From Our MMI Exit Poll: 80% of You Voted for McCain… Now What?
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Wed, November 05, 2008
- Viewed 150
- (54) comments so far
What are your thoughts this morning? Do you think this election will really have that big of an impact, positive or negative, on your life and ministry?
Comments
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Nora on Thu, November 06, 2008
Hey, CS, you bring up a good point about the suddenness of unity after the election, but only if we really were calling people of the other party “enemy” before the election. My husband and I disagreed about who to vote for, but we never called each other “enemy” because of our opposing views. The nice thing about disagreeing is it prevented both of us from getting caught up in the all too common “worship” of political leaders. We were able to see our favored candidate without the rose colored glasses.
I guess my main point is that we should not see people who espouse differing political views as the enemy (and if we do, Jesus is pretty clear on how we are to treat them). But maybe I misunderstood your comment?
Nora
brandy on Thu, November 06, 2008
jeremy,get a grip, you cant pray for one thing and believe another, read your own post. but remember words have power, power to lift up or power to put down, god said for us to encourage each other in the faith, just pray for obama, god can and will turn the heart of a king/president. jesus said in matt: 24 dont be afraid of these things, if it is gods timing for somthing to happen , and i am not saying it is, god will take care of his on, , so dont be afraid only believe.
Pat on Thu, November 06, 2008
As an African-American woman, the election of Barack Obama brought me to tears Wednesday morning. I knew Tuesday night that he had been elected, but the impact of it hit me Wednesday morning and I couldn’t hold back. Leonard summed up beautifully what lay behind my feelings. To think that citizens of this country who were once property and were within the last 50 years hosed and sicced by dogs, could have one of their own elected to the highest office of the land is beyond words. I understand some of the concern re: President Obama’s positions, but, politics aside just for a millisecond, can we not deny the historicity of this moment?
brandy on Thu, November 06, 2008
pat, it is a good moment for the black, but remember he is just as white as he is black,
DanielR on Thu, November 06, 2008
Evidently the smiley faces did not adequately convey the light-heartedness in which I engaged in the “name calling” which some have taken offense to. Oh well.
Eric, I’m sorry for the loss you suffered and I understand why you are passionate about the issue of abortion. I too care about the issue but I personally do not believe the Republican Party wants a solution to the issue, I believe they want to keep the issue alive as a wedge to divide people. Time may prove me wrong but I believe Obama will do more to reduce abortion than McCain would have.
As for him being a socialist, we’ve always had a progressive tax system that redistributes wealth (takes more from the wealthy and less from the poor). True socialism goes way beyond this with state ownership of businesses and state control of all wealth.
Jim, what world are you living in? You said Obama “wants to use federal law to supercede state laws that outlaw abortions.” What state laws currently outlaw abortions? You say Obama wants to make “abortion acceptance as one of the qualifications for getting accepted into medical schools”. Please show me where I can verify that is true because it would be disturbing. And you say he supports a bill “that would allow a woman to abort a child up until two years of age, if the child was causing her too much life style change”. The fact that you believe this is what’s scary.
Dave Z, you ask “has your concern for people who don’t have health care prompted you to give out of your own pocket for them to have health care?” I pay taxes and part of that is a separate county hospital tax that goes to pay for healthcare at the county hospital for people who cannot afford to pay for it themselves.
And I do believe access to adequate healthcare should be thought of as a right. If we think of it as a right the system we put together will be more likely to provide access to healthcare to a larger majority of the people. If we think of access to healthcare as a privilege or as something a person has to earn then we will exclude more people from access because we don’t think they’ve earned it.
Notice that I did not say access to FREE healthcare; I do think people should have to pay for it. I like the idea of a govt. subsidized insurance plan that assesses a persons ability to pay and charges them accordingly, that requires some financial sacrifice but provides healthcare.
And when Obama talked about “mandatory” cancer screenings he was meaning that it should be mandatory that they are available (not mandatory that every one has to have one). Under many insurance plans cancer screening is not available. I have pretty good insurance coverage and I can’t get screened for cancer unless I’m showing some symptom that prompts my doctor to request it, even though early detection is one of the keys to survival.
I like John McCain, I also spent 20+ years in the military, and I’ve never voted democrat before, but this time Obama’s message connected with me and over time I came to support him. I think McCain abdicated control of his campaign to the Republican Party and the result was politics as usual (dirty). In 2000 George Bush hired people to smear McCain, claiming the Bangladeshi child they adopted was actually his “inter-racial love child”. The smear was very effective in the south and McCain lost to Bush. John McCain said at the time there is “a special place in hell” for people like that. This year John McCain hired the exact same people to work on his campaign smearing Obama. That said a lot to me about John McCain and the focus of his campaign. McCain ran a poorly orchestrated campaign with a poorly articulated message and the fact that he could not run his campaign well does not give me confidence that he could run the country well.
I find it odd that the candidate who says his Christian faith plays a big part in his life has taken more criticism for his faith and gotten less support from the faith community than the candidate who says faith does not play a big part in his life or influence his decision making. In any case, Barack Obama will be the next president and I’ll be praying for him and praying that God guides him.
Pat on Thu, November 06, 2008
Brandy, you’re absolutely right (BTW, my niece and nephew are bi-racial). Another unfortunate part of our history is that for a long time, anyone with a fraction of black blood in them, was for all intents and purposes considered black. I readily admit that has become part of black consciousness and we too tend to look at people in the same way, right or wrong.
brandy on Thu, November 06, 2008
thats why we should all look at people as just people instead of the skin color, it a persons heart that matters to me, there is some very good hearts of black and white and every color in between, and there are bad hearts in all colors, thats why christians should be geting the sinners saved through jesus christ. the one who loves us ALL
Dave Z on Thu, November 06, 2008
DanielR,
Thanks for responding. Good post, but I’ll mention a couple of things:
While states cannot outlaw abortion due to RvW, many states have regulated abortion as tightly as possible. The concern is that Obama will find a way (leftist federal judges?) to remove restrictions, resulting in more abortions. Though he spins it as much as possible, he made some outrageous statements regarding the “live birth” law in Illinois to the effect that treating an abortion survivor is a burden on the woman.
Regarding health care; as a teacher, I have been in contact with numerous low income families and have become close to some. My impression is that these folks, living on some sort of public assistance, see the Dr. far more than I do, including extensive treatment for such life-threatening conditions as acne.
Some years ago, I went to the ER for something. It was a period when I was without insurance. The bill was over $7000. I went to see the hospital’s billing dept. and ended up paying $600.
I’m just not convinced the health care crisis is as extensive as it’s portrayed by those seeking political office.
Thanks for the explanation of “mandatory.” If that is Obama’s position, I feel better.
I voted for Sarah Pali…I mean McCain, but I fully understand and appreciate what Leonard (I think) said in the first post on this thread. I also believe Obama really is a Christian, though his theological perspective may be heavily colored by Liberation theology. I hope he can broaden his view now that he’s away from Jeremiah Wright.
Who would I have liked to see in the Oval Office? Alan Keyes!
Dave Z
Dave Z on Thu, November 06, 2008
Interesting nugget regarding the California results - Prop 8, an amendment to the state constitution which outlaws same-sex marriage, passed by 52% to 48%. It was pushed over the top by black voters who came out in droves to support Obama. Black voters supported Prop 8 by a 70% majority, while white voters were split. Without Obama, prop 8 would probably not have passed.
Still lost on parental notice for minor girls seeking an abortion though. Yet, the “Freedom for Chickens” proposition passed.
Dave Z
Leonard on Thu, November 06, 2008
Brandy, as nice as it sounds to not see color, I never met anyone who doesn’t and I certainly do not want to live the rest of my life denying peoples history, heritage and race. God is not color blind, he simply knows how to love and appreciate all colors.
I do not want my black friends or my brown friends to think the only way to love them is to see past their color. I want them to be all they are, color included, and know that I appreciate and love that heritage. I want to be made richer as a human being by knowing that heritage. I want to join the strength and beauty of their culture to the strength and beauty of mine, and then partner in the kingdom work of God to bring grace to people who see color every day but not with the eyes of God.
One of the most dangerous tricks of Satan is the homogenization of people in the name of love and acceptance. We become weaker not stronger when we ignore color. We become less tolerant not more tolerant when we deny color because if truth were told, many people would be better friends with black people if black people would just be white.
One day people from every race will stand in the presence of God, not losing their race or heritage but joined together and made richer by Christ.
As a white guy, I am not a racist but I live every day with the benefits of being a part of the ruling class. Right now in 2008, when I enter a restaurant with my friends of different ethnicity, I am spoken too my friends are not. When my son goes to the store and my buddies kid goes into the same store, my son is not watched but my buddies kid is… because he is black. People are not color blind. Every day color is a factor in jobs, promotions, profiling, relationships, neighborhoods… The church CANNOT be colorblind either. It mus say ON PURPOSE, We will not deny people their heritage for the sake of peace, but rather for the sake of Christ we will appreciate, honor, respect and love their heritage and become peace makers.
Daniel on Thu, November 06, 2008
Pat and Brandy
‘white’ and ‘black’ are not primarily ‘skin colors’—rather they are social identities. Blacks self-identify as ‘black’ not because of skin color, but because of how people with even a hint of African blood in them have historically been treated by the European powers that be.
Therefore, I’m grateful Barack Obama has identified as ‘black’—because though his mother was ‘white’ (of European descent), people who look like Obama are NOT treated like ‘white’ people—not even ‘halfway’.
Therefore it is misleading to call someone like Obama ‘biracial’. It is an exercise in historical amnesia—an amnesia very convenient for people of European descent to engage in, but which does damage to our brothers and sisters of African descent.
For that reason, Leonard’s comment is spot on. We must NOT be colorblind. But rather we must attend to the social realities which enact privilege and oppression in order better to address them.
I am very moved that the U.S. has elected a black man as president. It does say a lot about how far the country has come (though there’s a long way to go).
Peace,
-Daniel-
Pat on Thu, November 06, 2008
Well said, Daniel. Thank you.
brandy on Thu, November 06, 2008
lenoard you must have misunderstood me , i can tell if a person is black or white, i was talking about people being people. i am not so dumb to know someone that is of a different race. no offence intended.and i know about raceism, i live in the deep south, it is sometimes unbelieveable how people feel and think and act.
Ed on Thu, November 06, 2008
Thanks Pat, Daniel, and Leonard for you comments. They are insightful and right on. To everyone: consider how your words have an impact. A friend of mine told me today that his children who attend a large white megachurch’s school here in Dallas, TX. were hearing comments from their classmates about President-elect Obama being the “anti-christ” and how they would assassinate him because their families hate him. Now, I wonder where they heard that from? Please be careful as to what we say (and do) because we just might be fanning the flames of racism and hate crimes being committed in our schools, cities, and country. If you think this is far-fetched in terms of our words having an effect, a report came out today that a student (or some students) was burning Obama posters on the campus of Baylor University (another Christian Institution) and that someone (or a group of people) hung a noose in a tree. These incidents caused a group of black and white students to get into a fight/scuffle.
Please let’s continue to set the example of speaking well of our leaders even if we don’t agree with them. And even if you feel you can’t speak well about them, then please don’t say anything negative. And even more, if you hear someone you know saying negative things about President-elect Obama, then stop and correct them.
Pat on Thu, November 06, 2008
Ed, unfortunately here in Ohio it was reported that racist graffiti was spray-painted on a school in a predominantly white county. Three black students have stayed home because of how it made them feel. Very sad…
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