What if all the Christians stayed silent?

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I haven't posted for a few days now. My life has been a little hectic lately.

I've had a question running through my mind, though, that I don't have a specific answer to, but I do have a general sense of what that answer would look like.

What if all the Christians stayed silent?

What if all the Christian politicians decided to stay silent? What if all the Christian doctors quit their practice? What if all the Christian actors left Hollywood? What if all the Christian journalists stopped writing? What if all the Christian broadcasters stopped telling stories? What if all the Christians just hunkered down and retreated into monestaries? I'm not even talking about Christians in "Christian work." What if all the Christians who had positions out in the "secular" world decided to give up and throw in the towel? What would our world look like?

A world without Christians is a world that I don't want to live in.

Here's the point. I have met and can claim that I know a Representative in Congress from my district. This Representative happens to be Christian. This same Representative has also consistently been an advocate of all the things I hold dear. He is conservative. He wants to be fiscally responsible. He wants to limit government and empower citizens. He wants to do the right thing. I'm thankful and grateful that he's there. If he were not, there would be one less voice, one less vote, one less representative for my views in this country. This country, my state, and my district would be greatly empoverished. He is a man who is not hiding from the enemy, he's not staying silent, he's not giving in. He's an inspiration to me.

But how many other Christians are NOT out in the world doing what they ought to be doing? How many are ruled by fear? Or too distracted by their own issues? Or is too disgusted with the world to engage with it?

We need more Christians to raise their voices, to defend the weak, to seek justice, and do good - OUT THERE - out in the marketplace, out in the world.

I'm becoming daily more convinced of the wisdom of the saying, "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

Are you willing to stand up and be counted? You never know who might be inspired by what you do.

Obama's Truth Squad

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This is serious people! Obama has formed a “Truth Squad” in Missouri to target advertisements that they deem are misleading or lying about Obama.

So much for free speech!

http://www.kmov.com/video/index.html?nvid=285793&shu=1

A Must-See Video on the Financial Crisis

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This just might change your vote.

The Financial Crisis

Fashionable Cynicism

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I was in the break room of my workplace the other day and they had the TV on (to CNN, of course) and it was talking about the financial issues that were going on. So, I was standing there watching it for a minute when another co-worker came in. Without provocation, he said something like, "Bah, might as well just vote for Ralph Nader" and then left.

I've had other occasions where I've asked family or friends what they thought about the elections and they have almost invariably gone the way of criticizing both candidates and criticizing the whole process. They bemoan the corruption in the system and write it all off as not worth following.

While I totally understand the frustration with the corruption in the system (see here), these two examples strike me as what I call "Fashionable Cynicism" There is the kind of cynicism where someone is fully aware of the faults and expects the worst. That I can understand.

However, this fashionable cynicism strikes me as fundamentally false. By decrying the whole political landscape and lumping everything together as bad, these people are actually failing to engage with the issues. They are actually choosing to blow it off and just think about something else.

I can understand, believe me. Sometimes it's just too overwhelming to think about all the issues going on in the world. Sometimes it's really scary to think about it. Or you just feel helpless to do anything. Or it's just inane and doesn't make any sense. These, to me, are honest, authentic responses.

But when people stand on the sidelines and criticize the whole process, and yet are too uninformed to even understand what's really going on, that to me is just a cop out. It's their way of just not dealing with it.

But deal with it we must. The consequences of going through life uninformed are too grave. We must do our part to make sure this country remains strong.

If you're just angry with all politicians, do something to make it better! Don't just complain about it. If it's overwhelming to you, start with a small area and become familiar with that and let that lead you into more and more broad areas of knowledge. If you feel helpless to do anything to change things, rebuke that lie! You are not helpless! You can start by becoming informed. You can give money to a cause. You can volunteer. You can talk to friends and family. You can start a blog. :-)

The way I see it, people who are just generally critical of the whole political process are not much different than someone who is just talking in their sleep. I just want to shake them and say, WAKE UP! There's a whole world out there in need of engaged people making a difference and your cynicism isn't helping at all.

Also, once you start to really get informed of the events going on around us, you will begin to see that not everything is just bad. I want to shout out kudos to all the Republicans in the House. They have been fighting valiantly for us and I feel personally grateful to them this day.

If you're out there and you feel a general level of cynicism toward the whole political process, I want to challenge you to take a hard look inside yourself and see if you aren't just avoiding it. Don't avoid it! Do something about it!

The Moral Restraint

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In a previous post, I touched on a theme that I'd like to build upon here.

Earlier, I said that "I do believe that human nature tends to hunger for more and more power without ever being satisfied and those who already posses a great amount of power are especially susceptible to this hunger...human nature being what it is, those in power are constantly trying to find the loophole, go around, change, or just run ramshod over any rules that get in their way. It's a constant struggle between their power and the rules in place.

Given that our human nature is inherently greedy and hungry for power (and that belief is foundational to a conservative and Christian perspective), what do we do? How do we contain this tendency? I think this is the very question that our founding fathers wrestled with.

In order to have some sort of civilized society, we must have structures in place that necessarily puts some people in a position of power over others. How do we contain those powers?

One thing to try and do is to create a system that has as many checks and balances as possible and spread that power around so that no one person has all the power. That's one of the crucial things that was established in this country. However, as can be clearly seen in just the most recent financial crisis, the government tends to take more power when it can - especially during times of crisis. Just look at the Great Depression and the New Deal. Look at the executive powers given to the president during WWII. Look at the consolidation of power on the Supreme Court. Historically, those 9 justices did not have the power they have today.

No, even the best of systems will eventually fall due to the power-hungry, greedy nature of mankind.

So, what do we do? Is all lost?

No.

There was one other critical element that the founding fathers knew about. It was, in fact, the very foundation and life-blood of our democracy. That other critical element was the Moral Restraint. The only way to counter-act the natural tendency within politicians and those in power from currupting the system and claiming more power is to have a counterbalance within themselves to keep them from those actions. It is this Moral Restraint that allows a leader to serve in office for the good of the people and not for his own gain. It is this Moral Restraint that can keep an elected official from taking bribes. It is this Moral Restraint that can keep a judge from declaring from the bench what the law should be, rather than what it is.

This element of Moral Restraint is why the character of the person running for office is so important. In fact, if a person running for office is experienced, has plans, judgment - whatever - but his character is proven to be bad, that person should not be elected to a position of leadership. It's that simple.

Would you trust your money to a currupt banker? Would you trust your children with a depraved babysitter? Would you trust your aging parents to cruel doctors?

Then why in the world do we trust our country to corrupt, power-hungry politicions with no moral restraint?!?

That has GOT to change! We must no longer discount Moral Restraint as an optional characteristic in those we elect to office. It MUST become a priority again.

But how are we going to find leaders that have Moral Restraint when the Moral Restraint in our country is generally falling? We won't.

We must begin by building up Moral Restraint on a local level. Our country must recover its roots of belief in God. Our country must turn back or we are destined to fall. It's that simple.

This brought tears to my eyes

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I'm not personally a Catholic, but I have an incredible amount of respect for them. This is just incredible.

Catholics for Life

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Big Brother vs. Big Business

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Our society is currently gripped by a financial crisis that many of us (myself included) only vaguely understand. We know it has something to do with the mortgage industry, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and is somehow affecting the "financial industry" (whatever that is). In the midst of this, we have seen our government step in and bail out some companies by giving them a bunch of money, but not others. Most recently, there is talk of a bailout to the tune of $700,000,000,000 - $1,000,000,000,000. (That's 700 Billion to 1 Trillion dollars). That's a LOT of money! In the midst of all of this has been talk of government "taking over" sectors of our society, "nationalization of our finance industry," etc.

While I feely admit that I'm not a financial expert and just plain cannot comprehend numbers that high, I am reminded of a fundamental question about politics, government, and business. Basically, who has the right to do what? What role should our government play in all of this? How much and what kind of regulation is appropriate? What about the greedy people on Wall Street? Shouldn't they be held accountable?

Basically, we're talking about what kind of society we want and, ultimately, whom do we trust the most? Do we trust the government to deal with these situations? Or do we trust the free market and capitalism to handle it?

I think the answers to these questions forms the basic difference in philosophy between conservatives and liberals. Conservatives, by and large, tend to mistrust government more than big business while liberals, by and large, tend to mistrust big business more than government. In the spirit of believing the best about people, I don't suppose that anyone has an absolute distrust in either one of those. If they did, then conservatives would want to have NO government whatsoever, which is total anarchy. Likewise, I don't believe most liberals would want to have NO independent business whatsoever, which is, I guess something like a pure Communist or Socialist state.

That being said, I do believe that human nature tends to hunger for more and more power without ever being satisfied and those who already posses a great amount of power are especially susceptible to this hunger. We've all read about and seen companies that grow beyond all measure and how, without regulation, that can possibly lead to abuses. I think the old monopolies such as Standard Oil are prime examples of this. On the other end of the spectrum, we've also seen how governments have acquired more and more power over people's lives. Venezuala is a current example of this, while the most dramatic example would be Germany under Hitler's rule or Stalinist Russia.

Now, the question I have is: which is worse? Assuming that there are no restraints at all, which has the potential for greater evil, big business or big government? (And in assuming no restraints, I think we are still in the realm of the possible because human nature being what it is, those in power are constantly trying to find the loophole, go around, change, or just run ramshod over any rules that get in their way. It's a constant struggle between their power and the rules in place.)

I would submit to you that big government has the potential for the greatest evil. Although big business has been known to abuse it's own workers, big government has been known to abuse it's ENTIRE population - even to the point of extermination. That is one of the primary reasons I am a conservative. I mistrust government much, much, much more than I mistrust business or the free market.

And seeing what I'm seeing these days with the financial crisis, I'm not feeling very trusting right now.

Influencing People

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In my last post, I made a point in saying that I'm interested in trying to influence people. Since I wrote that, I've been wrestling with thoughts and feelings of hesitation about that. Is it wrong to want to influence people? Shouldn't we all just "live and let live"? Who am I anyway, to purposefully and intentionally try to influence people?

My first and natural instinct is to shy away from overtly trying to influence people. It feels just too manipulative.

But a few counterweights come up in my mind. First of all, I can't FORCE anyone to do anything they don't want to do. Everyone is truly free to make up their own mind about everything and do whatever they want. From that perspective, I really have no power over anyone. I'm just so much chatter.

Second, it seems to me that everything out there is already trying to influence people to make decisions or change their mind on something. There's the endless advertising you see on TV, the internet, radio, billboards, buses, etc. There's the political machines and systems trying to get us to vote or do things a certain way. There's a multitude of activist groups, religious and civic groups trying to get us to contribute or volunteer. We are always bombarded with messages trying to get us to do something.

In fact, because there is so much out there trying to influence us is one of the reasons that I feel compelled to try to speak out myself. I'm not doing this just because everyone else is, but to try to counteract some of that stuff in the first place. If there are messages out there saying negative things about Christians, I want to say positive things. If there are messages out there saying bad things about conservatives, I want to say good things. If there are messages out there saying that we should not pray in schools, I want to say that we should. If there are messages out there saying that religion has no part in public life, I want to say that it does in fact have a part to play in public life. If there are messages out there saying that we should just enjoy our own life and not think about anything outside ourselves, I want want to say that we should take up a cause greater than ourselves.

You get the point on that. I do want to influence people not because it's a bad thing, but because I want to help steer our culture and our world into good things.

I'm also wondering: if people are feeling threatened by someone purposefully trying to influence them, shouldn't they stop and think about why they feel threatened? What's so scary about someone trying to influence them? If that person is saying something you don't agree with, you can argue back (and therefore try to influence that person yourself) or just ignore it and blow it off. If that person is saying something you do agree with, there should be no threat there.

Maybe the threat is just the feeling of conflict. I know a lot of people really don't like conflict in their lives. They just want everyone to get along. My personality tends naturally in that direction. However, I'm beginning to believe that the tendency to want to just get along can lead people to do things they normally would not do just for the sake of getting along. When people are faced with the thought of a fight, people tend to avoid that. Therefore, the person who is the aggressor begins with a huge natural advantage in getting people to go along with him. It seems that for too long, aggressive people have pushed things that are not good, banking on the fact that people will not stand up to it for fear of a conflict. I'm beginning to think that the end result of that is worse than if people would have challenged the aggressor in the first place.

Well, part of why I'm here is to challenge. I'm here to push back on the negative influences in society and try to be an influence for good. Is that so bad?

Coming Attractions

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I feel like I've been warming up a little bit to this and haven't REALLY said anything substantive yet. This one won't actually say much either. :-) BUT, I want to try to get down some stuff that's been rattling around in my head before it rattles right out.

I haven't filled out the blog's description yet because I haven't totally fleshed it out yet. But here's a few things I do know:

• I am a Christian and a conservative and love politics and current events.
• I want to do more than just talk about stuff, though. I'm really hoping that through vigorous debate and discussion, minds can be moved and people can go into action.
• Up front, I want to say that I am interested in and will be attempting to influence people - I want to make a difference in people's lives.
• In the process, I'm hoping to sharpen and clarify my own views on things as well.
• I'm most interested in the interaction between the Church and the State. Where are the boundaries? What is appropriate? What is not?
• I'm deeply concerned about the direction of this country and it's underlying culture. I feel like I can't just passively watch anymore - I've got to do something. I want to be a part in returning the culture to a place where, as a nation, God is honored.
• I'm totally open to debating the particulars of any given issue, but I'm personally more interested in one or two levels deeper than that -fundamental presuppositions that inform people's views. It's my goal to identify and speak on that level as much as possible.

Well, that's a start at least. Hopefully, this will give me and you some fodder for meaningful discussion.

Politics and Religion

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"So, what are you interested in?"

That's the question that has haunted me for most of my life. When I was younger, I had no idea what interested me. There were so many options, so many things to do that I ended up paralyzed without focus and squandered so much time floundering around from one thing to another. Sometimes, I would just lose interest in everything all together.

As I got older however, my life began to take on a little more focus. I haven't completely found my true life's passion yet by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm beginning to get a sense of an overall direction or theme in my life.

Let me ask you a question: What are the two topics that you should NEVER bring up at, say, a party? That's right: Politics and Religion.

But those are the very things that interest me the most! Now when someone asks me, "So, what are you interested in?", I'm immediately in a different kind of quandary. I no longer have to desperately search for something to say. I know what my answer is now. It's politics and religion. No, my quandary is now to assess the situation, try to read the responsiveness of the person I'm talking to, and decide if it's worth the risk to come out with "politics and religion."

You know what? I don't want to be afraid anymore to say those two words. Why is there such a restriction on that anyway? What, we can't talk about those things because we might have a difference of opinion? Someone's feelings might get hurt? It might start an argument?

We live in such an easily offended, political correct, conformity-driven, don't make waves, fit-in-with-everyone else society that there are two whole big swaths of every person's life that we can't even talk about at all! That's just not right!

NO!

I say these are the very things that we ought to be talking about the most. What other things are so close to peoples' hearts as their religion? Here we are in an election year. What else is in the news so much as politics these days? If these are the things that stir up so much emotion, why do we avoid them? If we avoid talking about these things, our lives are tremendously diminished. Do you want to go through life avoiding everything that has passion? What kind of life is that?

Live life to the full. Talk about what's on your heart. If it makes others feel uncomfortable, be gentle about it, but for God's sake don't just avoid it. These things need to be talked about.

What am I interested in? What keeps me up at night and gets me out of bed in the morning? It's politics and religion.

My First Post

As I mention in my profile, I have gradually moved from being disinterested in anything that doesn't concern me, to mildly interested, to where I am now: intensely interested and gravely concerned. As way of an introduction, let me give you a quick overview of my journey along these lines.

At first, it was just the big events happening in our country that held my attention. Once the blast of attention from that faded, I would sink back into my own little world and pay attention to things that only mattered to me. Then another major event would happen that would get my attention and then another. Over time, it took less momentous things to get my attention and so my attention was grabbed more often. As I watched these things, I began to thirst for more. I began to look for other ways to access information about the world around me, which then fed into my interest and the cycle continued.

But then something critical began to happen inside my head:

I began to see little CONNECTIONS between what was happening "out there" in the big world and my personal life.

What a game-changer that was! After that, my interest became personal and I began to actually emotionally respond to what I was watching around the country. I no longer consider myself just some innocent bystander in the big world of events out there. That stuff really does impact me, my family, my way of life, and everything I believe in and stand for. I am discovering that there is nothing that is left untouched by current events. It all matters.

And that brings me to this blog. In so many ways, I do not like what I see and am concerned for the future of this country. I can no longer stand by idly watching, worrying, hoping that things will get better. I must act!

I am not sure what that will look like yet, but this blog is a start. I must work out for myself what my role is in the great big world and I would love to have others join me on this journey.

Here's what you can expect from me:

• Honesty. I am, in part, taking a personal journey. To me, this must be honest for it to be worth it.
• Challenge. I have a lot to say and I'm sure that not everything I say will be comfortable (for you or for me!). That's okay.
• Imperfection. Right off the bat, I want to say that I am not claiming perfection in anything. If I am wrong, I want you to call me on it!
• Opinion. I have lots of opinions on lots of things. That's what makes life fun, yeah?

So this is me and my blog. Let's see where the road goes!