I have been the recipient of several nights without sleep thinking about the type of country my children will be living in. The bottom line is this. As much as we'd all love to believe that they can, NEITHER of these candidates is able save our country. The Savior has already come and until He comes again, we will continue to battle the sin of our world. The Good News is that He left us with a wonderful road map on how to live. If only we would follow it.
There are many issues to be concerned with during this time in our country's history, and I do study as much as I can to understand them, but in the end, there is truly only one issue that determines where my vote goes. I vote Pro-Life. (surprise, surprise) That of course means that Mr. Obama will not be getting my vote. I am not excited about McCain, but he is willing to defend the right to life, and from where I stand, if there is no life, there are no other "issues" to worry about.
I recall Obama talking about his daughters during his acceptance speech. He stated that he would not want his daughters punished with a baby if they "made a mistake." He is saying, without any misunderstanding, that he would approve of the abortion of his grandchild.
Remembering that his mother was a single mom and raised him with the help of his grandparents, I wonder if she ever felt that she had been saddled with a mistake? And if she had had the legal option, would she have chosen to abort him? And if she did, would we be looking at the possibility of electing the first Afro-American into office this year?
Yesterday, Mark mentioned to me that 50% of Catholics are voting for Obama. I know many other people of the Christian faith that are voting for him as well. I understand the frustration with the government. I wish I could vote a real change in. But the only real issue, again, is the issue of life.
The Bishops of the American Catholic Church issued a document last year called Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. I encourage all to read this. It is 42 pages, but worth the time. It helps to guide the Christian voter through this maze of decisions that we must make.
The Bishops of Dallas and Fort Worth issued a letter this month during the Respect Life month. You can read the joint statement here and while the letter has drawn some negative criticism for "attempting to endorse a particular candidate", I believe it is an attempt on the behalf of the Church to educate the faithful in what exactly our baptismal call obligates us to do, and that is to reject the "intrinsic evil" that attacks human life.
The letter from the Bishops states:
Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship clearly teaches that not all issues have the same moral
equivalence. Some issues involve “intrinsic evils”; that is, they can never under any circumstance or
condition be morally justified. Preeminent among these intrinsic evils are legalized abortion, the promotion
of same sex unions and “marriages”, repression of religious liberty, as well as public policies permitting
euthanasia, racial discrimination or destructive human embryonic stem cell research
The document Forming Conscience of Faithful Citizenship states:
“There are some things we must never do, as individuals or as a society, because they are always
incompatible with love of God and neighbor. Such actions are so deeply flawed that they are
always opposed to the authentic good of persons. These are called ‘intrinsically evil’ actions. They
must always be rejected and opposed and must never be supported or condoned.
So while I agree that things are a mess in Washington and we do need a change, we also need real HOPE. The hope of life. The hope that all life is protected, especially the most vulnerable and the most unable to defend itself.
Some will call me a one-issue voter, and I suppose I would have to agree with them. However, after reading this letter and the document issued by the Conference of Bishoops, I have a better understanding of why this "one-issue" is the most important issue. If voting on this one issue causes me to pay higher taxes (which I doubt it will) it is a price I am willing to pay. It is certainly less of a price than that which 48 million innocent lives have paid since 1973.
I can't wait for this election to be over. I have been sickened by what I have seen from both parties especially over the last few years which are now coming back to haunt us. My biggest hope is that some of them, and I can not which party they are affiliated with, stand up, accept responsibility for the mess they have created and set their hearts and minds to fix it.
I promise to get back to running soon and hopefully that will inspire some running posts again.
7 comments:
Hehe, I'm sure no one wants to touch this one K. We are totally at odds here, but it's good to express our opinions.
I am never quiet about where I stand, so I'll put it all out there too.
I am a Christian and nothing about me or my beliefs is intrinsically evil.
I'm pro-choice, a loud and proud supported of gay rights and gay marriage and not opposed to stem cell research. Oh and I believe in Evolution and Creationism.
I think a lot of people stay away from discussing politics (and religion, for that matter) because they are issues that people feel so passionately aboutn -- and thus often cause heated, potentially hurtful conversation.
I don't share your view, but it was nice to read a thoughtful, rational post about why you will be voting the way that you are.
Oh Karen, I'm there with you 100%. I'm pretty sure he's going to leave our country in a worse mess than Jimmy Carter ever did.
100% pro-life, and I really don't want to give all my hard-earned money to someone who didn't earn it. I'm perfectly capable of making charitable contributions without having to be taxed in order to get my money.
I knew this post would be a bit on the risky side. Even my husband suggested that I move it to my other blog site. I decided to leave it here for now.
I hope you all know how much I respect each of you.
Tiggs, I was not implying that you or any other person is/was intrinsically evil. In my view, in the view of the Christians who wrote the document to which I was referring, we believe that the act of abortion, the abortion itself is the evil. Not the one suffering through one or the providers that care for the woman.
I understand that many Christians feel that abortion should be a legal option so as to know impose a religious belief upon someone else. Also, the safety of the woman is a concern. However, my faith teaches me that I must stand up for life and can not support anything that does not.
I do not wish harm to anyone, but especially I feel called to protect the wee one who doesn't yet have a voice.
I support the right of my gay friends and family members to have the same rights under the law as a married couple would, however, I do not feel that marriage should be redefined.
I believe in stem cell research and use just not with embryonic stem cells.
And I do not discount Evolution. I find this to be a very plausible scenario. Intelligent Design would never rule that out.
Now onto other things... can you share that cupcake recipe?? LOL
I think I'm safe (because I work for a private company) in saying that I line up with Barbara: I'm 100% pro-life (except in the cases of sexual assault) and I certainly don't want my money going to somebody who doesn't want to get off of their ass to work for it.
I was in Jason's Deli last night and I swear that the person that took my order couldn't understand, read or write English. (I'm all for people getting a start in a new life here, but don't put somebody in that position. That's the employer's fault and why I may not ever go to that one again.) Shipley's hasn't graced my mouth since they were raided - and the president admitted to hiring illegal immigrants.
I'm with you, K (duh). I can't wait for this thing to be over either, no matter who wins.
Cupcakes!!! Much more fun than politics!! LOL!
COOKIES AND CREAM CUPCAKES
MAKES 22 TO 24
30 Oreo cookies
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
2. Count out 12 Oreos and separate the top and bottom wafers. Make sure each has some of the icing on it. Place one wafer, icing side up, in the bottom of each paper liner. Set them aside. Place the remaining 18 Oreos between sheets of waxed paper or in a large, closed zipper-lock bag and crush them by rolling over them with a rolling pin. Set these crumbs aside.
3. Place the cake mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 1 1/2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the crushed Oreos and fold these into the batter until well incorporated. Set aside the remaining crushed Oreos for the frosting. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place the pans in the oven.
4. Bake the cupcakes until they are lightly golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. If you plan to freeze them, don't add the cookie-crumb topping. Wrap them I in aluminum foil or in a cake saver and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator and top with cookie crumbs before serving.
COOKIES AND CREAM FROSTING
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
a pinch of salt
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
remaining crushed Oreos
Mix together butter, confectioners sugar, and a pinch of salt until it’s creamy. Increase your mixer speed to high and beat until its light and fluffy. Add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat until its smooth. Fold in crushed Oreos. Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes.
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