Obama for America

A CALL TO CHRISTIANS

 

My fellow Americans and Christians,

This election is very important to us all.  There are so many concerns on hand in this ever more dangerous world. In what direction are we to look? Jesus inspired us with his works and his deeds. The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Psalm 12:6

I write to you today as a Barak Obama supporter and hoping to earn your trust and your vote for this election.  Whenever possible, I provide sourcing to support my claims from The Bible and respected daily newspapers.

My question is this, “What would Jesus do?” 

Of course, it would be presumptuous of me to say I know the answer to that question. I believe, though, it is a helpful exercise to ask and debate this question.  These are some of the things that mattered to Jesus and apply to Christians as well:

1)     Character What is the measure of a man other than his character?  I have reviewed many articles about John McCain and George Bush.  They operate by not telling the truth. For example, the war in Iraq was brought about by a deception to the American people and the world.[i]  We have put the earth at war. I do not believe in killing other human beings.  21"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old, `Thou shalt not kill,' and `Whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.' Matthew 5:21 

2)    Killing and War  I believe that unless it is in defense, it is morally wrong.  John McCain whole heartedly endorses the war in Iraq.  He has joked at times to, “Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran”.[ii]  He is a self proclaimed maverick and warrior.

In a recent interview with the Alaska Business Monthly[iii], Palin made the following statements about Iraq:

Alaska Business Monthly: We've lost a lot of Alaska's military members to the war in Iraq. How do you feel about sending more troops into battle, as President Bush is suggesting?

Palin: I've been so focused on state government; I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place.

Now that she is on the McCain platform, she has changed her mind.  The quotation also indicates a huge experience gap in awareness of international affairs.  Joe Biden, on the other hand, may be the most well respected member in all of government in terms of International affairs.  His knowledge has been deemed “encyclopedic[iv]” and praised by members of both parties.  In the Senate, he is the commissioner of Foreign Affairs.  On the other hand, Barak Obama was always against this war which has cost 100s of thousands of lives.  Biden voted with Congress to support the bill Bush sent to Congress which authorized war only after his own proposal which was not as aggressive was rejected. 

3)     Loving one’s brother as thyself.  Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.1 Thessalonians 4:8-10

This is the main command of the Lord.  During her acceptance speech, Sarah Palin mocked community service.  Jesus himself was the all time greatest server of humanity that ever lived.  The words were insulting to me.  As the days pass since the announcement of her nomination, numerous examples of deeds where she has not supported community have arisen. The Legislature is investigating whether Palin fired public safety commissioner Walt Monegan after he refused to fire a state trooper who had divorced Palin's sister. The complaint alleges that the governor or her staff may have improperly disclosed information from Wooten's personnel records. The complaint also alleges "criminal penalties may apply." [v] 

Barak had questions arise about the reverend of the church he faithfully attended.  It is without doubt that he has gone through a spiritual journey in his lifetime and discovered his faith in Jesus Christ.  Meanwhile, McCain isn’t exactly sure as to what faith he actually belongs.[vi]  Joe Biden, like me, was raised a Roman Catholic and espouses the values advocated in this leaflet.

There is also no doubt that Sarah Palin is very religious. Sarah Palin’s church minister Brickner stated, while she attended just two weeks ago described terrorist attacks on Israelis as God's "judgment of unbelief" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity.

"Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. It's very real. When [Brickner's son] was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment — you can't miss it."[vii]

Prejudice is wrong.  It begets more prejudice.  There is no reason for it.  In a pluralistic society, The United States of America being the best example so far in human history, we must embrace the contributions that we all have to give.  Hate will get us nowhere.

 

 

4)    Greed and avarice

Jesus instructed us to help the poor. Personally, I am an economic conservative and believe that free markets are the best rule of governance. However, I also believe that Government should step in when unbridled capitalism have lead to the deadly sins of greed and avarice.

We are living in an age when the gap between the rich and the poor has grown tremendously.  Most of the money in the world is concentrated into very few hands.  For a period, the very rich can afford a higher tax rate in order to stimulate a correction in the distribution of wealth in our great nation. This is what Barak Obama is proposing.

Sens. McCain and Obama differ sharply, starting with the Bush tax cuts due to expire in 2010. McCain would make them permanent, while Obama would eliminate them for families making more than $250,000.  The cornerstone of Obama's tax plan is what he calls the "making work pay credit." It would give any worker making less than $150,000 a credit of $500 - up to $1,000 per family. That tax credit would be refundable, which means even if you owe no taxes, you could still get a check from the government.

Obama would also create a similar college tax-credit for the first $4,000 of tuition. In return, a student would have to perform 100 hours of public service.[viii]

This sounds like the Christian moral of sharing and I advocate it.  Most Americans will have more money after taxes under Obama’s plan than the current tax code (which McCain endorses).

 

5)     Abortion and Education

 

In my younger years, I was foolish and could have accidentally impregnated a girlfriend.  My life would be very different now had that occurred.  My personal feeling, like those of Barak Obama, is that abortion is an abomination.  However, in the hypothetical about my youth, it could have been the case that the girl would have decided differently and chosen abortion.  Regardless if it is legal or not, I know in my heart that abortions WILL occur anyway and at great risk to often young and confused mothers.  It is in our ability to CHOOSE that we sin.

Barak’s solution is more education for our children.  We live in a culture today of information bombardment.  Children can be exposed to bad information and good information.  It is Barak’s belief and mine also that we should teach about sex and abstinence and other important topics like venereal disease so that they do not believe bad information when it is given to them.  This is the way that there can be less abortions and more educated citizenry.

6)    Caring for Mother Earth

 10your kingdom come,
   your will be done
      on earth as it is in heaven.

Mathew 6:10

Drill! Drill! Drill! It is the mantra of the McCain/Palin ticket. One of the aspects of the Obama plan that the Republican quixotically rebuff is conservation.  Conservation is good.  We waste not, we want not.  The meek are the salt of the earth and they shall inherit it. 

Palin has also tried to make gunning down wolves (and even bears) from the air easier and financially rewarding. Last year, the state offered a $150 bounty as an incentive for pilots and aerial gunners to kill more wolves. And leading up to this week's statewide vote on Measure 2 to stop the aerial shooting of wolves and bears, Palin's Board of Game spent $400,000 of PUBLIC money on brochures and radio ads to influence the election. She not only took an inhumane and unsporting position at odds with the principles of wildlife management and fair chase, but did it in an undemocratic and underhanded way.

*Palin doesn't believe global warming is man-made. At every campaign stop, McCain says that human activity is the driving force behind global climate change. For the first time in its history, the GOP caught up to the rest of the planet by accepting the reality of man-made climate change in its 2008 platform. It reads, "The same human activity that has brought freedom and opportunity to billions has also increased the amount of carbon in the atmosphere," and "increased atmospheric carbon has a warming effect on the earth."  

But Palin is among the conservative fringe that rejects the scientific consensus. According to the Washington Post, "Sarah Palin told voters there she wasn't sure climate change wasn't simply part of a natural warming cycle." Palin told the conservative Web site NewsMax, "I'm not one ... who would attribute it to being man-made."

This may help explain why Palin announced this year that Alaska would sue the Department of the Interior over its decision to add the polar bear to its list of endangered species. If people are "over-reacting" to global warming, as Palin has said, then the polar bears' rapidly dwindling habitat should be FINE and those bears can FEND for themselves. As Palin explained in an op-ed in the New York Times, "I strongly believe that adding them to the list is the wrong move at this time... The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, has argued that global warming and the reduction of polar ice severely threatens the bears' habitat and their existence. In fact, there is insufficient evidence that polar bears are in danger of becoming extinct within the foreseeable future."[ix]

7)     The Democratic Party should be the home of Christians.

Importantly, I believe the Party of the Christian is the Democratic Party.  The Republicans have used and forsaken Christians and Evangelicals without receiving anything in return. Ralph Reed, Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay[x] cynically have betrayed your vote, only to increase their own monetary wealth.  On the other hand, the Democrats believe in social programs to help the poor. The Democrats care about the Earth.  The Democrats care about the community of nations. The Democrats are for the eventual destruction of all nuclear arms.  Within the Democrat’s platform is a greater respect for state’s rights. 

I propose that Christians should be in the Democratic Tent and be working from within for a party compromise.  For example, South Dakota recently had on her ballot a measure defining the legality of abortion.   Whereas the Republicans have consistently in their history frowned on state’s rights (different from Reagan’s state’s rights which were a wink and nod to prejudice[xi]), the Democrats are more liberal in their application of what rights belong to the federal versus local and state governments.  This is a more conducive environment for staunch pro-life advocates as perhaps there can be a compromise which may eventually allow states to restrict abortion.  This is the type of compromise our forefathers envisioned in the framework of our great Constitution.

One more thought for all of my friends.  It is time to end this "culture war" which has been started and inflamed for political means. The good Christian who has been taught to love his brother is at cognitive dissonance within himself when he judges or shuns anyone. The two stances are irreconcilable. It is time to join hands in America and move forward again with joy in our hearts.

I encourage you to bring this debate to your churches.  Blessings will certainly come if we look inwardly and contemplate walking in the footsteps of the Lord.

 

Peace be with you.

 

David Jerrard Givens

September 10, 2008

[i] Isikoff, Michael and Hosenball, Mark.  Spies, Lies and the White House. Newsweek,  June 11, 2006. http://www.newsweek.com/id/141009

 

[ii]Edwards, David and Brynaert, Ron.  Unplugged McCain sings 'bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran' The Raw Story.April 19, 2007.  http://rawstory.com/news/2007/McCain_unplugged_Bomb_bomb_bomb_bomb_0419.html

[iii] Washington Post.com Who is Gov. Palin? Questions abound. Wednesday, September 3, 2008 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090202445.html    

 

[iv] Associated Press. Biden choice reflects Obama campaign refocus

Sunday, August 24th.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26376918/

[v] Quinn, Steve Huffington Post.  Palin Hires Lawyer For Trooper-gate. September 1, 2008 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/01/palin-hires-lawyer-for-tr_n_123016.html

 

[vi] FOX News.com. McCain identifies himself as Baptist.  September 16, 2007http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296973,00.html

 

[vii] Sullivan, Andrew. The Atlantic.com. Sept. 2, 2008

 

[viii] CBS Evening News. September 10, 2008. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/09/eveningnews/main4433097.shtml

 

[ix] Current. Top ten most disturbing facts and impressions of Sarah Palin

http://current.com/items/89263615_top_ten_most_disturbing_facts_and_impressions_of_sarah_palin

 

[x] Wikipedia entry, Jack Abramoff Indian Lobbying Scandal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Abramoff_Indian_lobbying_scandal

 

[xi] Greenberg, David.  Dog-Whistling Dixie. Slate Magazine. November 20, 2007. http://www.slate.com/id/2178379/