Congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama! I feel like our long national nightmare is almost over! God Help us! When Bush was declared the victor in 2004 I wondered if this country would survive, and I feel it almost did not. I think we can thank God for a few cabinet members who had a little bit of common sense: viz., Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. I am not normally a big fan Ms. Rice, but from all that I heard she was one of a few top level people who actually spoke against invading Iran. I mean to say that if the President had listened to “the Dark Side” and actually invaded Iran (which I worry he still might do), I think Ms. Rice and Mr. Gates would back him up because they get paid to do things like that. Nevertheless, it appears that they were among the calmer heads that prevailed in the Bush administration. Only time will tell if this was true.
Now Obama is preparing to start his administration, and I can hardly wait. I feel like I am alive again. I just feel like I have been numb for eight long years, just trying to brace myself for the worse of all possible outcomes – and they almost came about. The stock market crash was only the latest disaster thrust upon our country by this administration. Just off the top of my head I can think of some other disasters: September 11th, Katrina, Going to Iraq on faulty intelligence, Torture and rendition, War Profiteering, Destruction of our Environment, Mass Cronyism, Nuclear Proliferation, Sending Soldiers to war without proper equipment, Stretching our Defense beyond, Incredible Job Losses, and Mass Bankruptcy and Home Foreclosures throughout the country. It is a sad, sad state of affairs.
My oldest son, I am sure, voted for McCain. He is a one issue kind of guy. His issue: Abortion. As a Catholic, I can appreciate that idea, but I feel it is misguided. The Republicans have never, in my opinion, had any intention of doing anything about abortion. For them it is an issue they use to bilk people out of money and provide false hopes. If the Republicans were to outlaw abortion, they know that they would be killing off their golden-egg-laying goose. It is one of two issues they use to promote the idea that the Republicans are where true Christians belong. When in fact they have perverted the idea of what it means to be Christian.
If you hate abortions and gay people, and this is your way of expressing your Christian beliefs, all you have succeeded in doing is defining Christianity as a religion of hate. God is Love people. If you are looking for the God of Hate you are definitely in the wrong ball park.
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t like abortions, and I am not a gay advocate. Quite honestly, I can get uncomfortable around gay people. However, as Americans, if we discriminate against one group, you open the door for discrimination of all other groups. As for abortions, even if you outlawed abortions it would not stop abortions. Women are going to get abortions if they really feel the need to get abortions whether we like it or not. If you outlaw abortions, you will only succeed in getting women to have abortions through the black market and that will only increase death and misery. Quite honestly I can’t help but believe that the real reason Republicans want to outlaw abortions is because they hate paying for anyone to get any kind of medical procedure on what they perceive to be their dime. I believe the Republican attitude is that they would like to get rid of taxes all together, and as long as they are doing fine – everyone else can go to hell. Of course if THEY need a bail out, all of a sudden they are all in favor of government intervention.
As much as we might want a "Christian Nation" we should understand that we live under a constitutional representative form of government, and we must learn to work within that government - not control it. Mixing government and religion perverts both institutions. At the very least we should be working to minimize abortions to their very minimum, and that can be done in a Democratic administration.
