Politics Take Two

Oh my word, have ever I debated whether or not to post this. It's been sitting in my posts list as a draft for quite some time. I've almost hit publish a dozen times, and then backed out. It's not directed at any one comment or person. It is a result of a number of comments, arguments, and different points of view that I've heard over the last several weeks. Love it or hate it, its my point of view so I guess I'll take a risk and hit publish.

This post isn't really about changing anyone's mind. It's definitely political, but it's more about me putting my opinions out there. Y'all know how I struggle with that. Okay, that's a lie . . . you can quit laughing now.

I've heard a lot lately about not calling our current government, specifically our president, what it/he is . . . about respecting the president because he's the president . . . about, to put it simply, how Christians should keep their mouths shut and just vote. And quite honestly, I disagree.

First off, if you even somewhat understand how the electoral college works (good luck with that . . . it's hands down one of the most confusing parts of our whole election system) then you know that you better do a whole lot more than just count on your vote. Yes, your vote counts, but ultimately, the electoral college casts the votes for each state, and usually the votes follow the popular vote for that state (in some states it's required by law but not in all), but there have been (a very few) cases in history where they have not. Do some research. It's pretty interesting. My point is you need to be educated and understand what's going on. You need to take responsibility not only for your vote but for making your views known.

Second, while I may be a firmly decided voter, not everyone is, and call me crazy, but I think it's somewhat important to call lies . . . well, lies. When someone stands in front of the nation, day after day, week after week, month after month . . . you get my point . . . and tries to destroy this nation (and yes, I do believe we're on the path to destruction), someone better take a stand. If I can change even one mind, then I feel like I've done my job.

Third, our founding fathers stood up for what they believed in. They didn't sit silently by and twiddle their thumbs and hope things would get better. That's what that little thing called the American Revolution was about. Now granted, they didn't have the right to vote. They actually had very few rights. They were being governed without representation, and they decided it was time to fight back. If we don't want to find ourselves in the same proverbial boat, swimming just to keep our heads above water and seeing our freedoms and livelihoods disappear, then we'd better speak up. This is not a benign election. I may sound extremely radical here, but this might quite possibly be one of the most important elections in American history.

Abraham Lincoln spoke of a "government of the people, by the people, for the people". Guess what? This is our government, and if we want things to change then we need to take responsibility for what's happening right now. Years of keeping silent and not standing up for what is right has led us to a nation that is a mess. We are on the brink of a financial and moral catastrophe if things don't change.

In Bible times the Scribes and Pharisees commanded much respect. They were the leaders of the church. They were men with power and positions of honor, and in Matthew 23:33 Jesus referred to them as a "brood of vipers". Early in the same chapter He refers to them as "hypocrites". That's not mild language people.

I don't feel that criticizing the wrong in our government and in our president is counter intuitive to my Christian faith nor do I think that it is disrespectful. Lies are lies folks. And it may be cheesy and cliche but I've said it before and I'll say it again, "If it looks like a duck and it walks like a duck, well then ladies and gentlemen, it's a duck."