Reconciling Faith and Politics / Texans
This blog asks a simple thing of it's readers (especially Texans and Ohioans). That when it comes to thinking about an Obama presidency your support or objection to the idea should be rooted in truth and not hear say. One of the biggest misconceptions I have heard as recently as two days ago about Obama is that he is a Muslim.
The inference of that accusation suggests that Obama could be a secret islamic extremist at worst or a non-believer at best. The truth of the matter is that Senator Obama is a believer in Jesus Christ and has made his faith a central part of his civic and private life.
Prior to declaring his candidacy for President, Obama gave a speech to the Sojourners in 2006 that was called the most important speech on Politics and Faith by a Democrat since 1960.
Whether you choose to vote for Obama or not, his expression of how faith and civic life interact is inspiring regardless of how you plan on voting. Right click the link below and download the speech, put it on your iPod. You'll be glad you did.
Transcript of Reconciling Faith and Politics
To the Texans that read this blog. You guys have an open primary and the Republican nominee has already been pretty much set in stone. As hard as it might be to vote for a Democrat, I am asking for your vote to go to Obama. You don't have to tell anyone (although leave an anonymous comment if you plan to) you voted for a Democrat, but you will be helping to elevate the discourse in this country when it comes to the election. If Hillary gets the nod with help from Texas, then we can all anticipate another election on a 1% - 2% national margin that will keep the red and blue divide more entrenched. McCain and Obama both represent clearly divergent views on economics and foreign policy. And both of them can keep the discourse about issues and not personal attacks. With Hillary as the nominee the divisive discourse is all but assured, and no one comes out ahead in that scenario. Come on Texas, you can do it!
10 comments:
You can register at least 2 texans voting for Obama in the pinson household.
Your man had a great day today. Congratulations!
I enjoy this blog and I like Obama's speeches. However, my faith will not allow me to vote for Obama because of the life issue. God bless.
Although I'm not too excited about McCain either...
Hey David:
Thanks for reading, and I completely respect that. I too am a pro-life person (on abortion & death penalty) but I don't see voting for Obama as betraying that. As two believers this could be an interesting discussion to have if you (and others) are interested? I guess first we would have to settle on the questions that would frame the discussion. Any thoughts?
If you've seen our blog then you probably know we also support Obama. In some ways I'd like to do a post about my thoughts on Christianity, Democrats /Republicans, abortion, other hot topics, etc, but I don't think I want to open that can of worms on my blog . . . but I'll post a comment on your blog :). I will vote for Obama but I am also pro-life. While at one time in my life, abortion would have been THE issue, I've come to see that there are many pro-life issues equally as important as abortion. The reality of the world we live in with all of the inequality, poverty, suffering and injustice does not allow me to focus solely on the issue of abortion like I would've done in my younger days. I think pro-life is more than letting unborn children live. just my two cents.
rebecca
I'd be curious to know why being called a Muslim has to be an "accusation," implying that being a Muslim is something for which someone should be found guilty. This kind of rhetoric only reinforces the stereotype that non-Christians, particularly Muslims, are somehow dangerous and not real citizens of the U.S. This does not sound like the kind of change Obama preaches, but that of someone jumping on the bandwagon of the Obama juggernaut without actually giving much thought to the kind of change for which he calls. I am pleased to hear that you are at least voting democrat, but if the nomination ends up going to Clinton, then I'm guessing you'll be right back on the republican side aligning with McCain.
Obama, Clinton and McCain all claim Christianity as their faith, so if that is the issue, it should be settled. Deciding if someone is "Christian enough" sounds judgemental. Perhaps one should simply stick to the issues.
Anon:
Not really in the habit of responding to anonymous comments. Your criticism is exactly the point of this post. The misconception that Obama is a Muslim is used as a thinly disguised attempt to discredit his qualification to be President. Why is it used, too many reasons to list, but I think it's clear.
I also posted the link because I do think there are good people out there who might have heard a rumor about Obama being a Muslim and that gave them hesitation in supporting him. Thinking that if people had access to the truth and heard how inclusive he is to all faiths, that might inspire them to check his name at the ballot. Like it or not faith plays a big part of the decision people make in electing a President.
No bandwagon here...would have voted from him in 2004 even though I ended up voting for Bush. Your tone and secrecy actually makes me think you didn't listen to the speech.
Finally you are right. I am an Obama supporter who wouldn't switch to the Clinton camp. But I am not allowing myself to think about that possibility. YES WE CAN!!
J-wild: As always I am interested in your thoughts and writings... I am fascinated by those, especially in the church, who hold different views than mine on politics. Glad to find the church is not a monolith as I once thought.
Jason --
Thanks for the political pontifications. Amy pointed me to your blog tonight when we were watching the election returns on CNN so I thought I would take a look. What is interesting to me about the Obama craze is the fact that many of his supporters, and Obama himself, claim that he is the candidate that will best be able to "unite" America and "reach beyond partisan politics" in Washington. I find that ironic and somewhat lacking in substance -- although I love ya' man, and don't intend any disrespect. For one thing, Obama is the most extreme in his policies of all remaining presidential candidates -- so it's a curious notion that he will be able to unite Washington (and the many Americans like yourself, who are actually political moderates). For another, McCain is actually the only candidate who has consistently reached across party lines (for the past 20 years) and advocated issues he's believed in regardless of what it would cost him in his party. He is a true political moderate who makes decisions based on what he believes is right, as opposed to what his political philosophy demands. Hilary has, to a certain extent, been able to reach across party lines during her relatively brief time in the Senate as well, although her record on that front is much less established than McCain's and likely motivated more by her desire to become president than principle. Obama, while he has a very limited record in national politics, has consistently exhibited the most liberal voting record of any of his colleagues in the Senate (and I'm not aware of any bi-partisan legislative initiative that has been sponsored and successfully pushed through Congress by Obama, although I could be missing something).
I am not a huge supporter of John McCain, and I certainly have issues with Hilary (evidently, as do many other Americans), but I would vote for either of them before voting for Obama (as, ironically, I think either of them will do a better job of bringing the country together in this very critical time in our nation's history). I remain befuddled as to why so many people think Obama will unite America. He is a remarkably inspirational speaker, but when you dig beneath the surface, the very core of his message is betrayed by the substance of his stance on the issues. And I honestly believe that everything he claims about bringing the country together is something all of the remaining presidential candidates would want (they just aren't as capable as Obama at firing people up about the issue).
Having said all of that, I remain somewhat undecided as to who I will vote for (and, in all seriousness, wish you luck if it's your aim to ensure that Obama is elected in November). I just hope people are willing to dig a little deeper on Obama before we get to that point -- keeping in mind that we're electing the next leader of the free world.
Let's go to lunch again soon, my friend.
--Matt H.
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