Godless Politics-In America?

        This election has electrified American’s like no other election in my memory.  People have strong reactions to the ups and downs on the daily news.  The media’s interpetation of what is happening minute- by- minute in the run for the Presidency of the United States is very slanted in it’s presentation.  It gives the impression that one doesn’t even need to vote…that it is already a done deal…IT IS NOT!  Everyone who is able must vote.  Everyone has a voice and must use it to choose who they wish to represent them in the leadership of their country.

          It has been called everything from a very prettified “Historic Election” to “A Mess”.  From the outset of this journey…it was touted as an election to take notice of, be a part of and yet; once the Democrats chose their candidate…and the Republicans chose theirs, the battle lines have been drawn.  The media has all but declared a win for Barack Obama.

           Each candidate has claimed that it is time for change.  Most Americans couldn’t agree more with that; however, the last few weeks have been increasing in ugliness.  Citizens are not happy with the direction our country has taken in the quality of life, nor in the image that has been projected of Americans around the world.  That has to be addressed.  Add into the chaos of the multi national financial systems collapse, and the housing market crisis, and throw into the mix health care & job losses; and you should have a clear platform for a political candidate to voice their position and their solutions.  It hasn’t happened yet.  The candidates are too afraid of voicing their true position on the issues in fear of alienating some section of voters…so we are left to our own impressions of where the candidates stand.

          Part of the fear and anxiety in this country has been the lack of information needed to make an informed decision.  Questions have been raised about personal integrity, honesty and positions of faith.  Candidates can say what they want about the image that they try to project…however, actions speak louder than all of the words written for them by their well-paid speech writers.  The truth of who a candidate really is will eventually come out.  I just hope that each will reveal themselves before the actual election.  We are in real trouble when the media and celebrity spokespersons are the go to sources of information.  We only learn what they want us to learn. 

           Hate and violence should never have a place in American politics.  Let the candidates show and declare their true value systems and positions on the issues.  There is a huge movement that has building over the last decade or so, against people of faith who try to vote their values and who hold their political leaders to some level of positive role modeling.  Why is that wrong? In my opinion, it isn’t.  Standards of behavior should be based on an acceptable level to the people that the candidates represent.

           We have, over the years, removed God from our schools, we have demanded seperation of church and state, and some talk of taking that even farther by removing the “Under God” from our pledge of allegience.  There is even an organization dedicated to supporting non-believers in God or atheists in their candidacy; it is called, Godless Americans Political Action Committee.  They have a right to form their committee just as others have a right to question a candidate about their alliance to such an organization and how it will affect their position should they be election to a position of power.  Plain and simple; let the truth be known if you are associated with such an organization and let the voter’s decide whether you merit a vote or not; don’t hide your involvement and don’t lie to the people who you would represent if elected.

            Really, if you are a Christian…this election is about staking your claim for your personal beliefs and value systems.  Don’t vote in this election based just on your economic situation; or, on falling for the one liner…”we want change”….because…if you don’t vote your Christian values then you and the rest of the citizens of the United States are on a slippery slope.  Quality of life is in question as it is with all of the challenges to traditional religious views such as one man one woman marriages and standing up for family values.  If we allow our leadership to rest in the hands of people who don’t consider themselves accountable to a higher power or authority under God, then we really are in trouble as a nation.

            I don’t think that America is ready, willing or able to endorse Godlessness in our Political leaders; do you?

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Hillary Upset!

         Don’t take this the wrong way or anything…it isn’t like i am saying she should have won the nomination…because as I have said before…i haven’t been terribly thrilled with any one of the choices we have had, put before us as a Presidential candidate; however, i was in my mind’s eye, thinking how “interesting” it would have been if when Hillary got up to give her speach for unity, if she would have said…ummmm..ya know…i have had alot of support thrown my way and well…i was thinking…maybe i will run on the party of a DemoPublican ticket.  LOL  I will just take my supporters and run with it!  Wouldn’t that have made a statement?  We all know how dissatisfied the Clintons have been with the process.  Still, from all reports, Hillary stood her ground and called for unity…and buried her alledged upset at the situation.

          I just hate the way that this whole thing has played out.  People will vote who they want to vote for and that is as it should be…vote your conscience.  However, i just don’t like all of the political maneuvering that has seemed to take place behind the scenes.  I don’t like all of the celebrity hoopla that has gone on in this campaign.  I am not a fan of let’s play pretend and say that we are a united party when you know, at the truth of it all…there was probably intense pressure, power plays, and promises for future support or endorsements; if only you do this for us…then, we will do “that” for you down the road.  Who do they think they are fooling with all of this circus entertainment?  It is detracting from the candidate and the foundation of his campaign.

            If the point of a national convention is to make the candidate stand out and shine in their moment of nomination…why  do we have all of the distractions that we have been hearing about for the last week?  Trot out the old school and relive the glory days, have the national anthem sung by a former American Idol contestant, negative attack political commercials, bring in the star power endorsements, celebrity poker games to benefit world hunger, twist the arm of a former competitor to push for unity from her supporters, placate her husband and give him a podium to voice a message that we all understand is crucial to our country’s well-being…terrorism…instead of his forte, which some claim is strengthening the economy, pick a running mate that can growl like a tiger…say what you really want to say and take the flack for it, tout the experience of said running mate who is embedded in the old school ways of running the country; all the while, taking the focus off of the inexperience and uncertainty of whether the nominee is qualified to run the country in his own right.  Don’t forget to add a little flash and dance celebration and emotional triggers about how historic this moment is to the evolution of our country to finally have both a black man, and a woman, running for President of the United States. 

           I could buy how far we’ve come as a nation, just for that particular milestone; if in fact, we didn’t pit those two “historic” candidates to run against each other in the same party, at the same time; and, if we didn’t have other members of the black culture calling the black candidate the “N-word” when they should have been extending him the respect he deserved as the candidate of choice.  The Republicans are getting ready for their moment in the sun soon…wonder what we can expect from that particular convention?  Oh man…isn’t it November yet?

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DemoPublicans

        It may just be a bit presumptious to say so…but, i think that there are so many people who are dissatisfied with both the Republican and Democratic parties that we are going to see something that i tagged as a DemoPublican.  That is to say, that people’s value systems lie somewhere in the middle of these two parties that have become so out of touch with their constituents.  Alot of conversations that take a political turn tend to reflect the consensus that people are unhappy with the choices.  The reasons for that statement are varied.  Some don’t like the personality, or the past mistakes, or the perceived lack of experience…on and on.  That is not new to this particular election..that is always the case to a certain degree; people pick the person with who they consider will do the country the least amount of harm and promote the most positive changes possible.

         In this particularily historic Presidential election; people have  been trying to come to terms with issues that have plagued our country and tried to find the alignment within the party that they most closely associate themselves with.  That has become harder and harder to do with the economic reality that faces our nation; not to mention, constantly changing boundaries relating to levels of personal privacy as it has been invaded on the pretext of safeguarding our country in matters of national security.  Add into that mish-mash the polarization of voters applying personal religious belief systems towards determining which candidate to vote for.  Many people are conflicted on that issue; which candidate’s actions most closely reflect their own belief systems. 

          There are so many issues that have not even begun to be addressed by the candidates that it is a little worrisome.  Issues that demand addressing include things such as joblessness, homelessness, health care, education reform, addressing issues that impact the banking systems, transportation systems, homeland security, terrorism, how to provide and manage energy costs and concerns, etc.  These are the issues that people care about and base their votes on…not which celebrity gives them a personal endorsement or what music the candidate listens to; come on…get real and deal with the things that matter!

         Underneath those issues, runs a very heated debate about who should have been the Democratic nominee; experience or the lack of is important.  When Florida and Michigan delegate votes were discounted…this changed the course of the competition between Sen. Barack Obama.  There has been a strong battle between supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama.  The split has been protracted and continues today…going into the Democratic National Convention this weekend.  Even some of the speakers have privately expressed unhappiness with the process; such as Bill Clinton, former President of the United States.  He says after the election he will speak his piece; of that, i have no doubt.  Sen. Hillary Clinton…now, I can’t even imagine how much pressure she is under.  She wanted to be in the place that Sen. Barack Obama is now standing; barring that…she, i am sure would have been happy to be his running mate…that did not happen. 

           How difficult it must be to stand up there and promote unity in the party when i am sure….that has to be the last thing she wants to do is encourage support for Mr. Obama.  Add into the drama, all of the “celebrity” endorsements that Sen. Obama is getting and it is turning into a bit of a 3 ring circus.  Today there was a report on a CNN research poll that said since picking Sen. Joe Biden… the run for the Presidency has become tied at 47% between Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama…compared to percentages that showed Sen. Obama in the lead with 51%, just last month.

         Everyone has an opinion on how this will play out.  Some attempts have been made calling for unity in the Democratic party…but, there is great unhappiness still under the surface.  Those that thought Sen. Hillary Clinton should have been the front runner, then fully expected Sen. Barack Obama should give her due consideration for the position of his running mate.  When it became obvious that she was passed over; and, he chose Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate those who felt slighted have pledged to vote for Sen. Obama’s competitor Sen. John McCain. 

           The Republican party has to get out their position on the issues as well.  We dont need to see a few months of showboating by either of the candidates…we need to get down to the nitty gritty and quit wasting everyone’s time on surface nonsense.

          There is much work to do on both the Republican and the Democratic side to convince voters that the person that they choose to cast their vote for is deserving and capable.  In the meantime, DemoPublicans are going to be the deciding factor in this election…God help us all to make the correct choice, without compromising the things that are most important.

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Michigan Primary

        Well, today is the day for voting in Michigan.  I am not sure how productive it will be since half of the players took their names off the ballot.  The democrats swore that they would not enter in since Michigan changed the date of the primary. 

        So… then this morning we hear that two of them will be on it… the other democrats are coasting on the idea that if a voter wants to vote them in, then the voter will just vote the undecided category.  Huh?  I would think that the candidate would just disappear from the voter’s vision if the democratic candidate’s name was absent from the ballot.  Oh well, what do i know? In my mind, if i wanted one of the democrats to win the vote and they didn’t put their name on the ballot i would be mad enough to say forget them!  It is a lack of respect to me.

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