Politics sucks hardcore. I don’t like listening to people talk about it, I don’t like watching it on the news and I never want to run for any sort of public office.
That being said, politics is necessary. As a Christian, when I read my Bible I see that through most of the history of the world there was some form of king, judge, or governor of the people. Also, we are exhorted to pray for our leadership — I will get to that here in a bit.
Most people involved in politics will tell you that this Presidential election is the most important in our history. While I don’t disagree with that, we need to remember that the President is also involved in a system of checks and balances, and with Congress doing next to nothing, it’s going to be nearly impossible for our next President to do anything about our economy, moral issues, etc.
Now hear this: personally I plan on voting for McCain. Before you label me as a closed-minded racist pig for not voting for a half-black candidate, let me share with you that I am no more a fan of McCain than Obama. In fact I think some of McCain’s policies are mere extensions of what George W. Bush has done and the Republican party has taken a severe turn for the worse over the past eight years. The Republican party, by and large has lost my support.
That being said, I cannot vote Democratic. I just can’t. I personally do not agree on many of the moral issues the Democratic Party stands for. Moreover, I really oppose a lot of Obama’s policies…even more than McCain. The fact that the man has reached god-like status in many social circles really disturbs me and makes me wonder if our voting public can truly be this ill-informed and lackadaisical.
When I see a group of young schoolchildren doing a militant dance/stomp routine or a bunch of kids being manipulated to sing for Obama, or when I hear Sarah Palin say the extent of her foreign policy experience is that she can see Russia from her backyard, I believe America is at the political bottom of the barrel.
Here’s the way I see it. Even with McCain being more left of center than most Republican candidates, I am still forced to throw my vote to the Republican party. As much as I grimace about it, I have to do it. I can’t have it any other way.
Let me make an analogy. Remember the story of Aron Ralston, the hiker who had his hand pinned under a rock and had to cut his own hand off to save the rest of his body? Even though his hand is now gone, and it pained him so excruciatingly not just to keep hacking away at his flesh and bone, but the realization he would never have that appendage again — it still saved his life.
That’s the way it is for me, morally. With America in the terrible moral and economic decline it is in right now, I personally feel like I am stuck between two choices — both of which will hurt, yet only one of them will completely wreck my sense of morality.
In this case, I am going to cut off my arm to save the rest of my life. Not that I think John McCain offers any hope, but I am forced to. I would actually be voting for Bob Barr if this election didn’t hinge on every ballot cast by the voting public of America. But because this vote is so huge, I will be doing my best to keep Barack Hussein Obama out of the White House.
Let’s all be realistic and take a good hard look at where we are at today in the United States. Our economy is being flushed down the toilet because greedy consumers spent more than they could afford and for some reason the banks of this nation were forced by the government to accommodate them; our moral values are going down the tube (don’t make me get into this); and President George W. Bush has begun the transformation of our nation into a police state. The nation we once knew is gone, and we may very well be taken over in world superpower status by China. Did the Olympics not tell us anything?
Here’s what I am asking you to do after you read this post. Take a look at the issues and vote with your heart, your morals and your conscience.
AND VOTE FOR YOURSELF. Don’t let what anyone tells you, not even what I posted above, sway you in making a decision for your vote. Let God, your faith, morals and personal convictions guide you.
That’s what I’m doing this upcoming election, and nothing anyone says or does to sway me is going to change my vote. I only hope that everyone else is as resolute.
Twitter Updates
I think we’re in the same boat. As much as the flaws and problems with the McCain/Palin ticket bother me, voting for Obama would be a vote against my conscience and my values, and that’s something I simply can’t do. I’m voting for McCain because out of the two men running, he reflects my conservative values much better than Obama does. Plus, I downright do not trust Obama. I also dislike that Obama is being hailed by many as some political messiah that’s going to save the country. I think it’s in times like this, when politicians are so untrustworthy, that you have to really know what you stand for before casting your vote.
Charlotte, there are SIX people running.
Chris, you truly have had your vote stolen. You’ve believed the lie that a McCain owns your vote, and if you vote for anyone else, you then make Obama win.
The truth is that you own your vote. It is more honorable to vote for the person that lines up with your beliefs and principles.
At least you KNOW that there are other choices.
Chris, we’re friends. And, like a lot of my intelligent friends who are voting for McCain, your logic puzzles me. Your vote seems entirely vindictive. I’m disappointed that you’ve bought into the whole juvenile “Hussein” meme, as well as that Obama is not “moral.”
The way I see it, Obama is tremendously moral. He’s faithful to his wife and children, is committed to his beliefs and cares about the downtrodden. Contrast that to McCain, who married his rich second wife while still married to his first one – who, by the way, stuck by him during his POW years, only to be walked out on after a car accident messed her up. McCain wants to end employer health insurance, ax programs that offer helping hands to the needy and continue a disastrous war just so he never has to admit America was wrong. What is moral about any of that?
It’s hard for me to imagine that someone who has such a problem with McCain could still pick him over Obama. You must really HATE Obama. Because there’s so little about you personally that hints at this, I have to wonder where it comes from. After all, I’ve found myself in agreement with many things you’ve said about politics. Because you seem so unsure, I beg you to reconsider.
Here’s my logic. Screw voting. The electoral system is broken, as the electorates can give their votes against what the popular vote says. This is why presidents can win while still losing the popular vote. It makes me mad!
But I serve in the Paratroops because I believe this country is still great for its freedoms. I love my country and would die for it. But I am not blind to how the government is a self-sufficing system. Jeeze, talk about alliteration! lol.
-Jas
Ian–
What you mentioned about McCain pandering to the rich is exactly why I don’t like the Grand Old Party anymore. But there are a few things, other than morals, about Obama which scare me:
1. He is the most unqualified man in my lifetime (and possibly some years beyond it too) to seek America’s highest elected office. It is a known fact that he was a senator for only half a year before organizing his presidential exploratory committee. Someone who has been in national public office for such a short time yet has seen such a meteoric rise in his stock among likely voters (even siphoning staunch conservatives’ votes away) concerns me, to say the least.
2. In my mind, I can’t erase Obama’s comment about faith being a crutch for bitter people during his fundraiser in SF. For someone that claims to be a Christian, why would such a comment have been made?
3. Two words: Jeremiah Wright.
4. I stand completely against Obama’s proposed policies of diplomatic relations with sworn enemies of our nation. Why anyone would want to negotiate with places like Iran and possibly Russia in the future is beyond me. (I don’t want to attack either, I am more of an isolationist…)
5. And speaking of morals, he couldn’t even answer a simple question at the Saddleback Church forum from Rick Warren on when babies get human rights. Obama’s response? “That’s above my pay grade.” For a man who is seeking the highest political pay grade in our nation, that spoke volumes to me.
Jason–
If you will not vote, then for the next four years will you please refrain from any questions or criticisms of whomever sits in the Oval Office. Thank you.
Jeremy and Charlotte I will get back to you when I get to work…
OK, I see where you’re coming from, Chris. It’s nothing I haven’t already rebutted 50 times. Same old twisted talking points.
1) Obama started his political career in 1997 as a state senator in Illinois. He served a district with a much larger population than many states for seven years, then became a U.S. Senator. You can argue about whether or not that qualifies him to be president, but to say he’s the most unqualified candidate in your lifetime and beyond is a gross exaggeration.
2) Obama’s “bitter” comment does have truth to it. He’s not saying everyone who has faith and weaponry is bitter or deluded, but many let their passions and denominations divide them. He’s sparked outrage only because of the two specific examples he used, but it could have been anything. Politics, street gangs, teams, etc. These days, people do use anything and everything to assert their identities and their standing over others. I think ,deep down, everyone knows what he meant, and it struck a chord of truth.
3) I personally don’t care about a politician’s religious beliefs or lack thereof, but you can’t judge someone by one clip of their pastor. Obama didn’t even attend that service and knew Wright for many years prior to that comment. He never sought Wrights endorsement, and distanced himself from him. McCain, on the other hand, sought the endorsement of anti-Catholic John Hagee, whose stated cause is bringing on Armageddon. Palin had a guy visit her church to pray over her and scare off the witches. Oh, and he was anti-Semitic, too. You can catch video of it. Do I care about any of this? No, but you have to acknowledge all of them.
4) Another classic fallacy. Obama wants to talk, but not without preconditions. And I don’t see that as a bad thing, because perhaps diplomacy will work better than never talking to anyone and asserting superiority through war is all played out. Bill Clinton, Geroge H. W. Bush and even Ronald Reagan understood that, as all three favored that as their foreign-policy approach. Even George W. Bush agrees now, as he is entering into talks with Iran. Apparently, the only one who doesn’t these days is John McCain. The maverick.
5) You do understand that no president is going to make abortion illegal, right? They have no power to do so. And even if McCain got in and stacked the Supreme Court, it would still take an astronomical set of circumstances to have a related case reach the court. Even then, the justices wouldn’t be likely to overturn it because it’s settled law, and also because the right would lose its No. 1 wedge issue. Warren’s question was loaded, and set up to where Obama’s answer would not have pleased the crowd regardless. I abhor abortion as much as anyone, but I refuse to make that my defining issue when we have soldiers dying all over the world and everyone’s broke at home.
Ian (and this is a response to Jeremy as well),
So maybe the only solution then is to realize that the two-party system has been long broken and we need a viable third-party candidate to distance themselves from the Republican and Democratic parties.
Americans are mad at the state of their country and they have every right to be. But until they pull their heads out of where the sun doesn’t shine, we’ll be mired in two-party politics and the establishment will continue to get their way.
Looking into it, and the points you brought across Ian, just how different really are Republicans and Democrats?
The difference is that Obama understands these similarities between people, and his speeches and policies reflect a yearning to put our deep divisions aside and work toward the common good. This is why so many people of both parties are attracted to him.
McCain and the Republicans want to exploit these differences because if people are busy enough fighting and scapegoating each other, they’ll turn a blind eye to how the government and corporations are robbing them blind.
Americans are more alike than different, and it’s nice to finally hear a candidate say this after so long.
I wrote a big enough response that I thought it was worthy of a post on my own blog :-D
http://jeremydyoung.blogspot.com/2008/10/change-only-if-it-means-principles.html
Sorry if that’s cheap or rude :)
Ian,
Deep down inside I honestly truly hope you are right about Obama, and that he exhibits no ulterior motives. It is looking like he could very well be our next president so I hope he, as you put it, works toward the common good. I just personally cannot bring myself to vote for him based on the points I spoke of above and even more.
Other candidates are also saying Americans are more alike than different, the only problem is like I said above the establishment continues to have their way, fueled by the MSM, to not give credibility to third-party candidates who actually make sense.
I’m keeping politics out of this. I am just curious about one thing. Why do you use Obama’s middle name (Hussein) in your posts? You don’t use anyone else’s middle name.
I’m curious what point you are trying to make by doing that? What is your motivation and intention? What reaction or emotion do you wish to illicit by using his middle name, when you don’t use anyone elses?
Sincerely,
Jack
For me, using someone’s middle name (in this case, Obama) simply conveys that I am trying to make a stark important point about that person. That’s it.
If you took offense to it I apologize.
Christopher Ray Brewer
Chris, we're friends. And, like a lot of my intelligent friends who are voting for McCain, your logic puzzles me. Your vote seems entirely vindictive. I'm disappointed that you've bought into the whole juvenile “Hussein” meme, as well as that Obama is not “moral.”
The way I see it, Obama is tremendously moral. He's faithful to his wife and children, is committed to his beliefs and cares about the downtrodden. Contrast that to McCain, who married his rich second wife while still married to his first one – who, by the way, stuck by him during his POW years, only to be walked out on after a car accident messed her up. McCain wants to end employer health insurance, ax programs that offer helping hands to the needy and continue a disastrous war just so he never has to admit America was wrong. What is moral about any of that?
It's hard for me to imagine that someone who has such a problem with McCain could still pick him over Obama. You must really HATE Obama. Because there's so little about you personally that hints at this, I have to wonder where it comes from. After all, I've found myself in agreement with many things you've said about politics. Because you seem so unsure, I beg you to reconsider.