I read an article this morning regarding some of the things Obama will do with his executive power without "waiting for Congressional action." Some of the issues he is going to change immediately with his executive powers are removing any restrictions on stem cell research and closing off 360,000 acres of public land in Utah to prevent drilling. Regardless of how I feel about these issues, what was more disturbing to me were the comments left by 654 people below this particular story. The comments were varied, but seemed to be split 50/50 - almost ALL were attacking the other side in some major way. Not intelligent debate, just attack after attack from all sides. I realize after every election, there is this type of discussion all over the media and internet. This is especially the case when people are so divided.
So, here is my controversial question for the quarter...Do you believe our new President-elect will unite or divide our country?
Don't worry about leaving your comments - you can always leave them anonymously. I know many people who read my blog voted different ways. I want to hear what you really think. Don't hold back and don't just write the PC answer. I look forward to reading your thoughts.
6 comments:
Divide. He has appointed a Secretary of State who would sponsor indentured servitude (3 months required civil service.) He has made no secret of the fact that he wants high school students to submit to 90 hours of community service. One has every reason to believe that he would allow stem-cell research and burglarize taxpayers to prop up fraudulant companies like GM and AIG to be more fraudulent, using his executive powers (papal bulls, empirical decrees, whatever you want to call it) to bring it to law. It will come to individualists vs. socialists, in which case the ivdividualists always lose over those who want free money at the expense of their country. Already secissionist groups like League of the South, Alaska Independence Party and Second Vermont republic are seeing a growth in membership.
Okay, I will bite. First and foremost, I hate politics. I despise how politics divide and how politics prevent great minds from working together. I cannot stand the hate that is spewed in the name of politics. I can't stand the dishonesty and the attacks. Let's say that you are a Republican - then Obama is pure evil. In fact, he is the anti-Christ. All of the current economic and other issues are all from the Clinton administration and from the current democratic congress. If you are a Democrat, then Bush is pure evil and an idiot. All of the problems facing the nation are because of Bush and because of the Republican controlled congress from 2 years ago. What ever happened to working together? About the current election. I did not vote for Obama. Mostly because I do not agree with his abortion policies and his taxing policies. But God is pretty clear in the Bible about how we should respect the leadership and how that leadership comes from God. That is what we are teaching the boys at home, but they are hearing plenty of the democrats are evil from other sources. I can see good that has come out of this election. The racial issue is huge. It has provided us with many teachable issues with the boys. They listened to my dad talking about how he would go shopping as a boy and there would be separate bathrooms and water fountains for black people and for white people. I think the fact that we have a black president is wonderful. Not everyone shares my view about this - I cannot believe some of the comments that I have heard. One "Christian" person who I will not name actually said that she was afraid that Obama would give all the money to the black people and there would not be any left for us. This person actually said that!!!!!! How is that what God wants us to be? I wish everyone would quit trying to divide our country. He has been elected president by our wonderful system and by GOD's will, and we should respect that and try to work together. We will have a chance to make a different choice in 4 years. I think that McCain and Bush (and Obama) have made efforts to bring the parties together. It remains to be seen if this will continue. I pray that everyone respects people who are of a different political party. If everyone would just do that, then we could fix a lot of problems!!! I don't know if my ramblings made sense. To sum it up: Politics bad, respect God's choice, work together, quit spewing hate. By the way, please don't bash me for any opinions expressed in this comment.
The nation’s already divided. It’s been especially divided since the 2000 election when the people spoke but the Electoral College silenced the majority voice. More than half of the voters felt disenfranchised, and bitterness and resentment ensued. Instead of the United States, we’re now red states and blue ones. In that light, the question should be if the president-elect can unite this country that’s already polarized.
It’s an enormous challenge made more difficult by the proliferation of partisan talk shows and news channels. We tend to gravitate toward the talking heads who are thinking the way we think and favoring the candidates we favor. Because of that, it’s harder to get a truly objective account of the issues.
Then there’s the all-out hate—hate spread through sensational YouTube videos full of exaggerations, misrepresentations and over-the-top soundtracks; hysteria spread via forwarded email after email. Fear- and hate-mongering have taken the place of civil public discourse.
So what can the president-elect do to overcome these obstacles? Well, he can reach across party lines to build his Cabinet. He’s rumored to be considering Sen. Lugar, a Republican, to be his secretary of state (although Lugar has said he’s not interested), and there’s talk that he’ll keep Defense Secretary Gates on board for a while. That’s a start.
But can we truly control what Obama does at this point? Not really. We can, however, control our own responses. Instead of asking if HE will unite this country, we should ask what WE will do. (Cue JFK: “Ask what you can do for your country.”) How can we as citizens avoid widening this divide between left and right? Can we bridge the chasm? Yes, we can!
Here’s a start: Let’s agree that Republicans, Democrats and independents love this country and are working for its success and survival. Immediately after 9/11, we managed to remember that. Then, in our patriotic zeal, some citizens began to condemn those who disagreed with the president. Dissension was equated with treason, and we as a nation somehow came to disregard the value of our “marketplace of ideas.” How can our government be truly of the people if the people can’t question its policies? There’s a difference between disagreeing with an individual and hating/fearing that person. So you disagree with our president-elect? Make the most of our system of checks and balances. Write your representative; talk to your senator. Lobby for those issues dear to you. But resist the urge to forward that hate-filled email that reviles the office that’s deserving of our respect.
Above all, as Christians we should never forget that we are united in Christ. God is not a Republican or Democrat. And get this: He’s not even an American! When we try to equate political affiliation with our true allegiance, we’re in big trouble. The fact that I voted for Obama (and Kerry and Gore and Clinton and yes, even Dukakis) does not disqualify me for the Kingdom! You may disagree with my political beliefs, but that’s OK. I respect your right to vote the way you do; please give me the same courtesy. We can disagree about this and many other issues, but by God’s grace, we can still know the Truth.
I pray for our nation, and I pray for all of our leaders. I especially pray that as His people, we can preserve our unity as members of one body. After all, “hope” and “change” are not new to our vocabulary. There's a whole world out there that needs to know that Jesus gave us both more than 2,000 years ago!
Jenna, Charis and Thomas - no bashing here. I appreciate you guys expressing your opinions! I have some really strong opinions about the current political climate...probably too many opinions to express here. I think it will take a LONG time for Obama to do any uniting. The very people who are for Obama and preaching tolerance and the same ones who are bashing everyong who doesn't agree with them. I do feel strongly about national security now. When your terrorists and world's tyrants are happy about the choice, there is something seriously wrong.
To agree with you guys - I am praying for the country. In reading about Obama's beliefs (and the beliefs of the people he has already appointed), I believe our religious freedoms will be under attack next. God is in control and I believe He will help us find our way through this!
Divide. Fearful of what he will do come January.
I am not looking forward to having him as president, but I don't believe it will cause permanent damage. A lot of things I don't agree with will go. I think ppl don't look past his skin color to hear what he's saying. Ppl are so ready for "change" that they will take it in any form, unfortunately. :\
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