A Response

This is a response to Dad's post about how he's had enough.

A Caveat: I'm liberal in my views, I'm trying to live by my faith in Christ, and I try to err on the side of love and compassion.

I heard a speaker at Calvin this last week and he discussed how very few verses in the Bible are on the 'morality' issues that this administration wants to address, issues such as gay marriage. These 'morality' issues, this speaker said, are meant to divide and divert our attention from the larger ones that face us. Issues like this draw attention away from the War in Iraq, the oil crisis, global warming occurring at an alarming rate, the issue of Darfur... (shall I go on?)

There are hundreds of verses calling Christians to help the needy, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, be good stewards of God's earth, and yet the current leaders focus on going to war and issues that will maintain their own gains instead of what we are called to be taking care of.

Now, regardless of what you personally believe, and this post is not intended to really go into that, God loves everyone, and I have to too. For me, I have to balance the things I am called to do, help those who need it, take care of God's world, love those who need it. As a Christian I cannot be a one issue voter, be it gay marriage, abortion, education, foreign policy... So often Christians are lumped into a single right leaning voting block, but what about caring for the environment? What about issues of stewardship? What about compassion on those around the world with so much less than us dying every day?

And it's not just the politicians!

A short anecdote since I'm in Michigan and familiar with its issues right now: Michigan is a rust belt state. Full of manufacturing jobs leftover from the heyday of the auto industry. About ten years ago, the big auto companies (Ford... GM... and who am I missing?) decided that instead of developing this new technology on the horizon of hybrid cars, they would make bigger and bigger SUV's looking at the short term profits that they saw. They made big bucks and made a lot of gas guzzling cars. Meanwhile, Toyota and Honda and some other car companies, saw the long term effects of massive oil use and made hybrid cars. Now, that their moronic greed based business decisions are biting them in the butt, the MI companies are going bankrupt. So in trying to play catch up, they finally begin to do stuff with hybrid vehicles. But what do they do? Instead of hybrid car they put out a hybrid SUV. MORONS THAT DOSEN'T HELP ANYTHING!! So now, they get gov't help and tax breaks to try and stay afloat. Meanwhile, Toyota can now legitimately say they are made in the USA! Their business is going so well, they opened plants in the US.

It comes down to greed, whether in politics or in business. Politicians want to keep their jobs and business men want more money.

We have been told we live in a world where evil people are around every corner, where other countries want our jobs, where the world is dying. This culture of fear has been created in Washington for the purpose of diving us from the rest of the world and even ourselves. It is our own politicians who use war to solve problems, creating more enemies. It is our own politicians who give tax breaks for companies that send their jobs overseas and don't control the massive corporations that do so much harm. It is our own government that refuses to enact pollution controls that actually mean anything because they don't want to lose the funding from the big business' who bankroll them.

When will there be people who finally stand up and do the right thing? When will there actually be people who say 'Forget party lines, I'm doing what's right'. When will the government stop using fear as a divisive way of manipulating people?

I was told once that "As a Christian, you can never vote for a Democrat, because they support abortion. All Christians have to vote Republican." (no joke, an actual quote)
Hmm... blind one issue voting like that leads to horrible misrepresentation of what I believe and a heinous system of government where other issues are relegated to unimportance.

Makes one weep and cry out in frustration at times.

I believe it was Screwtape writing to Woormwood who said "The goal is to have them all running around with fire extinguishers when there is a flood".

God help us all.