It is not possible to tune into the news, whether on TV , newspaper, magazines or through social networks, without hearing about the 2012 US Presidential campaigns and constant anaysis of the candidates and sound bites from both of them. As a regular Facebook user, I find myself getting tired of hearing about it and I get very tired of all the sponsored ads that keep flooding my homepage, and more seem to be coming from the Romney campaign than from the Obama campaign. But I know that there are two full months, at least, before it will be all oficially over and we will stop seeing all those campaign ads. I know that these events are located in my country, the US, but as any President and his administration make many decisions involving foreign policies affecting the entire world, that who will spend the next four years in the White House, as any four-year period, will profoundly affect the rest of the world.
I'm not writing this to tell anyone how to vote and no one has any right to tell anyone how to vote or which candidate to support. All anyone can ethically do is suggest that you check the facts about the candidates, do your "due diligence" on them and do your research so you can make an informed decision when you cast your vote and that your vote is not based on a personal like/dislike for a candidate, loyalty to those who tell you how you "should vote," or opinions formed on your listening to campaign ads or partisan radio or talk show hosts. We all have different value systems and different visions of what we think of the direction that the country should "go in." There is nothing wrong with having strong opinions and talking about them. What is wrong is when talking about these opinions morphs into personal attacks, whether on the candidates or on those who support them.
It seems that it is very hard to disagree about political issues graciously and respectfully. It is not for nothing that we are warned, "Do not talk about politics or religion."
Two separate times, including earlier this year on President's Day, I had sent causes invitations to almost everyone in my social networks who uses Causes, to a Facebook causes called, "Join the Fight to Stop Dishonoring the President." The mission of this cause has been to restore honor and dignity to the office of the Presidency. This honor and respect have been lost and that seems to have sharply declined when President Obama was elected in 2008. I offended a few people simply by sending them invitations to support this cause and they removed me from their friends lists. Many who normally support me, did not support this cause. And I fear that many, many people will cast their votes not because of enthusiasm for their preferred candidate but because they are so against the candidate that they do not like.
In my Facebook newsfeed, I have seen posts by people who have gone on record as saying that they had their minds made up, well in advance, on how they will vote on November 2. More than a few times, I have seen people "like" pages or post photos indicating "I will NOT vote for Obama" or "I will vote Obama out" "I will vote this person out of a job," and show a photo of President Obama. The supporters of Mitt Romney and the supporters of President Obama have gotten relentless in attacking the other's candidate. I know I will sound biased but I see much more hate, vitiol and trashing from the opponents of President Obama; I cannot log into Facebook without seeing posts trashing the President or at least making slurs that make no secret of the Facebook user's contempt of the President. Some of my most loyal supporters are people who differ with me sharply on political matters, though I don't know if they are aware of this. I would hope that even political differences would not ruin my rapport with them but I'm too aware that political differences are often seen as personal attacks and offenses that cannot be tolerated. One Facebook page is called something like, "1,000,000 Strong Against Mitt Romney." Why is is easier or more fun, to scream about what we are against than to shout out about what we are for?
This weekend, when Mitt Romney chose his running mate, Paul Ryan, the author of the very controversial "Ryan Plan," the Presidential campaign has really picked up steam. This choice of "running mate" will keep this controversial proposed piece of legislation in sharp focus for awhile. As this plan is an very important part of the Romney campaign, when considering whether to vote for Mitt Romney, any voter should know what the "Ryan Plan" is and what it would mean for self and family. I will provide links at the end of this post where you can find out more about the Ryan Plan and educate yourself about what it is.
I bring up the Ryan Plan because it is a central part in the platform for the Romney campaign and because his running mate is the creator of this proposed legislation. We cannot afford to be ignorant of it and what it would mean for us and our families. We are living in a time which is the very first time when it has proposals to cut many government programs or services has ever been put before the public but that time is here. Republicans are the party which focuses on minimizing government spending but not until the Tea Party politicians have occupied seats in Congress, have I ever heard talk of federal cuts to Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. And these cuts are part of the Ryan Plan. I know that there are many people who may never have had to use government programs and may think they may never need them. And I hope they never will be in the position to need them! But we never know what life may hold for us, and we may find ourselves in situations where we may need to use a government program (s) and, if we are fortunate to live long enough, we will need to use Medicare. The only people who need not concern themselves with what the Ryan Plan will mean to their families and themselves are those who are wealthy and whose money will cover them even in times of illness or emergencies. Since that is not most of us, we owe it to our families and ourselves to educate ourselves about the Ryan Plan.
Recently, in response to another Facebook user's slur against President Obama, and being fed up with seeing anti-Obama posts and comments, I posted a status update that was not directed at anyone in particular. I lamented all the hateful posts and comments that I was seeing more and more of; I said that while I did not want to sound biased, that I saw more hate being directed toward Obama and his supporters than toward Romney and his supporters. I got few "likes" or comments. One Facebook user said to me, "I'm a Republican and I am a proud one; okay, come out and say that you are a Democrat." Actually, I grew up in a family of Democrats and I support many Democrat policies, but I also support some policies that are considered Republican. I an Independent, I told the Facebook user in my comment. Politically, I have always felt alienated and caught-in-the-middle because I sympathize with many of my family's views, which are strongly Democratic. But I also sympathize with some of views that are considered more "religious right" in nature, though I do not consider myself a "conservative Christian." As I read my Bible, God is neither Republican or Democrat. I do not think that even the Church, pastors or Christian leaders should tell people what candidate to support or how to vote. Both major parties have strengths and both parties have weakness.
Like everyone else, I am excited about the outcome of this Presidential campaign but I will be relieved when it will end. I know that as my active petition calls for funds for a cause, that it will take resolution of the budget crisis in Washington before any action can be taken on what I am calling for. In many ways, it does not even matter who occupies the White House as the President can do nothing without the support and co-operation of Congress. This is why my petition is addressed to both Houses of the US Congress as well as to the US President, along with both Houses of my state Congress and to my state Governor.
As the weeks continue, we can expect to see the Presidential campaign and other political campaigns, get nastier and nastier. We should base our votes not on attack ads or the opinions of talk show hosts but the facts and I will provide links to a few resources.
http://votesmart.org/
This is the website for Project Vote Smart, which provides a wealth of facts about politicians and this website is easy to navigate with its search bar.
http://politifact.com/
This is the website where the words and actions of politicians are evaluated and examined and where the record is said to be able to be set straight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Path_to_Prosperity_The_Ryan_Plan
This is the website that provides comprehensive information about the Ryan Plan but it is a lot of reading and may be tedious to wade through.
http://americanthinker.com/2011/06/ok_just_what_is_the_ryan_medicare_plan.html
Showing posts with label Politicians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politicians. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
The Most Dishonored Man in the US
Someone does a drawing of President Obama, inscribing this drawing with "He has come from monkeys." (I understand the the maker of this photo has apologized).
A "friend" on Facebook appears on Chat with me; when I request that this user sign and share a petition, the response I get is an angry: "He hates (the beneficiaries of said petition)! He is our enemy! He is a sociopath!"
Recently, I scrolled through my homepage and saw another post about the US President. In the comments section, a user posted "It is time to hand him his pink slip and say it's time to retire."
As I was scrolling though my Facebook homepage one day, I saw a photo collage of many politicians with the inscription like "Terrorists," among the many photos is one of President Obama, at the far right.
A "pastor," preaching his "pro-life" sermon one day, denounces President Obama and leads his congregation in a "prayer" for the President to die.
It is not uncommon for us to see "funnies" in various media outlets, where President Obama is depicted with Devil's horns or pictured in strange poses or with "evil" expressions.
In one user's Facebook profile pic, President Obama appears standing and over his head is the inscription "I lie."
Republicans and politics shows supporting Republicans, compare President Obama to Hitler or even call him by that name.
One prominent, popular politician declares that President Obama "consorts with terrorists and wants to usher in a socialist government."
A high-profile politician calls President Obama "the biggest Food Stamp President in history."
Regularly, when I log into Facebook and check my homepage for updates, I come upon posts with the transparent aim: to trash the current US President.
"Impeach Obama" and "Defeat Obama" causes, petitions and pages continually spring up throughout the social networks.
"Liar," "Imposter," "Unpatriotic," "Traitor," "Socialist," and other derogatory nouns are constantly tossed around, on all media outlets, and are meant to trash the President.
One national cable TV network, over these past several years, has functioned with one purpose, as judging by their actions: to destroy the President and those who agree with him.
On and around patriotic holidays, like Memorial day and Veteran's Day especially, on my Facebook homepage, I see posts with photos of veterans with the inscrpition "Some Gave All," and photos of President Obama with the inscription, "Some Gave Nothing."
One prominent Republican likens President Obama to a criminal convicted of manslaughter who "has abandoned the ship."
When President Obama sings a portion of a popular song on TV, another politician calls him the "Entertainer-In-Chief" and states that he is "bad for singing."
A certain Governor, right on TV, angrily shakes her fist in the face of the US President.
A certain Congressman orders President Obama: "Get the ---- out of the US!"
On Facebook, there is an application called "Nobama."
A certain State Senator "prays" for the death of the US President.
These numerous, disturbing examples point to a now ingrained habit in our culture that has taken on a life of its own. This trend is dishonoring the President.
I don't know if this is because of who the current President happens to be but I have a suspicion that this has something to do with all the hate leveled at him. I don't know if this because of unconscious racism toward the first Black President in US history and jealousy of his success. I don't recall that former Presidents, including former President George W. Bush, have been the butt of such hate, contempt and crass disrespect. Yes, many of us have referred to former President Jimmy Carter as "the peanut man," and to former President Bill Clinton as "slick Willie." However, even during the months of the exposure of former President Bill Clinton's scandalous relationship with then White House intern Monica Lewinski and his actions following, and throughout his impeachment trial, I don't recall that he was ever subjected to the level of smearing that President Obama has been.
Why is this dishonoring of the President so widespread and so socially accepted, even among people of faith? I think that it is because many people have grown up not knowing any better, having had it ingrained in them that dishonoring the Government and trashing those in power is "cool." And then there is the influence of the "Tea Party" movement and a prominent cable news network plus Republican enemies of the President who use all kinds of media outlets and spending $$$ to trash him. I think much of it is because ours has become a culture of general disrespect and younger people are not likely to remember a time when manners and respect were the norm. For it is true: Manners, politeness and respect in general, have been declining for many years. When I was growing up, it was drilled into the younger generation, "Respect your elders" and when we did or said anything to challenge authority, it was not accepted. "Talking back" was a grave offense (granted there are major drawbacks to this which I point out in my blogs about autism and social stigma about "taboo" issues).
We would never have gotten by with telling an authority figure, "Wait," when told to do something. Delayed obedience equalled disobedience. But today is very different and disprespect has become so ingrained that diishonoring the person who holds the highest office in the free world, is socially acceptable and even commended! We have lost the ability to separate a person from his or her office and to honor the holder of such offices despite dislike of them or disagreement with them and their policies.
It is safe to say that President Obama will go down as the most dishonored and vilified President in US history. Currently, we have entered into the campaign season where he is seeking a second term and as we all know, this campaign will only get nastier until it is all over. Public sentiment against him continues. There are numerous individuals, groups, causes and petitions that are committed to President Obama's defeat. On Facebook, I continue to see posts that are hostile to President Obama and propaganda photos and articles and supposed quotes where the President's words are taken out of context or incorrectly quoted. Yesterday, scrolling through my Facebook homepage, I saw one such post that showed a photo of former President George Washington and underneath his photo was the inscription was "I cannot tell a lie." Next to his photo was a photo of President Obama; under his photo was the inscription, "I cannot tell the truth." More and more users are posting material declaring, "I will vote President Obama out of a job in November 2012!" Even after the President had produced his birth certificate and explained the circumstances surrounding his birth, many still doubt the validity of his US citizenship and declare his "ineligibilty" to even run for the office of the US President.
I am aware that, among many "real life" people of my aquaintance and among many in my own social networks, many oppose the President. In my social networks and among those who have expressed their political vies, few have shown support for President Obama. And by support I don't mean liking him or agreeing with his political views or his policy decisions. By support, I mean honoring him because he holds the highest (and arguably most difficult) office in the free world, expressing this honor and giving him the benefit of the doubt even when we may not like what he does. I have wanted to post, "What would YOU do if you were in his place?" Myself, I don't agree with all of President Obama's decisions or views, just as I did not agree with all of former President Bush's decisions or his views.
As a person of faith, I'm fully aware that many question the genuineness of President Obama's Christian faith, though he has stated that he has a relationship with God through Jesus His Son and that his faith guides what he does in his personal and professional life. I will not discuss the reasons people give for why they doubt his faith; these would fill whole books. But I believe that judging the quality of his faith (or anyone's) is nor right and is just as wrong as the reasons their profession of faith is being questioned. This lapse is worst among those who call themselves "conservative Christiona" or "the religious right." Whatever we think of President Obama's views on the "hot-button" issues of gay/lesbian marriage equality or abortion, only God knows the President's heart, just as He knows the hearts of each of us. Each of us arrives at our own views of these two core issues (in the minds of so many) based on deeply held beliefs and often, life experiences. Yes, Scriptural principles come down on the side of life beginning at conception and on the side of marriage being God's design to be between a husnband and his wife (who would illustrate the relationship between God and His people). But we live in a very broken world where so many feel driven to choose abortion or where life circumstances make the sexual orientations of many do awry. The fact that we are so angrily debating these issues shows that we have serious issues that the President, if anything, realizes needs to be addressed. We may not like or agree with how he is addressing gay/lesbiam marriage equality or abortion but the Scripture tells us to honor and pray for those in power.
As we get closer and closer to the Presidential debates and the election, whoever those of us in the US vote for, let us remember that votes that are cast based on hate for a Candidate and the desire to defeat him at any cost, are poorly cast.
And if we can disrespect the person who hold the highest office in the free world, we will find it easy to disrespect anyone.
A "friend" on Facebook appears on Chat with me; when I request that this user sign and share a petition, the response I get is an angry: "He hates (the beneficiaries of said petition)! He is our enemy! He is a sociopath!"
Recently, I scrolled through my homepage and saw another post about the US President. In the comments section, a user posted "It is time to hand him his pink slip and say it's time to retire."
As I was scrolling though my Facebook homepage one day, I saw a photo collage of many politicians with the inscription like "Terrorists," among the many photos is one of President Obama, at the far right.
A "pastor," preaching his "pro-life" sermon one day, denounces President Obama and leads his congregation in a "prayer" for the President to die.
It is not uncommon for us to see "funnies" in various media outlets, where President Obama is depicted with Devil's horns or pictured in strange poses or with "evil" expressions.
In one user's Facebook profile pic, President Obama appears standing and over his head is the inscription "I lie."
Republicans and politics shows supporting Republicans, compare President Obama to Hitler or even call him by that name.
One prominent, popular politician declares that President Obama "consorts with terrorists and wants to usher in a socialist government."
A high-profile politician calls President Obama "the biggest Food Stamp President in history."
Regularly, when I log into Facebook and check my homepage for updates, I come upon posts with the transparent aim: to trash the current US President.
"Impeach Obama" and "Defeat Obama" causes, petitions and pages continually spring up throughout the social networks.
"Liar," "Imposter," "Unpatriotic," "Traitor," "Socialist," and other derogatory nouns are constantly tossed around, on all media outlets, and are meant to trash the President.
One national cable TV network, over these past several years, has functioned with one purpose, as judging by their actions: to destroy the President and those who agree with him.
On and around patriotic holidays, like Memorial day and Veteran's Day especially, on my Facebook homepage, I see posts with photos of veterans with the inscrpition "Some Gave All," and photos of President Obama with the inscription, "Some Gave Nothing."
One prominent Republican likens President Obama to a criminal convicted of manslaughter who "has abandoned the ship."
When President Obama sings a portion of a popular song on TV, another politician calls him the "Entertainer-In-Chief" and states that he is "bad for singing."
A certain Governor, right on TV, angrily shakes her fist in the face of the US President.
A certain Congressman orders President Obama: "Get the ---- out of the US!"
On Facebook, there is an application called "Nobama."
A certain State Senator "prays" for the death of the US President.
These numerous, disturbing examples point to a now ingrained habit in our culture that has taken on a life of its own. This trend is dishonoring the President.
I don't know if this is because of who the current President happens to be but I have a suspicion that this has something to do with all the hate leveled at him. I don't know if this because of unconscious racism toward the first Black President in US history and jealousy of his success. I don't recall that former Presidents, including former President George W. Bush, have been the butt of such hate, contempt and crass disrespect. Yes, many of us have referred to former President Jimmy Carter as "the peanut man," and to former President Bill Clinton as "slick Willie." However, even during the months of the exposure of former President Bill Clinton's scandalous relationship with then White House intern Monica Lewinski and his actions following, and throughout his impeachment trial, I don't recall that he was ever subjected to the level of smearing that President Obama has been.
Why is this dishonoring of the President so widespread and so socially accepted, even among people of faith? I think that it is because many people have grown up not knowing any better, having had it ingrained in them that dishonoring the Government and trashing those in power is "cool." And then there is the influence of the "Tea Party" movement and a prominent cable news network plus Republican enemies of the President who use all kinds of media outlets and spending $$$ to trash him. I think much of it is because ours has become a culture of general disrespect and younger people are not likely to remember a time when manners and respect were the norm. For it is true: Manners, politeness and respect in general, have been declining for many years. When I was growing up, it was drilled into the younger generation, "Respect your elders" and when we did or said anything to challenge authority, it was not accepted. "Talking back" was a grave offense (granted there are major drawbacks to this which I point out in my blogs about autism and social stigma about "taboo" issues).
We would never have gotten by with telling an authority figure, "Wait," when told to do something. Delayed obedience equalled disobedience. But today is very different and disprespect has become so ingrained that diishonoring the person who holds the highest office in the free world, is socially acceptable and even commended! We have lost the ability to separate a person from his or her office and to honor the holder of such offices despite dislike of them or disagreement with them and their policies.
It is safe to say that President Obama will go down as the most dishonored and vilified President in US history. Currently, we have entered into the campaign season where he is seeking a second term and as we all know, this campaign will only get nastier until it is all over. Public sentiment against him continues. There are numerous individuals, groups, causes and petitions that are committed to President Obama's defeat. On Facebook, I continue to see posts that are hostile to President Obama and propaganda photos and articles and supposed quotes where the President's words are taken out of context or incorrectly quoted. Yesterday, scrolling through my Facebook homepage, I saw one such post that showed a photo of former President George Washington and underneath his photo was the inscription was "I cannot tell a lie." Next to his photo was a photo of President Obama; under his photo was the inscription, "I cannot tell the truth." More and more users are posting material declaring, "I will vote President Obama out of a job in November 2012!" Even after the President had produced his birth certificate and explained the circumstances surrounding his birth, many still doubt the validity of his US citizenship and declare his "ineligibilty" to even run for the office of the US President.
I am aware that, among many "real life" people of my aquaintance and among many in my own social networks, many oppose the President. In my social networks and among those who have expressed their political vies, few have shown support for President Obama. And by support I don't mean liking him or agreeing with his political views or his policy decisions. By support, I mean honoring him because he holds the highest (and arguably most difficult) office in the free world, expressing this honor and giving him the benefit of the doubt even when we may not like what he does. I have wanted to post, "What would YOU do if you were in his place?" Myself, I don't agree with all of President Obama's decisions or views, just as I did not agree with all of former President Bush's decisions or his views.
As a person of faith, I'm fully aware that many question the genuineness of President Obama's Christian faith, though he has stated that he has a relationship with God through Jesus His Son and that his faith guides what he does in his personal and professional life. I will not discuss the reasons people give for why they doubt his faith; these would fill whole books. But I believe that judging the quality of his faith (or anyone's) is nor right and is just as wrong as the reasons their profession of faith is being questioned. This lapse is worst among those who call themselves "conservative Christiona" or "the religious right." Whatever we think of President Obama's views on the "hot-button" issues of gay/lesbian marriage equality or abortion, only God knows the President's heart, just as He knows the hearts of each of us. Each of us arrives at our own views of these two core issues (in the minds of so many) based on deeply held beliefs and often, life experiences. Yes, Scriptural principles come down on the side of life beginning at conception and on the side of marriage being God's design to be between a husnband and his wife (who would illustrate the relationship between God and His people). But we live in a very broken world where so many feel driven to choose abortion or where life circumstances make the sexual orientations of many do awry. The fact that we are so angrily debating these issues shows that we have serious issues that the President, if anything, realizes needs to be addressed. We may not like or agree with how he is addressing gay/lesbiam marriage equality or abortion but the Scripture tells us to honor and pray for those in power.
As we get closer and closer to the Presidential debates and the election, whoever those of us in the US vote for, let us remember that votes that are cast based on hate for a Candidate and the desire to defeat him at any cost, are poorly cast.
And if we can disrespect the person who hold the highest office in the free world, we will find it easy to disrespect anyone.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
How Should We Approach Politics and Can it Solve Our Problems?
We can't help but see what happens when many tragedies and crimes dominate the news. The public follow the story, get deeply involved and outraged and become stirred to action on an issue that was, before that time, overdue to be addressed. But usually these high-profile stories are symptoms of problems that are deeper, more basic and older and so can't be fixed directly. Because we can't change hearts or human nature, we focus on proposing legislation that we hope will minimize the effects of the epidemic we want to alleviate. We circulate petitions. We write, call or send email messages to our legislators. We base our votes on how our politicians respond to our concerns. If we are able, we may engage in civil disobedience, protests or marches or lobby our legislators. Whether our political leanings fall closer to the left of people's views or to the right of people's views, many of us either don't pay attention to politics and see its relevance in our lives or we see it as able to save us in some way. And whatever the level of our involvement in the democratic process, we so often get mad at, even hate those in power when they fail to live up to our expectations.
It's forever true that politics has power to affect every area of our lives, up to a point. So much voter apathy exists because many people don't see that. Politicans make many promises and trash their opponents, scaring us about the dire consequences of supporting the opposition. That happens every campaign season and it is happening in the US political scene. But is seems that when tragedy strikes, we recognize, almost to excess, what politics can do for us. For example, one girl, with the full support of her parents, went public with the account that one night some boys forced her to drink herself unconscious and then raped her. As a result "Breanna's Law" was proposed and passed. This law was meant to broaden the definition of rage and empower kids to report sex crimes by peers. Most of us know about the lifesaving "Amber Alert" program. It was created because of the brutal rape-murder of 9 year old Amber Hagerman, whose murder remains unsolved. Thanks to this legislation many kids, fortunate enough to meet the program's strict criteria, have been rescued alive and reunited with their families. A college girl, Kristin Smart, vanished about 12 years ago but law enforcement officials (LEO's) didn't start investigating her case until she was missing for three weeks. Because of her presumed murder, the "Kristin Smart Campus Safety Act" was created. After 17 year old Chelsea King's brutal rape-murder over 2 years ago, "Chelsea's Law" was created to make it easier to track registered sex offenders and hold them accountable for their crimes in California where Chelsea was killed; it has yet to become law in all 50 US states. Recall the massacre at Columbine High School at Littleton, Colorado 12 years ago where 12 students and one teacher were murdered before the two gunmen killed themselves. After this massacre, families of some victims lobbied for tougher gun laws while other families of victims appealed to Congress to bring back prayer to public schools. We can be thankful for vastly increased bullying awareness and often, when news of a bullycide victim dominates headlines, anti-bullying legislation is proposed and sometimes passed into law. Some families with missing loved ones and a number of advocates are lobbying Congress for "Billy's Law," named after Billy Smolinski (who is still missing) which is supposed to make solving cases through the NamUs missing/unidentified database much easier through linking both of them. I can go on and on.
With all the strong emotions that so many of us bring to our political debates that tend to deteriorate into shouting matches, outright fights or even worse, it's like many of us think politics can solve whatever issue we care passionately for as based on our view, whether left-leaning or right-leaning. Laws keep getting passed that are supposed to make and keep us, our families and our children safer and grant us more rights. And now, with our worries about the the economy and the federal deficit and its effect on us, many politicians want to undo some of these laws and make cuts to many programs set up to make us, our familes and our children safer. So today, we are facing this problem in reverse. It's called "spending cuts" in the name of balancing the budget which I already blogged about recently so I won't elaborate here. Whatever politicians do to our existing laws or to proposed legislation, do our lives actually get much better or worse or do they stay pretty much the same? We keep passing laws designed to keep kids safer but are they actually safer now? Maybe. Maybe not. All we can see is that, every day, kids continue to be reported as missing and too many continue to be found dead or not found at all; for the same reason, in the US alone there remain over 40,000-60,000 unidentified people, most dead, some living. Students keep getting bullied and just today, I heard about one more boy's life lost to bullycide. Child abuse stories regularly make the news with depressing frequency. Abortions continue at the same rate (an estimated 4000 per day) despite numerous all the efforts and proposed legislation on the part of so many "anti-abortion, pro-life" lobbyists. Right-leaning people bank on Republicans being in power to end abortion and win the "culture wars." Pastors and prominent religious leaders often admonish people of faith to protect the unborn with our votes, which usually means to vote for Republicans. However, after many years of Republicans being in power until these past four years, the abortion epidemic remains.
I well remember the time up to and after President-Elect Obama was just elected, including when his victory was announced. "Change" was the buzzword then and many voters at the place our family voted at, wore pins saying, "I voted for change today." On the night of newly-elected Obama's victory, the TV showed the site of his victory celebration. So many people were gathered to celebrate their candidate's victory that this sea of humanity looked like ants! So many voters looked to him to bring about the "Change" that he had run on in his campaign. They were disgusted at the mess that this President-Elect had inherited: a recession, rising unemployment, rising foreclosures of homes, failing banks, and two wars. Candidate Obama had made many promises during his campaign and the hopes of his supporters were running high that he could save us and do it soon. However, the recession didn't turn around fast enough, people still kept losing their jobs and losing their homes. The banks kept failing and we still had two wars to fight. Obama supporters, in large numbers, became disappointed in the person they looked to as their savior. Why wasn't this President keeping his campaign promises? Why was he letting us down? Why wasn't he fighting hard enough for us? Where is his leadership? Where is the change he promised? President Obama would trying to calm people, saying, "Folks, Rome was not built in a day. Change takes time. We are dealing with long-term problems and things may get worse before they ultimately get better. I call on you to have patience." His opponents, especially T.E.A. Party politicians and supporters, sought to ruin the President at every turn. Whether by his disappointed supporters or fierce opponents, far too many people have been vilifying, trashing and persecuting the President and making no secret of their hate, jealousy and spite. This bitterness is so toxic that there is a popular Facebook cause which I support, "Join the Fight to Stop Dishonoring the President."
The hypocrisy of politicians and their hard-core supporters amazes me. Right-leaning leaders, in and out of politics, continue to grumble and agitate about a "government take-over" and call the current President a "socialist." Yet these same right-leaning leaders seem to want to turn the US into what amounts to a theocracy where they want to limit women's access to birth control pills and mandate abortion-minded women to view ultrasounds before getting abortions. Now I'm against abortion and support woman being truthfully told the risks of this procedure which has lasting consequences, but should they be coerced into this? When a religious leader asked Jesus a related question about mixing politics and religion, Jesus' reply to him was this: "Render to Ceasar what is Ceasar's and to God what is God's." Trying to make a nation a theocracy doesn't work. God ordained theocracies in the OLd Testament days for Israel alone, under His Old Covenant with them. When Jesus, who was apolitical, came to Earth as a man and was dragged before politicans before His death, He said to one of them: "I'm not an earthy king. My Kingdom is not of this world." He came to set up a New Covenant between God and us where the Kingdom of God would exist in people's hearts and lives. Besides, we see theocracies in the form of many Muslim countries. Do we want systems that even remotely resemble theirs even with Christianity or another religion being the state religion?
Many have expressed concern over and opposition to the "Individual Mandate" in the "Obamacare" Affordable Health Care Act, calling it unConstitutional and coercive and invasive of people's "right to choose." This mandate would require everyone to purchase some form of healthcare insurance for themselves and their families. From what I can gather, people would be asked to pay only what they can afford. It's clear that something must be done to adress soaring health care costs, combined with the rising number of 50 million uninsured people in the US. Yet do we want to see health care costs continue to soar because uninsured people, because of no other options, use hospital emergency rooms as their primary health care providers?
And so on and on. But whatever political party is in power at any given time, things may improve or get worse up to a point, yet our underlying problems continue. And when individual politicians are able to force their agendas on their citizens, we have seen what has often happened. Wasn't a certain politician's effort to force his "utopia" on his citizens the reason for something we know as the Holocaust? Isn't this and widespread human rights abuses brought about by totalitarian societies the biggest argument for democacy with its flaws brought about by flawed politicians?
It's forever true that politics has power to affect every area of our lives, up to a point. So much voter apathy exists because many people don't see that. Politicans make many promises and trash their opponents, scaring us about the dire consequences of supporting the opposition. That happens every campaign season and it is happening in the US political scene. But is seems that when tragedy strikes, we recognize, almost to excess, what politics can do for us. For example, one girl, with the full support of her parents, went public with the account that one night some boys forced her to drink herself unconscious and then raped her. As a result "Breanna's Law" was proposed and passed. This law was meant to broaden the definition of rage and empower kids to report sex crimes by peers. Most of us know about the lifesaving "Amber Alert" program. It was created because of the brutal rape-murder of 9 year old Amber Hagerman, whose murder remains unsolved. Thanks to this legislation many kids, fortunate enough to meet the program's strict criteria, have been rescued alive and reunited with their families. A college girl, Kristin Smart, vanished about 12 years ago but law enforcement officials (LEO's) didn't start investigating her case until she was missing for three weeks. Because of her presumed murder, the "Kristin Smart Campus Safety Act" was created. After 17 year old Chelsea King's brutal rape-murder over 2 years ago, "Chelsea's Law" was created to make it easier to track registered sex offenders and hold them accountable for their crimes in California where Chelsea was killed; it has yet to become law in all 50 US states. Recall the massacre at Columbine High School at Littleton, Colorado 12 years ago where 12 students and one teacher were murdered before the two gunmen killed themselves. After this massacre, families of some victims lobbied for tougher gun laws while other families of victims appealed to Congress to bring back prayer to public schools. We can be thankful for vastly increased bullying awareness and often, when news of a bullycide victim dominates headlines, anti-bullying legislation is proposed and sometimes passed into law. Some families with missing loved ones and a number of advocates are lobbying Congress for "Billy's Law," named after Billy Smolinski (who is still missing) which is supposed to make solving cases through the NamUs missing/unidentified database much easier through linking both of them. I can go on and on.
With all the strong emotions that so many of us bring to our political debates that tend to deteriorate into shouting matches, outright fights or even worse, it's like many of us think politics can solve whatever issue we care passionately for as based on our view, whether left-leaning or right-leaning. Laws keep getting passed that are supposed to make and keep us, our families and our children safer and grant us more rights. And now, with our worries about the the economy and the federal deficit and its effect on us, many politicians want to undo some of these laws and make cuts to many programs set up to make us, our familes and our children safer. So today, we are facing this problem in reverse. It's called "spending cuts" in the name of balancing the budget which I already blogged about recently so I won't elaborate here. Whatever politicians do to our existing laws or to proposed legislation, do our lives actually get much better or worse or do they stay pretty much the same? We keep passing laws designed to keep kids safer but are they actually safer now? Maybe. Maybe not. All we can see is that, every day, kids continue to be reported as missing and too many continue to be found dead or not found at all; for the same reason, in the US alone there remain over 40,000-60,000 unidentified people, most dead, some living. Students keep getting bullied and just today, I heard about one more boy's life lost to bullycide. Child abuse stories regularly make the news with depressing frequency. Abortions continue at the same rate (an estimated 4000 per day) despite numerous all the efforts and proposed legislation on the part of so many "anti-abortion, pro-life" lobbyists. Right-leaning people bank on Republicans being in power to end abortion and win the "culture wars." Pastors and prominent religious leaders often admonish people of faith to protect the unborn with our votes, which usually means to vote for Republicans. However, after many years of Republicans being in power until these past four years, the abortion epidemic remains.
I well remember the time up to and after President-Elect Obama was just elected, including when his victory was announced. "Change" was the buzzword then and many voters at the place our family voted at, wore pins saying, "I voted for change today." On the night of newly-elected Obama's victory, the TV showed the site of his victory celebration. So many people were gathered to celebrate their candidate's victory that this sea of humanity looked like ants! So many voters looked to him to bring about the "Change" that he had run on in his campaign. They were disgusted at the mess that this President-Elect had inherited: a recession, rising unemployment, rising foreclosures of homes, failing banks, and two wars. Candidate Obama had made many promises during his campaign and the hopes of his supporters were running high that he could save us and do it soon. However, the recession didn't turn around fast enough, people still kept losing their jobs and losing their homes. The banks kept failing and we still had two wars to fight. Obama supporters, in large numbers, became disappointed in the person they looked to as their savior. Why wasn't this President keeping his campaign promises? Why was he letting us down? Why wasn't he fighting hard enough for us? Where is his leadership? Where is the change he promised? President Obama would trying to calm people, saying, "Folks, Rome was not built in a day. Change takes time. We are dealing with long-term problems and things may get worse before they ultimately get better. I call on you to have patience." His opponents, especially T.E.A. Party politicians and supporters, sought to ruin the President at every turn. Whether by his disappointed supporters or fierce opponents, far too many people have been vilifying, trashing and persecuting the President and making no secret of their hate, jealousy and spite. This bitterness is so toxic that there is a popular Facebook cause which I support, "Join the Fight to Stop Dishonoring the President."
The hypocrisy of politicians and their hard-core supporters amazes me. Right-leaning leaders, in and out of politics, continue to grumble and agitate about a "government take-over" and call the current President a "socialist." Yet these same right-leaning leaders seem to want to turn the US into what amounts to a theocracy where they want to limit women's access to birth control pills and mandate abortion-minded women to view ultrasounds before getting abortions. Now I'm against abortion and support woman being truthfully told the risks of this procedure which has lasting consequences, but should they be coerced into this? When a religious leader asked Jesus a related question about mixing politics and religion, Jesus' reply to him was this: "Render to Ceasar what is Ceasar's and to God what is God's." Trying to make a nation a theocracy doesn't work. God ordained theocracies in the OLd Testament days for Israel alone, under His Old Covenant with them. When Jesus, who was apolitical, came to Earth as a man and was dragged before politicans before His death, He said to one of them: "I'm not an earthy king. My Kingdom is not of this world." He came to set up a New Covenant between God and us where the Kingdom of God would exist in people's hearts and lives. Besides, we see theocracies in the form of many Muslim countries. Do we want systems that even remotely resemble theirs even with Christianity or another religion being the state religion?
Many have expressed concern over and opposition to the "Individual Mandate" in the "Obamacare" Affordable Health Care Act, calling it unConstitutional and coercive and invasive of people's "right to choose." This mandate would require everyone to purchase some form of healthcare insurance for themselves and their families. From what I can gather, people would be asked to pay only what they can afford. It's clear that something must be done to adress soaring health care costs, combined with the rising number of 50 million uninsured people in the US. Yet do we want to see health care costs continue to soar because uninsured people, because of no other options, use hospital emergency rooms as their primary health care providers?
And so on and on. But whatever political party is in power at any given time, things may improve or get worse up to a point, yet our underlying problems continue. And when individual politicians are able to force their agendas on their citizens, we have seen what has often happened. Wasn't a certain politician's effort to force his "utopia" on his citizens the reason for something we know as the Holocaust? Isn't this and widespread human rights abuses brought about by totalitarian societies the biggest argument for democacy with its flaws brought about by flawed politicians?
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Let's Strive to Unite Politics
Fewer and fewer of us approve of the performance of our politicians. According to polls, in the US, the approval ratings for Congress is not much more than 30 percent. I know of so many people who question the very motives and integrity of all polticians. "They're all crooks," one person has commented. Isn't there a saying, "Politicians are crooks"?
Is corruption unavoidable when one fills a position of power? Yes, there is a saying that "power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely." Our God and Creator fills the position of absolute power and authority but He is not only infinitely holy and sovereign but He is also forever loving and merciful. Many of His people who fill positions of power and authority have modeled His image to humanity, like Mother Teresa, the Rev. Billy Graham, the lesser-known, local Rev. Larry Rice, among many otherswho have led by example and have identified with those whom they serve. Yet it seems that far more often, positions of any kind of power and authority have become closely tied to corruption, greed and even criminal behavior. But this is especially true of politics. It seems that, on a regular basis, the greed, questionable ethics, corruption or crimes of the powerful continue to surface through all media outlets. We observe how they change their positions on issues and fear taking unpopular stands. It can be easy to conclude, "They are all paid off by Big Business."
We may even hear sound bytes of certain politicians getting testy with constituents or with each other; far more frequently, we feel that they simply don't listen to us.
It doesn't help when they debate on high-stakes issues like a national budget and engage in partisan bickering about how to cut the budget; we see how they consider making cuts to services and programs vital to out well-being, like education, law enforcement and funding for hospitals, among others. It does nothing for our confidence in them when they consider making cuts to programs that the most vulnerable use to survive, as is happening in the US and, I understand, in the UK. Seniors, those with disabilities and the poor are petrified about losing their benefits. Unemployment in the US remains high and people continue to lose their homes; if we have escaped unemployment and foreclosure, then many of us are concerned about being next. In the face of all this, it should not be any problem for our politicians to insist that millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share in the form of higher taxes (I have nothing against great weath but only against the wealthy being exempt from paying their fair share in an ailing economy). But many of them rail against the very idea!
So much of the behavior of those in power stems from the fact that they are, in essence, bought and sold. Their poltical campaigns are largely funded by special interest groups and super-rich individuals who are able to fund their campaigns. These wealthy are able to "wine and dine" our politicians for lobbying purposes. So many of us get disgusted with it all and just stay home on election day; in thee US, we are even less motivated to vote in mid-term elections, the primaries, and local elections. I plead guilty to this.
But we must not let our discouragement with the political process and our frustration and even disgust with those in power, cause us to give up! Too much is at stake. Whether we are aware of it or not, politicians wield power over our lives, all the way from conception (abortion vs. right-to-life) all the way to death (death taxes, wills and estates). Their decisions and their policies impact all of our lives, in our schools, our workplaces, our neighborhoods and even our homes. Deep down, we all know this and this is why we so often blame them when things go wrong in our societies and in our lives. Yet, realistically, since our politicians, like us, are human beings with differing worldviews and philosophies which guide their politics, do we tend to expect too much from them? What should we expect when our votes are based on candidates' looks, their charisma (or lack of it), and on often misleading, defamatory political ads and the rants of those who specialize in ramming their own political views down our throats?
Yes, I know that it's easier and takes much less effort to go by appearances and by ads rather than to take the time and effort to do the needed checks on candidates and to research politicians voting records and evidence for their character and integrity. Therefore, our votes should be based on candidates' positions on issues we value, their character and integrity and above all, their willingness to stand for what they believe in and to advocate for us. And I'm the first to admit that it takes hard woork and is time-consuming to research our politicians and who they really are. For years, it took me the longest time to work out my own views on issues and to not blindly follow the views of others, or let my family, my church or others dictate what I should believe and how I should vote. For the longest time, I felt alienated from many in my life because my views tended to clash with theirs. Even today, when I share nonpartisan posts about causes or pages online for the purposes of finding common ground in politics, I tend to receive nasty or hateful comments vilifying my perceived partisanship. It's unfortunate how, so often, we can't discuss politics without losing perspective or letting our emotions get tied up in it all. When we clash on political isues and on the politicians we support, we behave as though the other person is our enemy. I have heard things like: "Democrats have no morals," "Republicans don't care about the poor," "Democrats are weak on defense," "Republicans oppose anything that helps people," "Democrats aren't religious," "Republicans are the party of big business and the wealthy." And I can go on and on. I know I have echoed some of these feelings about the major US political parties; I know I often think these things. But these stereotypes won't help us make informed decisions about electing good candidates; only unbiased research and prayer about our voting will.
Yes, I know that in the US, we are a system of two major political parties, with a number of "minor" parties. At their root, Republicans and Democrats hold opposing philosophies about what the role of government should be in our daily lives. As a Christian, I'm offended at how those of my faith are stereotyped as "the religious right" and are expected to vote Republican; I have even heard Christans say, "God is a Republican"! I'm saddened at how Democrats are seen as less moral, less patriotic, less religious, and less family-centered, than Republicans. And I'm most frustrated when we pit "conservative" moral issues like abortion, euthanasia, and religious freedom abuses, with "liberal" issues like poverty, all forms of injustice, and human rights abuses. As I read my Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, I can see that all these issues are important to our God and He cares about all of them. Republicans, Jesus spent much of His earthy, public ministry reaching out to the poor, the sick, the dying and the down-and-out; His words about Judgement Day make it chear that we will be judged according to how we have treated the vulnerable and the needy. Democrats, God has clear standards for our behavior, which is why He sent His perfect Son to live, die and rise again to atone for the wrongs of imperfect, sinful humanity.
Remember, the powerful are us; we vote for them and they come from among us. With some soul-searching and effort, we need to work toward finding common ground and finding unity in diversity.
Common Cause--Holding Power Accountable; this is a nonpartisan organization that advocates for citizens in many different ways.
http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQ
The Center for Public Integrity--This is a nonpartisan association of investigative journalists who hold those in power accountable.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/20 years/
Project Vote Smart--This is a nonpartisan, unbiased, informative resource website, which empowers citizens in making informed choices about political candidates.
http://www.projectvotesmart.org/
.
Is corruption unavoidable when one fills a position of power? Yes, there is a saying that "power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely." Our God and Creator fills the position of absolute power and authority but He is not only infinitely holy and sovereign but He is also forever loving and merciful. Many of His people who fill positions of power and authority have modeled His image to humanity, like Mother Teresa, the Rev. Billy Graham, the lesser-known, local Rev. Larry Rice, among many otherswho have led by example and have identified with those whom they serve. Yet it seems that far more often, positions of any kind of power and authority have become closely tied to corruption, greed and even criminal behavior. But this is especially true of politics. It seems that, on a regular basis, the greed, questionable ethics, corruption or crimes of the powerful continue to surface through all media outlets. We observe how they change their positions on issues and fear taking unpopular stands. It can be easy to conclude, "They are all paid off by Big Business."
We may even hear sound bytes of certain politicians getting testy with constituents or with each other; far more frequently, we feel that they simply don't listen to us.
It doesn't help when they debate on high-stakes issues like a national budget and engage in partisan bickering about how to cut the budget; we see how they consider making cuts to services and programs vital to out well-being, like education, law enforcement and funding for hospitals, among others. It does nothing for our confidence in them when they consider making cuts to programs that the most vulnerable use to survive, as is happening in the US and, I understand, in the UK. Seniors, those with disabilities and the poor are petrified about losing their benefits. Unemployment in the US remains high and people continue to lose their homes; if we have escaped unemployment and foreclosure, then many of us are concerned about being next. In the face of all this, it should not be any problem for our politicians to insist that millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share in the form of higher taxes (I have nothing against great weath but only against the wealthy being exempt from paying their fair share in an ailing economy). But many of them rail against the very idea!
So much of the behavior of those in power stems from the fact that they are, in essence, bought and sold. Their poltical campaigns are largely funded by special interest groups and super-rich individuals who are able to fund their campaigns. These wealthy are able to "wine and dine" our politicians for lobbying purposes. So many of us get disgusted with it all and just stay home on election day; in thee US, we are even less motivated to vote in mid-term elections, the primaries, and local elections. I plead guilty to this.
But we must not let our discouragement with the political process and our frustration and even disgust with those in power, cause us to give up! Too much is at stake. Whether we are aware of it or not, politicians wield power over our lives, all the way from conception (abortion vs. right-to-life) all the way to death (death taxes, wills and estates). Their decisions and their policies impact all of our lives, in our schools, our workplaces, our neighborhoods and even our homes. Deep down, we all know this and this is why we so often blame them when things go wrong in our societies and in our lives. Yet, realistically, since our politicians, like us, are human beings with differing worldviews and philosophies which guide their politics, do we tend to expect too much from them? What should we expect when our votes are based on candidates' looks, their charisma (or lack of it), and on often misleading, defamatory political ads and the rants of those who specialize in ramming their own political views down our throats?
Yes, I know that it's easier and takes much less effort to go by appearances and by ads rather than to take the time and effort to do the needed checks on candidates and to research politicians voting records and evidence for their character and integrity. Therefore, our votes should be based on candidates' positions on issues we value, their character and integrity and above all, their willingness to stand for what they believe in and to advocate for us. And I'm the first to admit that it takes hard woork and is time-consuming to research our politicians and who they really are. For years, it took me the longest time to work out my own views on issues and to not blindly follow the views of others, or let my family, my church or others dictate what I should believe and how I should vote. For the longest time, I felt alienated from many in my life because my views tended to clash with theirs. Even today, when I share nonpartisan posts about causes or pages online for the purposes of finding common ground in politics, I tend to receive nasty or hateful comments vilifying my perceived partisanship. It's unfortunate how, so often, we can't discuss politics without losing perspective or letting our emotions get tied up in it all. When we clash on political isues and on the politicians we support, we behave as though the other person is our enemy. I have heard things like: "Democrats have no morals," "Republicans don't care about the poor," "Democrats are weak on defense," "Republicans oppose anything that helps people," "Democrats aren't religious," "Republicans are the party of big business and the wealthy." And I can go on and on. I know I have echoed some of these feelings about the major US political parties; I know I often think these things. But these stereotypes won't help us make informed decisions about electing good candidates; only unbiased research and prayer about our voting will.
Yes, I know that in the US, we are a system of two major political parties, with a number of "minor" parties. At their root, Republicans and Democrats hold opposing philosophies about what the role of government should be in our daily lives. As a Christian, I'm offended at how those of my faith are stereotyped as "the religious right" and are expected to vote Republican; I have even heard Christans say, "God is a Republican"! I'm saddened at how Democrats are seen as less moral, less patriotic, less religious, and less family-centered, than Republicans. And I'm most frustrated when we pit "conservative" moral issues like abortion, euthanasia, and religious freedom abuses, with "liberal" issues like poverty, all forms of injustice, and human rights abuses. As I read my Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, I can see that all these issues are important to our God and He cares about all of them. Republicans, Jesus spent much of His earthy, public ministry reaching out to the poor, the sick, the dying and the down-and-out; His words about Judgement Day make it chear that we will be judged according to how we have treated the vulnerable and the needy. Democrats, God has clear standards for our behavior, which is why He sent His perfect Son to live, die and rise again to atone for the wrongs of imperfect, sinful humanity.
Remember, the powerful are us; we vote for them and they come from among us. With some soul-searching and effort, we need to work toward finding common ground and finding unity in diversity.
Common Cause--Holding Power Accountable; this is a nonpartisan organization that advocates for citizens in many different ways.
http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQ
The Center for Public Integrity--This is a nonpartisan association of investigative journalists who hold those in power accountable.
http://www.publicintegrity.org/20 years/
Project Vote Smart--This is a nonpartisan, unbiased, informative resource website, which empowers citizens in making informed choices about political candidates.
http://www.projectvotesmart.org/
.
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