Today I had a conflict with someone I care about a lot. I said something that hurt her, and she called me on it. The conversation wasn't fun, but it ended well. Even more, it made me even more thankful for her. Rather than getting angry and distancing herself from me, she confronted me and gave me the opportunity to apologize. Because of that, I now know that I need to be even more careful about the things I say and/or write. That's important, because my relationship with her is more important to me than venting my frustration at times.
Unfortunately, we don't have enough people like that in our lives. At least, I know I don't. Too many conflicts are allowed to fester and grow to include every little thing that the other person does until soon everything they do is an offense. When we get to that point, the relationship is so fractured that reconciliation is nearly impossible. Very few people enjoy conflict. I know I don't. But I am thankful for the gift of the process that leads to reconciliation, and for those few who are willing to fight through it to get to the blessing that follows.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Answering the Tough Question...Finally
I have been asked by a few of my more liberal friends why I am voting for John McCain. I have avoided answering that question because I really didn't think I could do it without being sarcastic and completely inconsiderate of the other side. For weeks now I have considered my answer, and this is my attempt at a fair but kind response.
First of all, I am not a huge John McCain supporter. I disagree with many things on both his policies and his personality. In fact, until he chose Sarah Palin, I was not even remotely excited about this election. To be quite honest, my vote is FOR Sarah Palin and AGAINST Obama, and has very little to do with John McCain.
I know the economy is a huge factor for many people right now, but it is just not that big of an issue for me. Not that I am hiding my head in the sand and pretending that things are good. I just know that markets go up and down all the time. My reality is that we are only 34 years old. We have at least 30 years before we look at retirement, probably closer to 40. The economy will surely go through many ups and downs in that time. Besides, the current legislature and president already screwed it up by passing the bailout bill. And I think we also give the president WAY too much credit for what the economy does or fails to do. Just like we blame him for natural disasters and the choices of evil empires, but I digress.
With that being said, my three main issues in this election are: 1) Abortion. I love and serve a God who is the creator, giver and lover of life. To stand against, or support a candidate who stands against, that precious gift is to stand against God Himself. That is not a choice I am willing to make. Ever.
2) Education. I have three children in the public school system. The nature of Mark's profession pretty much guarantees that we will never be rich enough to afford private school. Besides, I think all the people who have the ability to affect change just giving up and leaving to create their own "country club" schools just guarantees that the public schools will continue their downward spiral. And that is coming froma mother who's children are in, I am convinced, one of the worst public school systems in the country. Sorry, again I digress. I cannot support a candidate who was responsible for doling out hundreds of thousands of dollars to organizations devoted to radically liberalizing our public schools. They get to the kids who have already been convinced by the society they are raised in that they will never be able to achieve anything and turn them against the very people who would love to help lift them up if simply given trust and a chance. I can't take that chance with my kids, or the millions of others out there who don't have any choice but public education.
3) Judicial appointments. Our founding father's created three branches of government for a reason. They intentionally put checks and balances in place so that no one branch would be given, or could assume, too much power. If Barrack Obama is elected president and has the ability to put ultraliberal judges on the Supreme Court and lower courts, we move (as we have already seen from current judges) in the direction of judges legislating from the bench rather than interpreting the law. When we eliminate the checks and balances in our Constitution, we eliminate the need for a constitution at all. Since Supreme Court justices are appinted for life, this is a decision that will affect our children to the third & fourth generations.
My son, Ian, doesn't like it when he has to run killers at soccer practice because another player acted up. We have to remind him repeatedly that soccer is a team sport. When one player makes a mistake, everybody on the team suffers the consequences. This election is the same way. I will go cast my vote for John McCain, but I am more fearful than I have words for that Barrack Obama will be our next president. And because of the choices of some, all of us will have to face the consequences-for generations to come. The nasty side of me comes out sometimes, and I want to say, well, they'll see how misguided they were. But the honest, loving side of me doesn't want anyone to have to suffer the consequences of that choice, whether they were part of making it or not.
I believe, like many other Christians I know and love who truly have a heart for racial reconciliation, that it would be good for America to have a black president. But I also believe that this is not the right one. I believe that he will do so much harm to the America we know and love that it will seriously harm race relations and the chance for another minority leader, one who is well qualified and deserves the chance to lead, to have that chance for a very long time.
We live in a get-rich-quick, fast food, me, me, me society that refuses to look past immediate wants and needs to see the big picture and the responsibility we have in every election to consider how our choices will affect the future and those who come after us. Our country was founded by men who looked to the future for us. I wish that I could say we still had the same vision.
First of all, I am not a huge John McCain supporter. I disagree with many things on both his policies and his personality. In fact, until he chose Sarah Palin, I was not even remotely excited about this election. To be quite honest, my vote is FOR Sarah Palin and AGAINST Obama, and has very little to do with John McCain.
I know the economy is a huge factor for many people right now, but it is just not that big of an issue for me. Not that I am hiding my head in the sand and pretending that things are good. I just know that markets go up and down all the time. My reality is that we are only 34 years old. We have at least 30 years before we look at retirement, probably closer to 40. The economy will surely go through many ups and downs in that time. Besides, the current legislature and president already screwed it up by passing the bailout bill. And I think we also give the president WAY too much credit for what the economy does or fails to do. Just like we blame him for natural disasters and the choices of evil empires, but I digress.
With that being said, my three main issues in this election are: 1) Abortion. I love and serve a God who is the creator, giver and lover of life. To stand against, or support a candidate who stands against, that precious gift is to stand against God Himself. That is not a choice I am willing to make. Ever.
2) Education. I have three children in the public school system. The nature of Mark's profession pretty much guarantees that we will never be rich enough to afford private school. Besides, I think all the people who have the ability to affect change just giving up and leaving to create their own "country club" schools just guarantees that the public schools will continue their downward spiral. And that is coming froma mother who's children are in, I am convinced, one of the worst public school systems in the country. Sorry, again I digress. I cannot support a candidate who was responsible for doling out hundreds of thousands of dollars to organizations devoted to radically liberalizing our public schools. They get to the kids who have already been convinced by the society they are raised in that they will never be able to achieve anything and turn them against the very people who would love to help lift them up if simply given trust and a chance. I can't take that chance with my kids, or the millions of others out there who don't have any choice but public education.
3) Judicial appointments. Our founding father's created three branches of government for a reason. They intentionally put checks and balances in place so that no one branch would be given, or could assume, too much power. If Barrack Obama is elected president and has the ability to put ultraliberal judges on the Supreme Court and lower courts, we move (as we have already seen from current judges) in the direction of judges legislating from the bench rather than interpreting the law. When we eliminate the checks and balances in our Constitution, we eliminate the need for a constitution at all. Since Supreme Court justices are appinted for life, this is a decision that will affect our children to the third & fourth generations.
My son, Ian, doesn't like it when he has to run killers at soccer practice because another player acted up. We have to remind him repeatedly that soccer is a team sport. When one player makes a mistake, everybody on the team suffers the consequences. This election is the same way. I will go cast my vote for John McCain, but I am more fearful than I have words for that Barrack Obama will be our next president. And because of the choices of some, all of us will have to face the consequences-for generations to come. The nasty side of me comes out sometimes, and I want to say, well, they'll see how misguided they were. But the honest, loving side of me doesn't want anyone to have to suffer the consequences of that choice, whether they were part of making it or not.
I believe, like many other Christians I know and love who truly have a heart for racial reconciliation, that it would be good for America to have a black president. But I also believe that this is not the right one. I believe that he will do so much harm to the America we know and love that it will seriously harm race relations and the chance for another minority leader, one who is well qualified and deserves the chance to lead, to have that chance for a very long time.
We live in a get-rich-quick, fast food, me, me, me society that refuses to look past immediate wants and needs to see the big picture and the responsibility we have in every election to consider how our choices will affect the future and those who come after us. Our country was founded by men who looked to the future for us. I wish that I could say we still had the same vision.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
