On Politics...

Many people have contacted me either publicly or privately about my most recent post to either find out if they have offended me, apologize, or express anger. Who knew I had so many blog readers?

First, let me clarify that my post was dripping in sarcasm as are most of my posts on this blog. I have not had time to decide whether or not that is right or wrong. I am married to a man who teases me constantly and I personally find sarcasm funny. Use of sarcasm is something I will be thinking about that may or may not effect future posts.

Secondly, I apologize to those who were hurt by my comments, and I humbly ask for your forgiveness. If you are offended by a post here, please leave a comment or contact me directly so I can clarify and/or apologize. However, I must ask you not take my blog entries and post them in another venue.

Copying a post from my blog and posting it in another venue not only violates my copyright, it is un Christlike if done in an attempt to cause dissension.

"Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs." Proverbs 10:11-13

Beyond that, I want you to know that I have been speaking out on my blog about the disturbing comments I've heard since January of this year. I DID NOT HAVE ANY PARTICULAR PERSON, NOR ONLINE COMMUNITY IN MIND WHEN I POSTED ON TUESDAY. I am active on a number of homeschool message boards and I have heard similar rhetoric on all of the Christian forums. Other homeschoolers who share my concerns have mentioned receiving the comments via e-mail and local homeschool group loops.

I am NOT glad that so many of you are upset about the outcome of the election. I just find it funny (as in odd) that so many people think the world is going to come to an end overnight just because their candidate did not win. I lived through 8 years of the Bush administration, and Lord willing I will live through 4 (or 8) years of an Obama administration. We may disagree on the effect it will have on our country, but Christians from either party should be able to agree that we are blessed no matter who is in office.

The following comment in my most recent post:

"If Republicans take anything from this defeat, they must know that they can no longer demonize blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, and the poor. The politics of hate must come to an end. You cannot claim to be pro-life, while displaying scorn for the living."

was not aimed at any specific individual, but at leaders of the Religious Right and the Republican party. Republicans have long employed divisive tactics that include "trying to benefit politically from racial polarization." I believe that strategy continues and has expanded to include other minority groups, as well as the poor.

There are many individuals (of all races, backgrounds and political parties) who find this strategy distasteful, and as a result, will not vote for a Republican candidate. While it is important to discuss issues of agreement and disagreement in terms of policy, it is wrong to slander, spread falsehoods and incite fear. I am well aware that it happens on both sides, but Christians on both sides should know better and should refuse to participate.

Consider this scripture:

"But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean'." Matthew 15:18-20

I DO NOT HARBOR ANY ANGER OR BITTERNESS TOWARD SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE MADE THE TYPE OF STATEMENTS OF WHICH I AM SPEAKING OR WHO CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THOSE STATEMENTS ARE TRUE. I blame this on party leaders who attempted to incite fear and hatred in order to win an election.

I have many online friends who are strong McCain supporters who agree with me on this issue. One such friend stated:

"I know this kind of thing is typical in politics, but the Christian involvement in this has been particularly distressing to me. The desire to defeat Obama seems to have taken precedence over the desire for truth. Slander has trumped truth, but I think this will factor into the GOP losing--not just the Presidency but many offices. I've tried to point this out, but some people just don't seem to get it."

And another:

First, let me say that I am personally *repulsed* by these tactics, and by the "ends justifies the means" response to them that too many supposed Christians are taking. Even if you believe Senator Obama to be a bad, bad, candidate, even if you believe that he is benefiting from a sort of reverse racism elsewhere, there is no scriptural basis for tolerating or endorsing distortions of or half truths, or out-and-out lies about, his religion or his record. None.

Some of my sisters in Christ have found creative, non-sarcastic ways to speak out on this issue. Here is a portion of an e-mail a friend sent to family members in response to an e-mail containing falsehoods:

"One of the best resources for checking out any email forward is http://www.snopes.com. They have been a reliable source for researching this sort of thing for many years. Their database of email forwards and other rumors is HUGE.

First thing I did upon reading your email was to go there and run a search using the words "Insert Search Terms". I immediately got an article written about this very email:

[Insert Link and Article Summary]

I for one would hate to be the victim of such a thing. I wouldn't wish this sort of thing on my enemies. And, as I said, I think these lies are now serving to HELP Obama's campaign because the REAL problems with his political stances and philosophies are getting ignored because those who criticize him have lost credibility due to the false information getting so much publicity."

Another source for verifying e-mails is http://www.truthorfiction.com.

Some who felt it would cause strife to reply to such e-mails, simply deleted them and refused to pass them along. Others addressed party leadership directly. One friend told the story of a family member who took hate-filled literature from his mailbox, drove to party headquarters and told them if he received any more mailings of the sort he would vote for the candidate who was being slandered.

I know this post is long, but I must include these words by Colin Powell who was also quite disappointed with his party:

I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might therefore be associated with terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.

Whether or not you agree that Obama is a Christian, and whether or not you agree with our country having a Muslim president, it seems we should all be able to agree that being a Muslim or having the name Hussein does not make one a terrorist, and that they are not words that should be used against another American to incite fear or hatred.

Now that the matter is settled (for me at least) I am going to move forward and continue to celebrate a wonderful milestone in this country. The milestone that John McCain honorably acknowledged in his concession speech, and the milestone that has even made those who oppose Obama feel proud.

Whew! This post is long and it reminds me of why I've recently resorted to using sarcasm - putting together a logical, coherent post takes great effort, and I have a tendency to be lazy.

Frankly, I am glad the election is over and I am Pressing On. I am reevaluating my attitudes and beliefs about the role of government vs. the role of Christians in combating social ills, and I am excited about further evaluating these attitudes and beliefs in hopes that I may be more conformed to the image of Christ. I hope to share some of my thoughts with you as I explore them.