When it comes to politics, put up or shut up

Politics and religion are an unusual mix in America today, but it has not always been that way. A solid majority of our nation’s founding fathers were men of religious conviction even if they did not have a personal relationship in Jesus Christ. As we move close to this year’s election I have come across many within religious circles who believe candidate A or candidate B is God’s choice for our country but my question is should we as Christians be in the habit of making political endorsements? Anyone who has spent any amount of time around me knows that I have my opinions on just about every subject, including politics, but I am wary of praying that my choice will be elected because I personally feel that I should be praying that God’s will be done. Now I am not saying that I will handle the November election the way that 5 Point Calvinist handle evangelism, pray that God’s will be done and do nothing on my own, but as Abraham Lincoln once said, the question shouldn’t be is God on my side, but rather am I on His side. As I have matured in faith and intellect I have come to the point that I can see the logic behind why individuals vote for candidates on both side of the political fence but one thing I cannot stand is when someone makes an endorsement or cast a vote without taking the time to think through what their candidates stand for or the reputation that precedes them. The reason I am somewhat indignant on this subject tonight is do to the fact that I just returned from a concert in which a political endorsement was tossed around but the Christian artist making the endorsement did so without giving any logical arguments. “I am pro life for all life” she said, “and as governor of Texas George W. Bush allowed more than 150 executions to take place.” After other ramblings about how war is never a solution she preceded to say that she is casting her “vote for change.” Now, on the subject of war I can see how someone could be opposed to war but what about the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis that were put to death for merely speaking up against their leadership? Would she say that Iraqi lives that were taken aren’t important aren’t worth respecting? But her comments against the war were not the thing that frustrated me the most, but it was her comment about being “pro life for all life.” So, let me see if I can figure out what she believes. She is against abortion and against capital punishment so since Candidate A, George W. Bush, did not offer clemency for convicted killers he is worse than Candidate B, John Kerry, who has cast votes in favor of abortion on demand which takes the lives of a million or more innocent, helpless victims a year. Maybe I am not the smartest individual in the world but her logic makes no sense to me. It would be like a person who is on a diet saying that eating one Twinkie is bad but eating two boxes of them is ok. My advice for this singer, and anyone else who cares to delve into the realm of giving political endorsements, is to first off think through your logic and have a good reason for why you want others to follow your lead. And secondly, don’t assume that your audience will bow down and take your advice just because you have star power. Either have logical arguments for why you believe what you believe or please, for the sake of everyone who has to listen to you, shut the heck up.

A Time to Mourn

Death is something that we all think about but rarely discuss. Even if we are spiritually ready for it, the fear of the unknown still lingers. When someone close to you loses a loved one, what can you say to them? If I know that their loved one was a believer I can reassure them that they are now in heaven, but can anything I say really help to console their pain? I am left pondering these thoughts tonight as one of my closest friends is facing this excruciating grief. Even though the death did not come as a surprise, it still is hard to take. The hard part for me is being twelve hundred miles away and not being to provide a shoulder for her to cry on, or to give a hug when no words will do. At this time of sorrow I am encouraged, however, by the fact that her father was loved by his family and that he will be missed. While some may say it’s a shame that his life was cut short, I would contend that fifty years full of life and love is better than ninety years of just passing time. If when it is my time to go I am mourned and missed as my friends father is, whether my life lasted thirty years, or if I lived to the ripe old age of a hundred, I will consider my life to have been a success.

If The World Is A Stage...

If William Shakespeare was correct when he penned “all the world is a stage, and we are all merely actors” than the play that depicts my life has taken on several different theatrical forms throughout the years. On the sunny Monday morning that I entered the world my story was full of all the warm fuzzy features that usually accommodate a CNN People in the News drama. My young parents (father-32 and mother-31) were already proud parents of five daughters and were overjoyed to finally have a son. While my family did not have a lot of money we never went without the necessities and the close knit blue-collar family made it through. When I was four year old, my parents began a new venture, which was unheard of in our part of New York State, and began home schooling. The nine-hundred square foot home, which was barely large enough to accommodate a family of 8 under normal circumstances, at that point also became our school house. Family outings soon took on educational benefits and even trips to the playground somehow included lessons that we all could learn. As the years passed and I entered high school I moved on from home school to private school and my life became more of a comedy. How else can one describe the years that followed but to look back with a smile and laughter? After I completed high school and began my college my story moved closer to the realms of satire and away from that of a comedy. Over the seven years (and seventy-thousand dollars) I spent completing my 5 years of college I did all I could to avoid my books and spent most of the time with others who were avoiding their studies as well. All the emphasis that my parents had place on a proper diet went out the window as my reliance on Ramen Noodles and caffeinated beverages soared (not to speak of the breakfast of Snickers bars and Coke that usually preceded exams). But much like the high school years, my college years were soon behind me and I moved from the satirical phase into the tragedy of my life. A tragedy brings about a meaningful ending by way of calamitous events and so far I have not found a more accurate way to sum up this stage of my life. A tragedy epitomizes the clichés “hindsight is 20/20,” “chalk one up for ignorance” and “you live, and you learn.” My only hope is that my life will not end as a tragedy but rather I desire for my life to move into the realms of a fairy tale where the unexpected becomes reality and my story ends with "he lived happily ever after.”

A Fresh Start

You try and try to climb out of a seemingly bottomless pit until you see solid ground only to have the steps beneath you collapse as you tumble back to where you began. Tonight was one of those times for me. For two years I have tried to deal with a situation, of which I thought I was being successful, only to have all my beliefs and confidence shattered in a matter of seconds. All the ground conquered became quicksand beneath my feet as my beliefs that I’d made monumental leaps were confirmed to be merely baby steps. Well, tomorrow will begin a new day for me and my journey back to normalcy will receive a fresh start. In the mean time, a sleepless night will endure until the ever elusive sleep overtakes my active thoughts and gives me asylum from my worst enemy. My own imagination.

Memories From The College Years

On several occasions during my college years I was fortunate enough to be able to go on trips, to truly experience life and enjoy all that comes along with the whole college experience. On two occasions I went to visit my sister in Orlando and while there I took in all that Disney and Universal Studios had to offer. At a different point I even had the chance to go to Israel. But while riding roller-coasters and swimming in the Sea of Galilee were exciting, they are not the moments that I cherish the most from that period of my life. The times I cherish the most were the times I would just sat around in a friend’s office listening to music and the Tuesday nights jazz sessions in the university’s snack shop. Between taking exams and writing research papers I hardly ever took the time to close my eyes and breathe in all that was going on around me but on the few occasions I did, I knew that those were the moments that would be with me for the rest of my life. College, like many times in my life, flew by so fast that before I knew it the moments had passed and all that remained were the fleeting memories of a few great times. After receiving my diploma I can’t say that I looked back with regrets for spending too little time on my studies but instead what I do regret is the chances I had to spend time with others that I passed up. Some nights I opted to study instead of going out for coffee, and other evenings I sat in my apartment and watched movies while others were out sitting around bon fires. Much to the dismay of my parents and professors, if I could go back and relive my college years I would probably wind up with a 2.0 instead of a 3.0 but I believe that I would have fewer regrets and more memories to cherish.