Several weeks before her death on July 26th of this year, my mother made an interesting discovery. Here was a 93 year old woman from Richwood, West Virginia, who clung tightly to her conservative Republican beliefs. But on this particular day, she smiled intently at me and proclaimed, "Barack Obama seems like such a nice young man." It was the first moment in my lifetime that my mother and I politically connected.
This country has been down a perilous path in the past eight years. We have struggled through the presidency of George W. Bush, who failed this nation with his lack of integrity, feeble domestic direction and disastrous foreign policy. With Bush at the helm, we fought the wrong war for the wrong reasons and are still paying the consequences in loss of lives and economic calamity.
We are in need of a new direction. Although John McCain stands out as a war hero, he has waged a campaign that is without substance. He has spent more time bashing his opponent than laying out clear plans to get the country moving again.
Barack Obama has the vision, intelligence and judgment to lead our country down a more positive path. His campaign has been steady, and his campaign organization has been stellar. He has been maligned by many, some on this site, who ironically use their Christian faith as the basis for divisive comments. Accordingly, he is the "Muslim," "the enlightened one," "the anti-Christ," "the radical," "the terrorist," and “a Hitler.” He was also deemed guilty by association, as if John McCain didn't have enough affiliations with troubled individuals himself.
Barack Obama's concepts and ideology mirror many valuable Judeo/Christian principles. He is not interested in continuing to feed the pocket-books of the wealthy. He personally identifies and has compassion for those of our comrades in need. He has one wife, one house and tattered shoes. He understands the needs of the middle class and the poor. By focusing on this country's crumbling infrastructure, he will get our people working again. His administration will create new jobs that will spur the economy. He understands that a "trickle down" economic policy does not work because the wealthy are tainted by their greed. He will work toward providing healthcare plans for all Americans. He will prioritize the budget and will eliminate wasteful governmental spending.
His foreign policy will be founded on the principles of diplomacy, not power and control. He will fight the right war in the proper place, on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. We will regain our respectful standing in the world through promoting understanding rather than division. His vice presidential selection, Joe Biden, is ready to step in on the international stage. We will regain our credibility at home and abroad as Obama seeks to call out and prosecute those in our government who have shredded the Constitution, needlessly tortured prisoners, demonstrated political collusion, and overstepped executive privilege.
Those Christians who would try to reduce this election to a referendum on abortion are mistaken. Most reasonable Americans do not "believe" in abortion. Rather, they embrace the sanctity of life, and believe that such a concept is much broader than any narrowly focused discussion regarding this complex moral dilemma.
This is the most exciting election I've ever witnessed. For the first time in history, an African-American candidate is positioned to become President of the United States. The first 16 presidents of this country could have owned Senator Obama as a slave! How far we have come as we look forward to a new day in American history. I pray for him and his family as he seeks to lead this country out of turmoil.
James P. Krehbiel, Ed.S., LPC, CCBT is an author, freelance writer and nationally certified cognitive-behavioral therapist practicing in Scottsdale, Arizona. He can be reached at (480) 664-6665.
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4 comments:
Could you please explain how a person who writes and counsels that life cannot be lived in a "bubble" of self-protection could embrace liberalism?
Liberalism is a promise of society's universal protection of the individual in exchange for abrogating personal freedom and responsibility. There is no better example of the desire to live in a safe bubble than to crave liberalism's commitment to "equality of result."
Conservatism recognizes and respects wisdom. It understands that actions have consequences and encourages wise choices rather than foolish ones. It understands that all choices involve risk, and it accepts personal responsibility for individual actions. Liberalism undermines wisdom by insisting that the collective assume responsibility to bail out fools.
Conservatism recognizes that the world is NOT a safe place and takes protective steps to prevent harm to those who are weaker--even if it means self-sacrifice. It shows up like an adult, day in and day out, even when that’s not easy. Liberalism lives in a fantasy world of perpetual childishness, whistling in the dark rather than strenuously resisting evil.
Conservatism recognizes that there is NO "free lunch" because a "sowing and reaping" principle exists in the real world. For someone to reap a harvest, someone must sow and tend a seed. (This is a less-popular, but very powerful, “Judeo-Christian principle” found in the Bible along with, “The poor will always be with you.”) Liberalism insists that benefits should be uniform, regardless of individual contribution.
Conservatism recognizes that the majority of individuals are capable of responsible self-governance and should be expected and encouraged to conduct themselves accordingly. Only those who are too young, too old, or too mentally or physically infirm should expect to be taken care of. Liberalism weakens society by continuously constructing subcultures of needy and demanding pseudo-victims.
How do you embrace liberalism’s stultifying effect on the individual and yet beckon that individual to take risk? It’s incongruous. “Risk” cannot truly be risky if every choice yields a safe result. It’s childish to imagine that every step one takes must be on rose petals and that there is always a soft place to fall. In real life, choices have consequences—and some are bad. We can learn from others’ mistakes, or we can make our own bad choices and “learn the hard way,” but
Don’t you find it bizarre to encounter adults with such an undeveloped sense of self that they think they’re the responsible caretakers of other adult strangers—or, worse, that they themselves desire to be taken care of like children? Where else in the world is this “reality” except for among American liberals in the late 20th and early 21st centuries? As a psychologist, what do you call it when people have a mental break with reality?
Lexie,
I just came across your response. You are making a big assumption - that is, that I am a liberal. Regardless, most of the generalities that you associate with liberalism have no basis in reality, i.e. talking points such as selfishness, "free lunch," etc. Obama is not a liberal nor am I. What does teaching people to take risks have to do with anything that I wrote about the election? james
Ruth, Thank you for following my blog. I appreciate it. james
James,
You say that I'm making a "big assumption", but I thought it was common knowledge that Obama was a liberal. How did you come to the conclusion that he is not? Is there a page missing from my dictionary?
"Obama's not a liberal." Wow. This must come as a shock to my liberal, and yes, avowedly socialist, friends and relatives who avidly supported him, thinking that he was one with their ideology. This must be such a blow to all the liberals who expended such effort (much of it illegal) to elect him.
If you define yourself as something other than liberal after making the statements you made in your initial post referring to "our comrades in need", job creation by government (have you read the US Constitution? Under what article is the government tasked with job creation?), and your admiration for the kiss-ass diplomacy hinted at in the campaign and demonstrated since the inauguration, then please--tell me what you liberals are calling yourselves these days.
I don't think my challenge to you was that difficult to understand. I think that the things I addressed ALL have a "basis in reality" and prove the contemporary liberal worldview and philosophy to be inferior to a conservative worldview and philosophy. Why not address my issues point by point rather than putting words in my mouth? I never called anyone "selfish", and my reference to a "free lunch" was not a "talking point" at all, but rather an analogy drawn from the laws of nature.
"What does teaching people to take risks have to do with anything that I wrote about the election?" Are you kidding me now? Did you read anything I wrote? It's not really that difficult to understand! Liberalism aims at a guaranteed result. ("I can sneak illegally across a border and violate a nation's sovereignty, but rather than kicking me out, that nation will pay for my college degree." "I can waste my educational opportunities from Kindergarten on, but the government will see to it that I have a good job and health care benefits." "I can buy a house I cannot afford, but it won't get taken away when I fail to make the payments.") Nothing with a guaranteed result can be considered a risk. If you don't understand that, you should be ashamed to set yourself up as an authority on the subject.
I'll wait on an answer that deals with my contrast between liberalism and conservatism. I hope you will take the time to read and respond thoughtfully.
Lexie
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