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It will come as a shock to many who know me to discover that I support Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States of America. I really don't mean to stir things up, but I feel like I at least owe those of you who know me an explanation of why I have arrived at this decision.
From the few who know my position, the biggest criticism I have received for supporting Barack Obama is because he is the pro-choice candidate and John McCain is the pro-life candidate, and I understand that. The twist is that I believe that with Barack Obama as President, the number of abortions in the U.S. will be far fewer than if John McCain becomes President. As a pro-lifer, I believe this means that I should vote for Barack Obama.
I believe the official term "pro-life" is a political spin term which means something different than how it is being used by the Republican Party. I think pro-life actually means that we care for the lives of everyone, even if they are not U.S. citizens. I think the Republican Party's support of a war started under false pretenses indicates that "pro-life" doesn't really apply to them. I also think pro-life would mean that we are concerned with death row inmates who can be proven to be innocent because of advances in DNA testing. Republicans have consistently opposed this, which I believe also puts Republicans in conflict with the term "pro-life".
Instead, I believe that the Republican Party has taken the pro-life moniker merely to win conservative Christian votes. I believe that the last thing the Republican Party wants is for abortion to be outlawed, because they would then lose a huge block of voters. Many are shocked that I would make such a suggestion, but what Republican initiatives have been proposed during the past 8 years to reduce abortion? Instead they keep talking about overturning Roe v. Wade, which even conservative Chief Justice Samuel Alito has said would be nearly impossible under any scenario.
I also recognize that there have been many lies passed around about Barack Obama concerning his position on abortion. As a computer programmer and a database administrator, I have genuine disgust for bad data. If I see someone purposefully spreading bad data, I believe anything that person says can not be trusted. Hold on to your hats for this one: I also believe that if Christians can justify lying because of the magnitude of the injustice of abortion (and make no mistake, it is horrific), what other sin can they justify for their cause? This is why the Freedom of Choice Act has come about. I don't support the Freedom of Choice Act, but I have personally witnessed otherwise level-headed Christians doing some very un-Christian things because of the abortion issue, and this scares me as much as the Freedom of Choice Act does. During this election process I've learned that when I come across either phrase, "I have seen it with my own eyes" or "I have heard it with my own ears" to be skeptical. Most of the time when I see for my own eyes or hear with my own ears, I see and hear something totally different. I believe Christians have lost a lot of credibility because of their unwillingness to check facts.
Let me approach this from a different angle: Do you believe there are many women in America who want to have an abortion but they are prohibited from doing so now because of U.S. law? I'm sure there are some, but relatively few. If Barack Obama becomes President, there's not much room for the abortion number to go higher. On the other hand, if Barack Obama becomes President I believe that Christians will finally understand that the best thing they can do to stem abortion is not through legislation, but rather by getting involved in helping others personally and through local Churches and ministries. I believe that for way too long Christians have been content to having the extent of their involvement in pro-life issues be limited to voting for someone to do the job for them.
As a pro-lifer, I believe that life begins at conception. But I also believe that the problem starts before conception and there are numerous methods available to reduce unwanted pregnancies which are not being considered by most Republicans.
There are other reasons why I would vote for Barack Obama over John McCain. I believe he can correct some of the incredible harm that George W. Bush has done to the global reputation of the United States, which will make it easier for the U.S. to have an influence in other countries abroad.
As for Christianity: In August Barack Obama and John McCain appeared at a “civil forum” at Saddleback Church in August. The forum was televised, but sometimes I wonder if the people around me watched something different than what I watched with my family.
Near the beginning, Pastor Rick Warren asked Obama (sorry that this is all upper case) “NOW YOU'VE MADE NO DOUBT ABOUT YOUR FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO TRUST IN CHRIST AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN ON A DAILY BASIS? I MEAN, WHAT DOES THAT REALLY LOOK LIKE?“
Obama answered with these words: “AS A STARTING POINT, IT MEANS I BELIEVE IN THAT JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR MY SINS AND THAT I AM REDEEMED THROUGH HIM. THAT IS A SOURCE OF STRENGTH AND SUSTENANCE ON A DAILY BASIS. I KNOW THAT I DON'T WALK ALONE, AND I KNOW THAT IF I CAN GET MYSELF OUT OF THE WAY, THAT I CAN MAYBE CARRY OUT IN SOME SMALL WAY WHAT HE INTENDS. AND IT MEANS THAT THOSE SINS THAT I HAVE ON A FAIRLY REGULAR BASIS HOPEFULLY WILL BE WASHED AWAY."
"BUT WHAT IT ALSO MEANS, I THINK, IS A SENSE OF OBLIGATION TO EMBRACE NOT JUST WORDS BUT THROUGH DEEDS THE EXPECTATIONS THAT GOD HAS FOR US. AND THAT MEANS THINKING ABOUT THE LEAST OF THESE. IT MEANS ACTING -- WELL, ACTING JUSTLY AND LOVING MERCY AND WALKING HUMBLY WITH OUR GOD…”
John McCain was asked the same question. His response was, “IT MEANS I'M SAVED AND FOREGIVEN AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE WORLD. OUR FAITH ENCOMPASSES NOT JUST THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BUT THE WORLD. CAN I TELL YOU ANOTHER STORY REAL QUICK?” He then proceeded to tell a 40+ year old prisoner of war story about a prison guard drawing a fish in the dirt. He never mentioned Jesus or God.
I believe that if any evangelical Christian looked at these two statements, they would conclude that one of these men does not understand salvation through Jesus Christ. For some reason, most evangelicals believe that McCain is the Christian and Obama is not. Something is definately clouding their judgement.
I believe the current economic crisis our Nation is in can be directly attributed to the movement toward pure capitalism (and Alan Greenspan agrees with me on this). It's time for the pendulum to move back towards a balance of capitalism and government regulation. John McCain's tax plan sounds exactly like George Bush's 8 years ago and it did not work as we were told it would. My personal experience in running a corporation is that when my taxes go up, we buy more and pay our employees more to reduce our taxes. This is the opposite effect than the one that is being predicted by most Republicans.
I should also mention that it's incredibly misleading to say that lowering taxes on businesses would mean that the businesses would hire more employees. Why would a business hire more employees if their sales did not require them to do so? The problem with the economy is that consumers aren't buying. This won't be fixed by businesses having lower taxes. When consumers have healthy finances, then they will resume buying. When a business has more money, typically they don't invest in more employees, they invest in better technology so that they don't need as many employees. This has been the case for as long as I can remember and Barack Omaba has indicated he understands this.
On socialism: I don't think anything Obama has said deserves the title of "socialist." With the way the term socialist is being used now, however, America is already socialist, with government financing for both the poor and the wealthy. I believe Barack Obama is merely saying he wants to shift that balance a little. I think that it would be good for the nation and good for the economy for ratios of who gets the benefit of those U.S. tax dollars to be shifted a little.
As for raising taxes on business: Barack Obama is proposing to roll-back the Bush tax cuts. You may call this raising taxes, but what he is saying is that he thinks this tax should be put back at the level they were when the U.S. was actually running a balanced budget. Remember those days?
I believe that the energy issues that we have been facing is a direct result of a Bush energy policy (or lack thereof) meant to cause exactly this situation, and John McCain hasn't shown anything but loyalty to the big oil companies who have been benefitting as a result.
A turning point for me was during the primaries when McCain said he was in favor of temporarily removing the Federal gasoline tax, and Obama was opposed to this. Nearly 100% of the economists in the country said that removing this tax would only increase profits for oil companies and not help the consumer. I've watched energy policy since I was young, and I agree with the economists. John McCain took the easy position while Barack Obama took the stand which was not popular. Whose votes was he trying to win by taking this stand? To me, this showed good character on Obama's part.
I believe that just like the 1990's, technology is what will make the U.S. competitive again and bring back a vibrant U.S. economy, and John McCain has shown no sign that he understands the issues required to improve and expand technology. Barack Obama has, and this is where I make my living, so it's also an issue that I watch closely.
I believe John McCain has insulted the intelligence of the American people by perpetrating terribly divisive rumors by innuendo and straw man examples, which is why every time he talks about these things, his polling numbers go down.
As for Obama's association with William Ayers: I've been on the board of directors for numerous organizations, and the strengths of these boards were the diversity of their members. That is what a board of directors is for, to diversify so that the success of the organization does not depend on one person's position or strengths. John McCain has to know this. For him to suggest serving on the board with someone means that you agree with them politically, or that you are even friends, indicates to me that he has no regard for the truth and expects Americans to be too dumb to understand.
I believe that John McCain's ability to lead our Nation militarily is handicapped by his inability to take advice from others and his mockery of the idea that sometimes you need to communicate with the enemy. We've all learned from kindergarten or earlier that talking is better than fighting. It has recently been revealed that the surprising success of the troop surge in Iraq actually had something to do with top U.S. commanders in Iraq communicating with insurgents. General Patreaus even said this past week that he has been talking with insurgents, albeit through special envoys. It seems Obama was right about talking with the enemy. Who knew? John McCain didn't.
I believe that Sarah Palin is not at all qualified to be Vice President, and her selection shows poor judgement on John McCain's part. She has demonstrated a divisiveness which is not at all what this country needs. Insinuating that her supporters are the only patriotic Americans is insulting on many levels. Saying that it's not patriotic to pay taxes makes me wonder what she thinks "supporting our troops" means. Is she saying that we should support the troops by word and not by deed?
Finally, I believe that the election of a black President would be a great step forward by this country, and Barack Obama would be a good man for that position. I would be very proud of this milestone for the country and I would be thrilled if my kids and I were able to witness this historical event.
I apologize for the rambling format of this article. It's really the first time I've articulated these thoughts in writing. I've really struggled with doing this because of my position at SearchWarp. You should know that my opinion is in the minority among those who work at SearchWarp. The editors have all worked hard at not letting their personal biases affect their work and I'm sure they will continue to do so.
Honestly, I'm not looking for debate nor do I expect to change anyone's mind on these issues. I do feel the need to point out that there are dedicated, mature Christians who will be voting for Barack Obama on Tuesday for legitimate, well thought out, moral reasons.
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