Well it's been some time since my last blog contribution - and since I now have the means and the inspiration to do so, I shall! Some of you already know, but for those of you that do not - I am now one of a couple million unemployed Americans! While this may seem to be a bad thing, I am actually enjoying my current situation and am excited about some possible job opportunities that are on the horizon! Specifically, I have a second interview with an ad agency in Lancaster this afternoon. Since this is what I really want to do, I am looking forward to what might become of this opportunity. I will be sure to keep everyone updated about what happens!
Now regarding this election - I first need to say that in my mind, neither candidate seems to be right for our country at this time. However, being that we don't really have any other options - it comes down to voting for the lesser of two evils. If I had to label myself politically - I would say that I am socially conservative and fiscally moderate. I am not in line with everything that the Republican party stands for, but I would say that the party represents much of what I believe.
The problem that I have with Obama is that he is a reflection of where we are heading as a society. The moral standards in our country have shifted over the last 1/2 century or so and Obama is not only accepting of this, but is essentially the poster child for such change. Look at his stance on many of the social issues: gay marriage, abortion, stem-cell research, etc. There is an obvious shift away from what we once considered to be morally acceptable, and this is a shame. Our society has devalued two of God's greatest gifts to man: marriage and life.
Now I understand that some people say that the president doesn't really dictate the decisions that society makes. In other words, having a conservative president hasn't really done much to effect the evolution of these social issues over the last 8 years.
While there is truth to this statement, the fact that Obama has garnered so much momentum and excitement should serve as a reflection of our society as a whole. The moral paradigm is shifting, and those of us that are holding onto conservative ideals are quickly becoming the minority. Our morals are becoming watered down and our standards are becoming more and more subjective.
All of that being said, I do realize that a change is needed in our country's leadership. This is painfully obvious when looking at the state of our economy, war in Iraq, etc. I guess my prayer would be that whomever is elected would embrace some of the conservative ideals that our country was founded on while also looking forward to the future and what is next for America.
Finally, the statement "God Bless America" has been uttered by many politicians in recent times - especially since 9/11. But honestly, why are we, a country that is more often deciding to turn our backs on God, so deserving of His blessings? In our "what have you done for me lately" society, we have put God on the back shelf and tend to pull Him out and dust Him off only when it is convenient to our purposes. Regardless of who is elected, those of us that call ourselves Christians need to step up in society and show America what it looks like to live like Christ. As a country, we need to turn to God before we can expect His blessings.
Your thoughts?
A fun, last-day-of-school activity!
6 years ago
4 comments:
Good post Josh. I agree that this is definitely the election of a lesser of 2 evils.
I know that one of the big items up for discussion this election is the tax plan. I have strong feelings about the poor and struggling people in our society, but I feel that this responsibility is not ultimately up to our government to implement (which if we embrace distribution as wealth as a country, I fear the outcomes of a socialist society described in books like 1984 and Animal Farm), but rather as us as individuals and communities to stop being selfish and realize the conflict between the American dream and GOD's dream.
It's clear that GOD's dream (described in the bible) is that we should be making sure that there is no one of need in our communities and in our society and to embrace people with love and charity. We are failing to do this as both Christians and as a society. I feel strongly that this is not the government's responsibility but rather us as humans and especially as Christians.
Hi Josh. I understand your perspective of family values and morals when you say:
"The moral standards in our country have shifted over the last 1/2 century or so and Obama is not only accepting of this, but is essentially the poster child for such change."
But I want to point out that not everyone has the same conception of what "moral values" means. For some people, "moral" means protecting women's rights and if a woman is raped, allowing her to take the day after pill. Some people are proud of our protections of women (compared to say, the Middle East) and consider this to be moral.
For me, my moral code is informed by Jesus in the 200+ times he mentions the poor and oppressed and how we should care for them. Politics doesn't always line up perfectly with this (one candidate helps the poor, but is also pro-choice, the other is pro-life, but doesn't care about rising income inequality) but that is life, and politics is imperfect.
As for marriage, in the 1950s, nuclear families (one man, one woman, and children) represented 75% of families. Today, they are 25%. This has NOTHING to do with our policies-- we've never legalized gay marriage--- and everything to do with sociocultural values, perceptions in media, and people focusing on careers over family. in other words, it has very little to do with politics and policy and therefore one candidate or the other is not going to reverse this trend.
in response to the government versus individuals playing the role of helping the poor (jon)-- i don't think individuals aren't doing too good of a job. We have a higher poverty rate than almost any other (developed) country. If our government doesn't invest in the poor at the FRONT end (health, housing, education), we as tax payers will pay HIGHER costs in incarceration, homelessness, emergency medical bills, etc. For example, we pay 3x more to put a young person in prison than to give him a solid education. its not a question of whether we want to share costs, its about which thing you'd rather pay for. We pay more for these things than any other country, so in a way, we are already paying the costs for others, but paying for prisons instead of schools, etc.
Distribution of wealth to me would be worth it. If I made 200K and had to pay 10% more in taxes for positive preventions, rather than use my tax dollars to pay for crime reduction, cleaning up vandalism, and remediating the thousands of people that can't read, well, then society would certainly be a little more pleasant. Imagine no longer being the country with the 1. highest child poverty rate 2. highest inequality 3. worst public housing stock 4. highest crime and 5. highest number of people in prisons. These are enormous problems (40 millions people without health care! my own family included) and 1 in 5 children below the poverty line. There simply aren't enough churches and food drives to fix a problem this large, though i wish there were.
Just my perspective. Thanks for letting me share.
Hey Josh - it's Timmy. Ok - so just a few brief thoughts. I can totally understand your saying "obama is a reflection of where we are heading as a society" IF - and only IF - I am viewing our societies progression from the two lenses you suggested - abortion and gay marriage. I would probably be pessimistic about our society if I were simply looking at the number of abortions that have occurred since 1973. However - I don't simply view our progression as a culture through those two things. I actually get very excited about our Society in that I think people, as a whole, are becoming much more aware of poverty and injustices going on domestically and globally. While Rowe Vs. Wade happened in the 70's - just THINK about how our society has progressed in matters of race, for example, since then. Jim Wallace (Sojourners call to renewal) just wrote a book called the "Great Awakening" and talks about how excited he is that young evangelicals are expanding the debate on what moral/social issues are. Instead of focusing, as the Christian right has for so long, on just abortion and marriage - POVERTY and issues of peace and justice and disease are entering into the dialogue. This is incredibly exciting to me and THIS is what Obama represents to me - a society expanding it's views beyond just our borders and caring about 'the least of these.' As Jamie said - politics isn't perfect and can't be all encompassing - but I'm really excited to see the dialogue growing. That's all I got for now. Thanks man!
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