' ability to assimilate so much data so quickly that they could extrapolate the outcome from very small percentages of actually counted votes. Like when Vermont was called with ZERO precincts reporting. (Read that with as much deadpan sarcasm as you'd like.)

> It wouldn't make a difference in the outcome of this election, but does it still make sense to choose a president using the electoral college rather than popular vote? Then again, would the popular majority method just lead to candidates focusing on a few key cities rather than a few key states?

> This election has taken far too long and cost way too much. I wonder if it would be a good idea to limit the time frame in which a prospective candidate can campaign and the amount of money they can use to do so?

> Now that Obama has been elected, how will his opponents respond? A lot of accusations have been made - some with more credence than others. But in a couple months, he will be the President of the United States of America. Will those who didn't want him as President, submit to the authority of the office?

> Will there be any real change in the way the political machine of our nation operates?

> Watching Obama speak last night, there was a conflicted mix in my mind. Race alone cannot stop someone in our nation from achieving whatever their abilities will allow them to achieve. Several generations ago, Obama would have been considered 3/5ths of a person (or even less) when it came to politics; now he will be at the pinnacle of American political heap. That is real change, brought on over the last several decades, that America can be proud of. But it does concern me that the leader of our nation will now be leaning further left than any previous occupant of the White House. It will be interesting to say the least to see how Obama will actually lead. What will happen to his popularity when he has to start making and taking the tough calls of the presidency?

> I appreciated the tenor of Obama's speech last night. (Actually much of what he said would be heralded by the right had it been said by someone from the right.) With the huge crowd gathered around him, it would have been easy to work them up into a victory hype like we've never seen before. Instead of absorbing all the energy of his crowd and accepting their worship (which many people seem more than willing to give), he thanked his people, and reminded them that there is work to do to re-establish a sense of unity among the people of the United States.

I know a lot of my friends are up in arms about Obama. From socialist to Marxist to clandestine Muslim out to rot America from the inside out to being the AntiChrist out to overturn God's world order - I've heard all those ideas. I just can't buy into them. But he's not the savior of the American people either. That office is permanently filled by one who will never campaign. He just is. Let's make sure we don't forget where our true hope lies.

Of skies and falling...

Is it really THE most important election in our nation's history? (And haven't I heard that before?)
Is the future of our nation really at stake?
If 'the liberals' win, are we really at the threshold of our national demise?


I wouldn't say that it doesn't matter at all who wins, but I'm just not ready to say the wrong choice will be our last. I don't think our country is what it is today (positively and negatively) because of who has and has not been our president. Nor do I don't think our national tomorrow is dictated by who wins the upcoming election. We are a nation that is shaped, more than any other, "by the people".


A great nation has been forged by the will of the people to pursue life, liberty, and happiness - not simply by having great men in the presidency.


Our banks aren't failing because of Bush's economic policies. Actually stronger links have been made to a Carter decision, which was morphed by Clinton into federal prodding of banks to make loans to unqualified applicants. But even those policies aren't completely to blame. We're in an economic mess because of our national greed. Our appetite for more and better no matter the cost has led us to an empty trough. Our capacity for spending enormous amounts of money that we don't have via our own personal decks of credit cards has finally brought the house down.

The presidency is an important position. But if your candidate doesn't make it... it's not the end of the world. God is still God, and maybe a bad choice will lead His church to wake up and behave more like His Son than ever before.

A Thing That Made Me Go "Hmm?"

“Lord - Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.”

A simple prayer. Protection... Forgiveness... Humility and Hope... Wisdom... Willingness... It's a prayer not too different from many I have prayed myself.

But a lot of people are upset about this particular prayer. Not so much the words it contains, but the source of these words. The prayer was actually taken out of a crevice in the Western Wall in Jerusalem. It had been placed there last week by Barak Obama while he toured the region.

Whatever your politics are, this raises a lot of questions:
Does the prayer tell us anything about what's really going on in the heart and mind of the Presidential nominee?
Why would a Jewish seminary student think it was ok in this situation to take someone else's prayer out of the wall?
Should the world really be privvy to private conversations with God?
Will this change any conservative Christian minds about who Barak Obama really is?
What is it that causes so many to be so skeptical of his motives/intentions/abilities?
Was this simply a strategic way to appear more spiritually minded?

What do you think?

Olympic Mess

Probably nothing focuses the world's attention on one place like the Olympics. It's always a big deal when the next host is announced years in advance. There's always a great deal of fanfare and anticipation leading up to the event - including the torch run.

The Olympic Torch has come to symbolize the games themselves, but this year it seems the run will be encountering some difficulties. Protesters in London and Paris have halted the torch, forced it into buses for protection and turned what is normally a celebratory time into a spectacle of riot gear and tear gas. I think the next stop is San Francisco and I wouldn't plan on things getting any better.

The way these protests have brought attention to China's violations of human rights makes me wonder why the IOC chose Beijing to host the Olympics in the first place. I wonder if the Games themselves will be as heavily protested as the Torch run has been? If that happens, what will be the Chinese government's response? They haven't seemed to respond too favorably to protest in the past.

I also wonder what is the appropriate response for the church? How should we view a peace-and-harmony-promoting sporting event of this magnitude when it's held in a place where so many live without justice? Could a door be opening at this time for justice to increase?

Maybe I Like Mike???

I haven't yet decided on a candidate for president, but this video is awesome and made me take a look into Mike Huckabee. I did a little digging and found some pretty positive stuff. You can go here to find out where he stands on important issues.

Election

Well, the election is over - except for Chad and his dimples that have to be ironed out. Control is shifting, seats have been lost. Now, I'm not 'died in the wool' anything except a follower of Jesus, a husband, and a father (and short, but there's no options for me there anyway), but watching news reports last night as vote counts started coming in was a little annoying. Why did the anchors have to have that giant smirk on their faces when they announced a democrat victory? Can they at least feign objectivity?

I don't know, just thought that was kind of dumb. It will be interesting to see how things will get done in the next couple years. I don't think this is the great beginning of a golden democrat-controlled era, nor do I think this is the end of the republic or the death knell of our nation or anything like that - there's more than enough corruption on both sides of the aisle. Days will still pass by one after another. Liberals will still say the Conservatives are uncaring money grabbers (which SOME are), and Conservatives will still accuse the Liberals of killing babies and pandering to gays (which SOME do).

But I'm not sure about the labels anymore. The characterizations of the liberal democrats and conservative republicans have gotten way out of hand. Straw men are too easy to burn. Perhaps this shift will allow us to stop talking in hyperbole and discuss real ideas and real problems and real solutions with real people.

Then again maybe not. Maybe there is no middle. Maybe our nation is destined to be hopelessly divided between left and right (which oddly enough often looks more like coastland and heartland). Either way, I'm glad my allegiance, though it's been pledged to the flag since Reagan was president, is ultimately to another Kingdom. A Kingdom that will not pass away.

I'm also glad I don't have to watch another opposition-party bashing commercial. Well, at least not for a couple years.