If God Is For You...
For those of you not raised in the church, particularly the Pentecostal church, you may not be aware that many people believe that God, even today, continues to speak to His children. Some claim this occurs audibly, while others hear God only as a still, small voice within them — like a conscience or their own thoughts. While most of the time God “speaks” to an individual for their own edification, many Christians also believe that God dispenses “words of knowledge” directed at another person or a larger group. Depending on what church you attend, these so-called words of knowledge can occur infrequently or as often as every time the congregation gathers together.
One thing is for sure, God starts getting real chatty every four years, right around election time. The words of knowledge come fast and furious, and shockingly enough, they always seem to focus on the righteousness and manifest destiny of whomever is heading the Republican ticket for President of the Unites States. In all my years growing up in the charismatic movement, I never once heard God speak in favor of a Democrat. Quite the contrary, God spoke of Democrats using words like “abomination,” “depraved,” “immorality” and “grieving the heart of God.” These words of knowledge always ended with some admonition to make America a Christian nation again, and that if the people prayed hard enough, God’s blessings would return. If God’s people didn’t obey, American would continue its rapid slide into wickedness and sin.
It’s enough to make one think God is a Republican.
This election is no different. Though I no longer attend the sorts of churches in which such pronouncements are accepted, I manage to keep up via friends. Recently a dear friend, whom I respect very much, forwarded me an e-mail that had been sent to him. It contained a message he believed with all his heart, as did the author. I, of course, have a different take, but I’ll save that until after you’ve read the text. I’ve reproduced it here as it was sent to me, minus some spelling errors that my obsessive compulsiveness forced me to repair:
(Note: In the Bible, Esther was a Jewish maiden conscripted to be the Queen of the King of Persia. At a time when nefarious forces were conspiring to butcher all Jews living within Persia, Esther intervened and rescued her people from certain genocide.)
Dear Friend,
This past Tuesday, the McCain / Palin Bus came through a little town called, Lebanon, Ohio. The LORD allowed me to go to the Rally giving them a message that He wanted me to personally deliver.
Sunday Night - a burden hit me that would only shake me to my knees - I prayed and wept for our Nation. Never has my heart been so broken before God. I literally interceded for these wonderful people who do not deserve all the hate against them. The GOD-Haters are going to try everything to stop them, but they will not succeed!
God is not pleased with the 'bashing' in the News of this 'Anointed' person. He has called her for this time! I promised God that I would pray and hold them up in prayer. I would 'listen' out and be mindful of where they were. The following day is important in this time-line...because I didn't even know until God spoke to me...
Monday and into Monday Night - the burden of prayer was so heavy that I was literally shaking and could not stop weeping. I didn't know that they were coming to Ohio. I prayed and walked and wept and walked. I prayed and prayed and wept and prayed...
Tuesday at 2:00 A.M. - God spoke these words to me - '...Go turn the Radio on! Immediately the the Reporter's Words were - 'McCain & Palin Bus to be in Lebanon later this morning for a 10:00 A.M. Rally!'
Immediately on hearing that news, I heard God again...
God said, 'You are to go. You will meet them and give them a message for Me!'
I prayed as an intercessor and went to a place in prayer that I don't think I've ever been...because the LORD had just visited me...and I knew I was on a 'Mission.' I had now been up since Sunday Night...and now it's Tuesday and I've got to go on the 'WORD of the LORD.' He sure became My Strength as this unfolds...
I didn't stop praying until I drove over to the town and parked the car. The News would later report they were expecting 5,000 people and the actual head-count of those who had been scanned was more than 10,000 people.
I simply obeyed...and God actually told me where to stand, who to talk to...and when to be on the move. I had sure learned on the Mission Field, when God wants to open a door, He will do it at the appropriate time. He always has someone to assist...and even those stand ing beside you may just be an Angel.
I struck up a conversation with an agent on the ground - he simply said, 'I can't allow you to stand here!' Here is where the bus was going to actual pull up to. They had to make a much larger perimeter so the entire area was now being moved back several blocks. The only other thing he told me to do was to go through the metal detector zone and just watch from the back. So, that's what I did.
Due to sensitivity of the internet...I can't share much of the story as to what happened next was a definite GOD THING ALL THE WAY.
Looking over the shoulders and backs and heads of all those people...I knew it would take a miracle for what GOD told me to do.
As I was standing there, two Boy Scouts came running up my back...literally, they almost knocked me to the ground because they w ere running so fast behind me...up my back and over to the right. These Boy Scouts were about Junior High Age. Their Scout Leader and several others were behind them...but as the two out front was trying to push through the crowd, saying they were late...the smaller scouts were left in the dust. The Scout Leader who was with a McCain Rep from the State grabbed me and told me bring the other Scouts up front as they try to keep up with the first two that just came through.
I just became the leader of the rest of the Scouts to lead them right up front and center. As the Rep was shouting back at me...to bring the Scouts forward...the people parted just like God parted the Red Sea.
I marched them boys right up front and to the right of the stage as one was looking from the back. When I got there I was fifteen feet from the podium. GOD said, 'Stand here, and don't move from this spot.'
Within five minutes...the bus pulled up and around the other side McCain, Sarah Palin and her husband Todd stepped up and the speeches took off. I was where God placed me...and even Sarah Palin and Todd were standing on my side of the stage. I made eye contact, I gave them thumbs up gestures...and I knew they were just happy to see me standing there. Ha Ha
When they came around the podium and started on the other side, I knew they were coming right toward me, a little lady who stood by me, reached up and told the Rep that they had promised a Picture with her because she was the one who had lost a son in Iraq, recently. The Rep confirmed she would get a pic with them and they would talk to her. When McCain came to hug her... he immediately shook my hand and following his moment with her, I shook his hand as he grabbed my hand, now for the second time, and I said, 'God wants you to know that I'm praying for you, Sir!' He thanked me and kept smiling. I repeated that phrase to him five times. He grabbed my hands and looked right into my eyes and said, 'I won't make it without prayer. Sir, Thank You for praying for me, and don't let one day go by that you don't pray for me. I need all the prayers that I can get. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!'
As he moved to my right, Sarah Palin, came over to my left side...standing over the crowd and then looking at the little lady who had lost the son. It took a moment for her to shake some hands and people were pushing in all around. Sarah came and got on her hands and knees on that side of the stage and hugged that little Mom, telling her, '...it was not in vain.' She promised her support.
It was at this moment Sarah Palin, reached out for me to help her up and as I was assisting her to stand I was now face to face with her and GOD said, 'Open up your Mouth and I will fill it.'
Here is what came out...
'God wants you to know that you are a present day Esther!' [She immediately began to cry]! God wants to tell you that you are Chosen for such a time as this! You are called, and chosen to be a leader. Don't lose heart and don't fear man. The news and naysayers and criticizers are going to be very hateful toward you...and in the days ahead they are going to turn up the heat...but do not fear. You are a present day Esther. You are an Esther. You are an Esther! Keep your eyes on GOD and know that He has chosen you to Reign! Stay strong...be strong...don't tire. Don't be weary in well-doing. Be strong.'
Her husband Todd came over and I told him what I told her. He began to cry. I emphasized the fact that he was to guard her at this time...and know that '...she is GOD-CALLED and GOD-ANOINTED...this is a GOD-THING and your wife is a Present day Esther...she is for God to use at this time...She is an Esther...she is an Esther...she is an Esther. You will be hated...but stand strong...GOD has called both of you to stand! We are praying and I am praying for you...!'
At this moment, McCain came right to where I was finishing talking to Todd and I told Mr. Mc Cain exactly what I told to Sarah and Todd Palin.
'Mr. McCain, they are called of God and she is an Esther. Don't lose hope and don't lose heart. We are praying for all of you!'
He shook my hand and with a deep look of understanding what I had just said, he said, 'Thank you for your prayers and support...I really do mean that!' And he turned and shook more hands...and I watched them as they went through the crowd.
When I got to my car I sat there for quite a long time...knowing the GOD of the Universe had just used me to deliver a message confirming to Sarah and Todd to realize they are truly chosen vessels of God.
I wept. I have not stopped praying and crying. My heart is full knowing they had to have all the staging and all the hype and all the crowd...but the GOD of Heaven and Earth...wanted to give them a Divine-God-Appointment!
To God be all the GLORY and HONOR.
According to this pastor, God has “chosen Palin to reign.” It is in His divine plan. She is “God’s anointed one.” (Sorry Sen. McCain, looks like you’re just keeping her seat warm).
So if McCain/Palin win next Tuesday, as one would expect they will given that the “God of Heaven and Earth” has their back, these Christians will rejoice that His will has been done on earth.
But what if the Republicans lose? Well, Christians who believe this way have an air-tight, fallback position for that too. Whenever anything happens that contradicts what God predicted, no one assumes that the supposed prophet heard God incorrectly, or that God never spoke in the first place. Instead, the excuse is made that Christians didn’t pray hard enough or didn’t act quickly enough when God moved them, and as a result, they and the nation are being punished with a leader God never wanted to see in power. Case closed. They say this despite the fact that Daniel 2:21 says that God, not man, “removeth kings, and setteth up kings.”
If Barack Obama is elected President of the Untied States next week, don’t expect fundamentalist Christians to welcome him. According to the Bible, Christians are told to show respect and honor for those in government office, especially for those who rule over them (1 Peter 2:13-17). In fact, Scripture says that it is sinful to dishonor leaders and show contempt for the authority and rule that God has set up (2 Peter 2:10; Jude 8). And 1Timothy 2:1-2 exhorts Christians to give “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks…for kings, and for all that are in authority.”
These verses are parroted enthusiastically during Republican administrations and conveniently overlooked during Democratic ones. When Bill Clinton was President, he was viewed as an abomination and mocked and vilified at every opportunity. I know Christians who have pictures of George W. Bush hanging on their walls at home like he’s some sort of relative. Would these same people hang an image of Barack Obama, someone who also claims to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? Not a chance.
One thing is for certain. On November 4th, either God’s divine plan will fall into place and His anointed one will rise to power, or an imposter will take her place, a man some Christians see as none other than the Anti-Christ, the vanguard of Armageddon and the End Times, the cataclysmic end of all life on earth.
And who am I to argue? After all, when was the last time God popped down and chatted with me? Would I be so blasphemous as to defy God? What good is quoting contradicting Scripture when one hears directly from the source?
posted by Brandon at 10:21 AM
16 Comments:
Thanks for the sharp posts, Brandon. Yes, the fear mongering is reaching a fever pitch! We can only pray that hope and reason prevail....
I'm reminded of the time I was told in church that God was demanding that we repent if we had gone to see the Titanic because of the 'sex scene'.
And here I thought I should repent because I spent $7.00 bucks on a horrible movie.
(that particular moment topped the myriad of times I was told to repent for liking to read science fiction and fantasy novels).
I'm so shocked! Is it true that God may not be Republican after all? Oh My! What's a girl to do?
Many Christians feel this way because, as far as I can see, the Democrats don't support any of the specific policy objectives that evangelical Christians want.
Democrats, as a group, don't want Christian prayer in school; Democrats don't want restrictive abortion laws; more Democrats than Republicans want homosexuality to be accepted as a part of mainstream society; some Democrats don't like funding faith based initatives.
Yes, Democrats like Jim Wallis have some faith based values and poverty initiatives that should appeal to Christians, but when it comes to specific policy plans that most evangelicals support, the Democrats just don't offer much help.
Christians do have mixed feelings about war and the death penalty, but when so many Christians feel that very specific things are right, and they don't even get lip-service from the Democrats, of course they will tend to support the party that, at least, panders to them.
The role of a Christian should be to search in God's word, pray, and determine how to apply Biblical lessons to present day situations.
Brandon, if you want to see prophecies about Democrats, get a pro-life, anti-gay marriage, prayer-in-schools Democrat on a national ticket. The Pentecostal churches will go bonkers.
Brandon,
I have been reading some of your posts, and I have watched you and Chris go back and forth about the issues. I know that what I’m about to say may shock you. I’m voting for Obama! Well, ok we both know that is not true. But, I did have some thoughts to share with you. It saddens me to see that you have ventured so far to the left that you now are mocking others for saying that God speaks to them. I don’t know any Christians who don’t believe that God speaks. There are some who believe that it happends different ways, but they do believe it happens somehow. You do still profess to be a Christian don’t you? Or do you now hold the realativist view that all ways are the way to heaven? I don’t know anything about this story that supposedly happened or if it did, but I think you would not have been so quick to mock it if someone had come forward and said that “God had given them a word for Obama or Biden.” As for Focus on the Family. If I remember correctly it was you who proudly paraded Chris and I around to all of the conservative organizations in Colorado Springs about 7 years ago and now you act as if nothing good could ever come out of any of them. I bet that really saddens your mom! I would like for you to take a hard look at what the Bible says in the New Testament about helping others. Was it Ceasar or Herod or anyone else in charge who helped the needy. No, it was the church and the people in the church. You seem to think that because we are not pro big government, and pro government sponsored programs that we are opposed to helping the “least of these.” We realize as Christians that this is our responsibility not that of government to take our hard earned money and put it into programs to help fund abortions, stem cell research of embryos, gay rights, etc. etc. etc. I will keep my money thank you and help those that come into my path that need help. Chris has been reminding me that it is God who appoints kings, and those in charge, so don’t worry I won’t say we didn’t pray hard enough is Obama wins. The bible also says that as the days go on things that men will be lovers of themselves, things that are wrong will appear right, and things that are right will appear wrong. Does any of that sound familiar? You seem to have fallen into that trap and are trying to make it sound as if anyone who doesn’t hold to yours views must be un-educated and un-loving. As far as being un-loving where does the bible say that to be loving you must go along with whatever others do, even if it is wrong. I do agree that many times people say love the sinner, hate the sin and then don’t do anything about it. By making that comment it means you are going to be involved in that persons life and help them see the truth that comes from God’s word about what they are doing. It doesn’t mean to condone what they are doing. As for the lady from Canada who is helping you campaign for obama you might need to warn her if Obama is elected change will happen and she might need to warn Canadians if the USA goes to government sponsored healthcare they will have to find somewhere else to seek their medical treatment since they all come here now. That’s what happens when the government sponsors your healthcare, you can’t get into a doctor. It is kind of funny to me that you would get so excited about the opinion of someone who can’t even vote in our election. Why is she living here if things are so bad? Maybe she should move back to Canada. I realize that nothing I have said will change your mind, just as nothing you’ve said will change mine. But, I felt it was time for me to put some of my thoughts into a post for you.
Andrea
Thanks for your thoughts, Andrea! You have no idea how well you will segway into my post for tomorrow (already written).
You and I probably agree on far more things than not. But we disagree on how we go about doing it.
So I agree with everything Andrea just said and more...
If Obama and all of these people from other countries want socialism/ communism go back where you came from. The good thing about my ancestors when they came over from Germany in the 1800's was that they liked what they had heard about the US and wanted to be a part of it. Now so many people think we should be like the sissy UN-pandering Europeans...
I say again, if you don't like it LEAVE don't screw up the anti-federalist/ democratic fundamentals that have made the US so great.
Interestingly I work in the public school system ( I am in the minority obviously - I am a conservative and think with all of my brain). I remember one particular test question on a history test that one of my students was taking. The question was why doesn't the US support more welfare and social programs for the poor like other industrialized nations? The answer was that as a nation we put a high value on work and people taking care of themselves instead of promoting an attitude of entitlement and laziness... Well, I guess they are going to have to change that test question because if we elect Barack Hussein Obama it will prove that the pendulum has definitely shifted. Not only have we become spiritually irrelevant like most of Europe, we have also adopted their entitlement focused government practices also...
God help us... I for one hope that he speaks to millions next week in the voting booth and tells them not to vote for an anti-gun, ideologically-blinded infanticide promoter that wants to turn over our military to the UN.
Awwww, isn't that sweet. FINALLY one of McCain's erratic, throw anything on the wall and see what sticks version of campaigning has found it's mark.
Did you watch Meet the Press this Sunday? McCain was the only guest. He was asked: "Do you honestly think that Obama would have advisors like Warren Buffet; Paul Volcker, the former Chairman of the Fed under Reagan; the current Fed Chairman; Bob Rubin, former Treasury Sec.; and Christopher Buckley, son of the founder of modern conservatism helping him craft his fiscal policy if they really thought Obama was a socialist?!
No answer.
McCain went on and on about Obama and Socialism. Then he was played clips of himself saying almost the EXACT SAME THING Obama has been saying (spreading the wealth around, the rich should pay more, etc) in year's past.
No answer.
He was asked how his desire to nationalize the banks wasn't socialism and he indicated that it kind of was, but desperate times call for desperate measures. So let me get this straight, when Obama calls for it it's Socialism but when McCain calls for it, it's an emergency measure?
Which is worse, a Democrat who endorses a plan in the midst of a financial meltdown that is admittedly more in line with his philosophy or a conservative who does it in the midst of financially strong times?
Brandon,
I've read pretty much all of your posts and I was wondering what pivotal point in time changed you from a conservative to a liberal? When I first met you, you were fresh out of a Christian college and interning in D.C. for a conservative. I came from a pnetacostal upbringing myself and I know that a lot of what I grew up with doesn't always ring true theologically, but I don't throw the baby out with the bath water either. Did you just get really burned somehow by a fellow conservative and decided to reject your upbringing entirely? I'm not trying to be sarcastic I've just been wondering. Let me in on your thought process.
Anonymous,
The paradigm shift in my political thinking began just after my Congressional internship in D.C. in which I worked for and considered myself a Republican. I was in D.C. in the heady days of Newt's Republican Revolution and when Clinton was embroiled in sexual scandal.
But things began to nag at me then that I really began exploring, ironically enough, once I joined the Navy. It was while I was in the service, generally a very conservative organization, that I delved into several issues that really flipped my thinking. I became both anti-death penalty and pro-gun control.
I was in the midst of examining more issues when I got out of the service and 9/11 occurred, not a mile from where I was sitting, near the Pentagon. I watched as Bush (who I voted for in 2000) turned a national tragedy into one of if not the biggest foreign policy blunder in American history--something that has the potential to ripple through history for centuries.
I was against the war in Iraq since Bush first breathed the idea. I lost friends that I still miss, because, while the ink was still wet on my separation papers, I was making the case that we were making a massive mistake in invading Iraq. How dare I, a military man, question the Commander in Chief? Tragically, next to NOTHING I have seen since leads me to believe that conservative foreign policy is even minutely compatible with or knows how to responsibly operate within the 21st century.
Add that to a growing distaste for the conservative apathy for what the Scriptures call the poor, the widows, the orphans and the marginalized and I suppose you have the makings of a newborn liberal.
There are still issues for which I am staunchly conservative, chief among them abortion. However, as I have indicated here on this blog, I differ with many of my conservative friends about the best way to eradicate it.
I hope that rambling answer addresses your questions. Please feel free to ask for any clarification you desire!
Correction, Obama isn't for gun control. He wants to eliminate them. If he's not able to eliminate them in "his time". He has promised to try to raise price/ taxes on them and their ammunitions up to 500%. If he has his way all guns will have to be registered soon after he enters office and then within 6-12 months he will attempt to follow Europe/ Australia in collecting those weapons.
He is a freaking socialist that doesn't in anyway represent the ideals of our forefathers... But wait, he doesn't share our forefathers does he. Let him go back where he came from and save them from themselves...
He also isn't pro-choice, he's pro-abortion... He's promised to overturn the Hyde amendment, so not only will our taxes be raised our money will go to pay for irresponsible indigents on increased welfare wages to get free abortions.
So listen to what we/ I am saying, one of the many issues (but not the only) that I disagree with this sincerely wrong person is the economy/ his socialist leanings (helping the poor - why don't we let natural selection help some of these people out of their problems) but there are much bigger issues: i.e. changing the 2nd amendment, promoting infanticide, supporting anti-semitic groups, dismantling the military and bowing down to Ahmidinajad, etc, etc, etc.
This could be the end of the US as we know it... (and many people are either ignorantly happy about it or are just too ideologically blinded by "his great speaking ability" to research the reality behind it)
Matt,
It's amazing how the GOP rolls out the exact same talking points every time they realize there is gonna be a Democrat in the White House.
Welfare queens, fetus' in the streets, military under UN control, higher taxes, etc etc etc.
Spare me.
Perhaps we could all do with spending less time on partisan sites and more time on non-partisan sites that encourage the facts instead of spin.
Obama does not want to eliminate your right to own a gun. He has not promised to raise price/taxes on guns and ammo by up to 500%. he is not interested in collecting your guns.
Perhaps a visit to FactCheck.org is in order. It will tell you that your source for that information is, in fact, a lie:
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/nra_targets_obama.html
Obama is not a socialist. Guess what? Yesterday John McCain said, and I quote, "Obama is NOT a socialist." Nuff said.
Matt, I am more than happy to debate these things with you, even those things that are so off the wall as to barely deserve comment. What I will NOT tollerate, however, is racist commentary.
Matt, you sir, are a racist. Or at least what you said is racist.
"[Obama] doesn't in anyway represent the ideals of our forefathers... But wait, he doesn't share our forefathers does he. Let him go back where he came from and save them from themselves..."
Matt, this kind of talk is pathetic. It is wicked. It does not become someone calling themselves a Christian. It is narrowminded. It is stupid. And it makes you, quite frankly, like a fucking asshole. Are you a fucking asshole? Because it was a fucking asshole who wrote the above paragraph.
Do I make my feelings clear?
hhhmmmmmm....
Not sure what part is racist. I never said poor worthless black people, I know a lot of poor worthless white people too. I don't know if you are aware or not, but I work in a school that is in a multi-cultural low socio-economic status neigborhood and I treat every child and their parents with dignity and respect. I do want the best for them though, which includes promoting some self-motivation and accountability.
I am for helping people that truly have had a bad life or a bad streak of luck. I am not for helping ones that use it as an excuse or as a crutch and don't try to help themselves. I think we should cutoff a lot of welfare and other liberal programs that were designed to be short-term fixes and hold them more accountable, but at the same time need to help promote education, jobs, and careers that will help them move up in the world and just be stuck working @ Walmart/ McD's forever. However, there are managers at both institutions that make as much or more than myself that have worked their way up and make more than me with my M.A.
I am for helping many people's kids so that they don't learn certain things from their entitlement-minded parents and most likely follow in their footsteps. If we don't "cut-off" their parents though, that is exactly what we are producing and continuing, a cycle.....
"clarification"
By "poor", I didn't mean poor in dollars. I meant like "oh poor you", feigned sympathy on someone that doesn't want to help themselves and is constantly making excuses for themselves. You and I both know them, from every race and background.
I could see how you could maybe, incorrectly, look at some of my statements as "classism" but not racism. I am not for people getting stuck or being held down in economic classes and I do believe in the "American Dream" that all people have the capability to "change their stars" (to quote one of my favorite movies, the medieval knights movie with Heath Ledger, "A knight's tale"). However, if they do not have the internal drive by their parent's fault or their own I just have a problem with continuing to support them financially indefinitely.
It is interesting that the political party that promotes the theories of evolution and how we are so alike to "our possible mammal ancestors" is the one that is so against the philosophy of "No work/ production - No soup for you" (i.e. natural selection thought process). And that the political party that is full of "mean spirited people/ people of faith" are the ones that are more willing to give a helping hand to their fellow man.
Maybe, things just aren't as black and white as some people would like them to be......
Yes Matt, things are “as black and white as some people would like them to be.” They are exactly that.
What follows is a blog post. Except I’m not going to post it. I was going to. I had written it and planned to post it, for all intents and purposes, to shame you, if that were actually possible. But I’m not going to. Call it a last second crisis of my own conscience. But I am going to copy and paste it here where you, and the others involved in this discussion can read it. It’s the least I can do. Truly. The least. If we were face to face I’d call you out for the coward you are. Then I’d probably knock you on your ass if you tried the same sort of “who me?” bullshit you’ve been pulling ever since.
Yeah, I’m pissed. I’m not even going to try to pretend to keep my hyperbole or anger at bay. I will probably regret what I’m about to say, but I guess, at least right now, I’m perfectly fine with that.
I get lots of comments on this blog, from lots of people. Many of them disagree with what I write, some of them violently so. That doesn’t bother me in the slightest. That’s what the comment section is for. If I publicly write something, it is fair game and anyone has the right to challenge me on it. I wouldn’t write a word if I didn’t feel that way.
But that sentiment goes both ways.
Earlier this week, a commenter crossed the line. While I won’t call this person out by name, he does not feel what he said was racist, and has continued, in multiple comments, to defend what he said. With that being the case, I feel no hesitation whatsoever in posting this fine, church-going man’s words for everyone to read again:
[Obama] is a freaking socialist that doesn't in anyway represent the ideals of our forefathers... But wait, he doesn't share our forefathers does he. Let him go back where he came from and save them from themselves...
The commenter insists he said nothing whatsoever racist. He insists he doesn’t even know what part might be misconstrued as racism (never mind the fact that in my initial confrontation to him about the comment, I copied the very paragraph above). He hemmed and hawed and pretended that he didn’t possibly know what he said that might have crossed the line. His best comeback was that I like Bill Maher. Seriously? He insists the most he can be called is a classist.
But it isn’t classism that charges Obama doesn’t share our forefathers, it is racism. The commenter’s grasp of American history and its wealth of immigrant culture is so vacuous as to be preposterous. One of the beauties of this country is that it embraces those who came to this country to make a better life for themselves and their families, adopting a new flag and a new culture. (And don’t even get started on illegal immigration, because we both know that is not what this comment is addressing). I don’t know the commenter’s extended family tree, but unless he is descended from one of the original colonists, he needs to still his prattling tongue. You don’t get extra points for squatting here longer, just a greater likelihood that your family once owned the very black slaves you probably still wish you had tiding up around the house. Even then, I suspect there are some Native Americans out there who would take issue with the comment no matter what, eh? You don’t have to trace your family line to the Founding Fathers in order to “share them.” If that were the case, this would be an awfully small country. There’s is a philosophical resonance which continues, albeit imperfectly, to echo down through time. Then again, even that excuse doesn’t even qualify does it, because, while Obama’s father was Kenyan, his mother was…a white woman…from Kansas. That’s dead center in the American heartland you uninformed ass. That would make Barack Obama an…say it with me kids…American. Good, I knew you could!
It isn’t classism to insist that Obama should go back to “where he came from,” it’s racism. Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, which, last I checked, was part of the United States of America. I know it’s not geographically attached to the continental U.S., but a basic globe might do wonders for your ignorance.
It isn’t classism to tell Africans that they need to be saved from themselves, it is racism. While your xenophobia may play well with your similarly backward ilk, it is generally thought, at least by people with a modicum of intelligence, that insisting your country is superior to all others, especially the inferred African native darkies, is, in a word, extraordinarily prejudicial.
Commenter, own up to your words. You and I both know what they mean. So does anyone else reading them. To continue to defend them as anything other than the vile, putrid trash they are only reveals your inane stupidity, ignorance, and backwardness. And if you can’t even see that what you said was reprehensible and incredibly offensive, then all this was therapeutic for me but wasted on you.
Why do I bring all this up? Because I am running across this more and more as we stretch toward the finish line next Tuesday. The increasingly certain victory for the first African American President of the United States is causing bigots to come out of the woodwork. I just didn’t expect them to come out of my woodwork.
Will I change the commenter’s views on Obama? No. He and I both know his vote is locked in for John McCain. Will I show him the error of his racist ways? Probably not. This isn’t exactly the most grace-filled admonition I’ve ever written. But then it wasn’t meant to be. It’s the response of someone who is quite frankly shocked, fed up with the bullshit excuses and dodges, and has no other desire, at this point, but to expose someone for the unmitigated asshole they truly are.
Earlier today, this same commenter sent me a PowerPoint presentation with images from the Holocaust and said that the images it contained—bodies of Jews piled up like so much cordwood—is what would happen if Obama becomes President of the United States. Well, at least he like Jews!
So I want to applaud you, you distracted me enough in the last couple of days that I didn't respond the way that I should have. You have learned some skills from the liberal media/ politicians that you have bought into, distract, avoid, distract, avoid. You accused me of being a racist, when you know that I am not based on our past history and other things. Sometime if you ever care to see a picture of my wedding you will see the truth. At the time we were attending a multi-cultural church that has 80% African Americans attending it with a black pastor. He officiated our wedding in N/W Iowa and was proud to do it. I guarantee you that he would not confirm your erroneous claims. And, I would bet that he and most of his educated, black congregation is not voting for Obama because they value human life and other conservative fundamentals more than voting along racial lines and hopefully wouldn't be swayed by his "lights and rhetoric".
Which brings us to speak about another pastor, who has escaped the headlines the last couple of months. Why don't we talk about him, a true racist, Jeremiah Wright, that has been advising your Pres. candidate for 20 - 30 yrs. Or, maybe we should talk about the other 2 racists that are still advising Mr. Obama, his wife and Jesse Jackson, Jr. (who's helping to run his campaign).
So, say, whatever you want in response to a couple of comments, that I know I didn't word perfectly, but that I still stand behind. I don't think America needs a big transformation (unless it's to make gov't smaller) I just want people to be more responsible for themselves and for their choices and I don't want us to emulate socialist countries (redistribution of wealth). Whether that's by immigrants coming here with some of those ideas and not checking them at the door or by current citizens that have been deluded by some of these thought processes and haven't learned from history that these ideological notions only look good on paper.
Brandon, I still value your thoughts in many areas of life. I am just amazed at your transformation on some political issues. I can agree to disagree, but I am also amazed at how low you were willing to stoop in some of your rebuttals this week by cursing and using other "highly intelligent" words. Obviously I am questioning how you have reached some of your political conclusions, but I am not attacking you personally.
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