Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Post-Election Blues

Well, it is the morning-after blues for the Republicans. I am not really a politico, or a political commentator, simply a layman observer, but I do have a few observations, and then I will not mention politics again (until next time).

While the GOP licks its wounds, and the blame begins to seep out, the truth of the matter is that they made a real dog’s breakfast of their time in leadership. Now, lest you believe I am a died-in-the-wool Dem, I assure you, I am not. However, given the current state of the Union, I certainly am not a died-in-the-wool Republican either.

The truth of the matter is that this country is in desperate need of a leader – someone with a vision and the courage to carry it out. Now, some may say that George W. Bush is/has been that person, however, many feel that he has been less than honest in his leadership and the goals of his administration, others simply feel that he has been stumbling along trying to determine direction depending on the way the reports from Iraq come in.

I am not a Bush-basher by trade; I think it is far easier to sit in a chair and judge the leadership of these people than to actually do it, but I must admit that I have been disillusioned by Bush’s apparent lack of direction – all rhetoric aside; there has been little of substance to hang my hopes on.

What I would love to see is some real leadership by the elected officials; however I fear that Pelosi and others are simply going to continue status-quo; oh, there may be a hot button issue or two that they will change direction on, but the overall drift of our country will be relatively unchanged. This is due to the fact that these are professional Washington types – people who want power, and their goal once in D.C. is to retain that power. Regardless of their political stripe, there is a true bi-partisan attitude – maintain power at the expense of the people.

The Christian’s are simply another constituency that the politicians woo, and many are naïve enough to be used as a voting block. The farce that somehow the Christians have made SIGNIFICANT changes in this country through their political power is easy to refute. Ask yourself a couple of questions: is this country morally more on track now than two years ago, four years ago, twelve years ago? Is it more ‘Christian’ in its approach to the world than it was six years ago? Maybe you can justify that it is, but I certainly cannot; as I said, I am not a political expert, but as a citizen, I can honestly say that I have noticed no difference.

Truth be told, if you are a Christian and you feel that political power is the way to change this country, then you are be sadly mistaken. I think it is imperative to vote, and yes, I want to see Christians elected, but to believe that a PARTY is the Christian answer to the problems is wrong-headed. Psalm 33:13-17 -- The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.

And even though I provided links to John Piper’s thoughts about elections, and I know that he is much more intelligent than I am in so many areas, I disagree on one thing. It is no longer simply whether or not one is Pro-Life or not that is a decision-maker. I will provide an example: Let’s say someone was Pro-Life, but also a member of NAMBLA, and they were running against someone who was Pro-Choice, but a solid family person – which way do I vote on this?

The recent events within the Republican ranks highlight that it is not a simple Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice situation – I believe that many people may have run on Republican tickets because that was the party in power – sort of like flies being attracted to a dung heap – but did not share the supposed values of the party (except externally).

At the end of it all – we, the American people again are searching for leadership; let us pray that the Lord brings us that!

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