One disclaimer before reading any further. I am neither Republican nor Democrat. I always vote a split ticket. I have a mix of liberal and conservative views, but do feel that I lean much more toward the average Democrat than the average Republican. Take that and what I say below however you like.
The recent election was one of great significance. There was a changing of the guard. For better or worse, we will now have a federal government that is controlled by the Democratic party. This is not so different than what we saw during a portion of the Bush administration. It may be different in terms of what issues are deemed important, but is very much the same in terms of one party having a lot of power. That fact may scare some Americans. My own inclinations are nor of fear; rather I am very excited about it. Not because my votes helped this happen, but because I like progress. I was equally excited when the Republican part had total control. I was excited because I assumed that a united front would mean much progress and few roadblocks. Is that what we saw happen? I would argue that we did not. Now the control has shifted and the Democrats find themselves with the power in their hands. What will they do with it? That is the question that I am wondering about. As I've already mentioned, I hope that the current makeup of government leads to less "politics" and much more progress. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.
As a side story to the election and the political issues is the story that has gotten a lot of press. Of course I am talking about the issue of race. For the first time ever, we will have an African American man as the president of the United States. This has been a big story in the media and in many of our conversations over the past week. The talk has been both good and bad in my opinion. This is what I've seen and how I feel about it.
The good:
(1) Our mentality as a nation has progressed. There was a point when a candidate for any office would not stand a chance only due to the color of their skin. We've progressed to the point that we are now basing our votes on the person, their stances and their ability to lead... and NOT based on their ethnic makeup. I'm proud that we've made such progress and proud to be an American.
(2) It has been a major issue that a minority has won the presidency of the United States. A lot of focus has been put on that fact. I see this as a good thing. In some discussions I've had with others, they feel that this is being fussed over too much. I disagree. I do agree that race should not be THE issue of the election, but is AN issue and one of importance. It's significance is that anything is possible....for anyone, regardless as to which race they may be.
To elaborate on this topic a little bit, I grew up somewhat privileged to a white family. When my parents told me that I could do anything I wanted I took that as a fact. At a young age it was easy to accept such a statement from my parents, especially due to the fact that when I looked up to the people I may aspire to be like (coaches, doctors, lawyers, elected officials), I saw people that looked like my family members. As hard as I can try, it is difficult for me to fully understand how a "non-white" child feels when he or she is told that same thing. When they look to those same occupations (or at least in the past), they see mainly white guys. I would hope that this would not dissuade the child from believing what they could or could not accomplish, but I have to assume that it at minimum made their dreams seem a little less believable. As time has gone on and we have progressed as a nation, this has become slightly less of an issue and as of November 4th, all expectations have been rewritten. I am happy about that.
The bad (2 things I've heard people say repeatedly):
(1) Even though our mentality as a nation has progressed, I still still many who are lagging behind.
For instance: I have lost count how many people I've heard say (in one way or another), that "we will have a black president and I'm ok with it". I'm sure they are saying such things with the best of intentions, but to me if you tell me that there is an issue that you are "ok" with, then your telling me there was an issue to be decided upon. In my mind, there is no issue. Maybe it's unfair for me to expect others to share my view or maybe I'm reading too much into what people say, but dont think so. I'm glad they are "ok with it", but I hope soon they will realize that they are either happy or unhappy based upon the person and not which group he/she falls into (whether that be race, gender, or even political affiliation).
(2) After having seen how American voted, I've heard many "Christians" say or write that "now I have to pray for America". I take issue with this for multiple reasons.
First: we live in a post September 11th America, we have thousands of troops over seas fighting every day, there are many homeless and high needs people here in the America, and we are in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, yet the one thing that leads them to pray for our nation is that Barack Obama has been elected president. Wow. That baffles me. I'm not telling everyone that they should pray, but if you are a person that does pray (as I am) then I would hope that you were already praying for our nation and if you were not and it took Barack Obama winning this election to prompt to you pray, then praise God that Obama won.
Second: I really dont understand the disdain Evangelical Christians have with Obama...or with Democrats in general for that matter. I can only assume that it has to do with his stance on Roe v Wade. If that is the reason and that one issue is important enough to ignore the of the other dozens of issues, then so be it. I personally think that all of the issues (or at least many of them) matter and that a vote can not be cast based on a single issue.
That being said, many of the other issues that the Democratic party focus on seem very Christian to me. Many of their stances are for the protection and assistance of those that lack the ability or means to help themselves. Restated, I see one fundamental Democratic focus is helping the poor and those that are less fortunate. Without going into any specifics (which would make this about 20 more paragraphs long), I see this as one major difference in where the two major parties diverge. I would assume that the focus on helping those that are less fortunate would be a point that would draw Evangelical Christians to the Democratic Party, but this is not the case. Evangelical Christians are a strong Republican base and I just don't get that. To me it is just a confusion distinction that I've never understood. I have this listed under the "bad" category because for many people that I've seen, the individuals that fall into this category happen to be the same people that fall into the first category that I have listed under "bad". In reality, it may not be all bad. It may be (as I've already mentioned) the focus on a single issue (abortion)... or it may not. Judge for yourself.
There you have it. The Good, The Bad, and Politics that we've already seen and are yet to come.
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