A Change Is Gonna Come – Part 2

I do believe Barack Obama when he speaks about change coming.  Let’s be honest, he’s made a lot of promises.  He’s carrying the hopes and dreams of a lot of people on his shoulders.  People are expecting change to come and I hope that he’s able to deliver it.

Regardless though, I’m excited about change that is gonna come.

Assuming Obama’s first term as President is not a complete disaster.  He’ll more then likely be president for the next 8 years.  And by that time the Republican party will have to make some serious changes in their approach to politics if they want to reclaim their lost seats of power.

That’s one thing I think this election proves.  That people are tired of the same Republican party and tactics that have given us George Bush, Karl Rove, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, James Dobson, The Moral Majority, Right Wing extremism, Conservative Christians, and most importantly of all THE CULTURE WAR.

I’m hopeful that Change is gonna come to the Republican party and they will be forced to rethink their policy and politics.  And I think this will be good for them and good for America.

I’m even more hopeful that in the next eight years The Church, The Body of Christ, Christian brothers and sister across America will continue to struggle and wrestle with the best ways to live out our faith, the best way to be the hands and feet of jesus, the best way to be Kingdom people.  People that bring the life, liberty, and freedom of God’s Kingdom to the sick, the hurting, the poor, the oppressed, those on the outside and underside of our communities, our country and our world.  And Yes I believe the church is changing.  And Yes I understand people are very scared of that.  But I believe change in the church is a good and necessary thing.

So I’m very hopeful today and I willingly choose to believe the best is yet to come for America, for the Church and for the World.

It’s been a long time coming…   But Change Is Gonna Come.

Permission to vote for a Democrat…

I’ve been talking to a number of friends and family members about the upcoming election.  When I ask them to tell me why they are voting for McCain, the issue of abortion is always tops on their list.  For a few of them at least, I get the feeling that their vote hinges solely on this one issue of abortion.  And since Republicans are Pro-life and Democrats are Pro-Choice they just cannot morally allow themselves to vote for a democrat.  In spite of how they feel on other issues.

I fully understand and appreciate their dilemma.  How can someone that believes life is precious, that life is a gift from God vote for a party that supports killing innocent, unprotected lives?

As my own political, social, and religious views continue to take form this is one of the issues that I’ve had to deal with.  How do you get over the abortion issue?  Here’s a couple things that I’v begun to work through in my mind.

1.)  Abortion is more of a political issue then a moral issue.

Both parties (Republican and Democrat) have used the issue of abortion to further their political aspirations.  Both parties have taken opposite positions to attract a certain demographic of person.  Just look at the labels they’ve coined to identify themselves.  Republicans are “Pro-life”, which obviously makes the Democrats “Pro-death”.  And Democrats are “Pro-Choice”, which obviously makes the Republicans “Anti-Choice”, anti-women’s rights, repressive, etc… 

So every election the rhetoric machine is fired up again and again, igniting the passions of people from both parties, turning out the vote in force.  But when the bumper stickers and yard signs are removed and the confetti is all swept up – abortion – A major plank in both parties platforms – becomes nothing more then a mere sliver that you feel from time and time but never have time to address.

Regardless of which party you favor.  I think we could all agree that neither party is doing enough to reduce the amount of abortions in our country and that is the real tragedy.

2.)  The Real answer is somewhere in the middle.

For all of you die hards out there on either side of the political fence I have some real bad news from you.  Roe vs. Wade will never be repealed and abortion on demand (Whenever and For Whomever) will never happen.  

And is that what we really want anyway?

Why do we have to slide from one extreme to the other,  when the real answer is somewhere in the middle.  Why can’t we all agree that abortion is a tragedy and we need to do all that we can to reduce the amount of abortions in the US.

Check out these statistics on abortion. (It was the first site that came up on Google if you’re wondering).

Who is having abortions?  50% are under 25.  It affects all ages – it’s not just a teenage issue.  60% are white – it’s not just a race issue (Though in relationship to the population, black women are 3 times more likely to have an abortion then white women and hispanics 2 times more likely) Over 68% claim to be either Protestant or Catholic.  Woman that make >$30,000/yr account for over 50% of all abortions.

If you check out the link you’ll notice I flipped the way the statistics were given – on purpose.  Because so often we think that abortion simply affects the young, the poor, the unwed, the minorities.  But the truth is it affects us all.  Four out of ten pregnancies end in abortion and 93% of the time the reasons given are “social reasons”.

The problem is bigger then a Republican or Democratic solution.  It’s going to require all of us coming together and focusing on the best way to reduce the amount of abortions in our country.

3.)  The real tragedy of abortion is not abortion itself.

What causes a women to want to have an abortion?  Is it carelessness?  She made a mistake and now wants to fix it.  Is it laziness?  It’s easier to get an abortion then to practice safe sex.  We can tell ourselves these things if we want, but I think the issue of abortion is much more complex then that.

For a woman to be willing to put herself through an abortion, there must be some pretty heavy things going on.  Life must be hard…  I feel sorry for any women that feels it’s better for her, better for her unborn child to be aborted then to be brought into the world.  That is a tragedy.

I feel sorry for the women who after having an abortion has to live the rest of her life dealing with the guilt and same of her choice.  That is a tragedy.

I feel sorry for a women that feels forced into bringing a child into the world out of moral, religious obligations.  Even though she is terrified, even though she feels unprepared.  That is a tragedy.

I feel sorry for the children born into abusive relationship and disfunctional families.  Children that are brought up feeling unwanted and unloved.  That is a tragedy.

I believe God grieves – God mourns for those in any of these circumstances and so should we.  Killing an unborn child, that is a tragedy – but it does not lessen any of the other tragedies abortion presents.  And in my mind any solution to abortion must address all of the issues, not just one.

4.)  What’s needed is a consistent ethic of life.

Our politicians and even our church leaders have done an excellent job making elections about small things – individual issues, like abortion.  Everyone has the one or two issues that are important to them and they vote based on where the party line falls.  For those of you on the Right, my friends (As John McCain would say), my fellow believers.  Those of you looking at Abortion as your watershed issue.  Consider this…

4,000 children a day – die from Abortion.  Yes, a terrible tragedy.  But…

9,000 children a day – die from Aids.

30,000 children a day – die from hunger/disease/poverty

500,000 children a year – die from Wars/Conflicts.

As you carefully consider which candidate, which party to vote for in the upcoming election.  Please consider the fact that as a Christian we can’t focus on just one issue, but we must focus living a life consistent with the life that Jesus lived out in the gospels and asked us to follow.  And I think for us today that would include issues like…abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, nuclear weapons (war), poverty, and racism.

Does the candidate or party you support have a consistent ethic of life?

So as election day draws near, consider all of that.

And just in case you need to hear it from somebody.

Yes, You do have permission to vote for a Democrat.  And you shouldn’t feel the least bit guilty about it.  I don’t.