Well, Barak Obama is now the President of the United States of America. Many people I know are optimistic, and so am I. Some are optimistic because of the President, but not me. I am optimistic because of what America is, and because I believe that God has blessed this land with freedom and resources that few other countries have.
Too many people believe the status of America rises and falls with the President, or with government policy. But many times the people have acted on their own, independent from the goverment, to solve problems and meet needs. Who are the first people to respond to major disasters? The American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and other churches too many to mention by name. When govenment does show up, usually the first ones there are the local fire department and law enforcement, followed by LOCAL emergency management. That is as it should be, for the local agencies are nearby, and they have resources at hand. When those local resources get overwhelmed, that's when the state and then the federal emergency management agencies should come in.
In short, people should try to solve their problems themselves, or with private resources before relying on the government. Government should be the last resource we look to for solutions. But people don't want to do that, because it will require personal effort and sacrifice. Some will say that is a negative view of people, but the opposite is true. What I am saying is that people do have more ability and resources to solve their own problems than what they realize. That is true hope, and a true reason for optimism.
Showing posts with label president. Show all posts
Showing posts with label president. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Elections 2008
The elections are 2 weeks away. I've not said much specifically about them, and have made only a few political posts. However, I do realize the importance of politics and voting.
If you are one of those that don't see the point in voting, let me propose a little exercise that will open your eyes. Get out a sheet of paper or a notepad and your wallet/billfold/pocketbook. Make a list of what's in your wallet. Then go over the list and put a mark by any item that is issued by a government entity: money (Dept. of Treasury), driver's license (DMV in most states, DPS in OK), etc. Also put check marks by anything that is government regulated: credit or debit cards (banking), business cards from regulated or licensed operations (plumber, electrician, wrecker), etc. Now count the number of marks, and the number of unmarked items.
Now, if you are one of those who chooses not to vote because, "All politicians are crooks," consider this: Where else do you get to choose your crook? If you didn't have a choice about being robbed, but you could choose which crook, would you choose one who would steal only $10, or one who would steal $10,000? Or, would you let someone else decide? Guess what you do when you don't vote.
Back to this year's elections.
Too many of Obama's supporters think he is some kind of a savior. Well, I hate to disappoint them, but there is only one such position, and the current occupant, Jesus Christ, is not planning on vacating His spot anytime soon. I'm sure He's not too happy that people are trying to replace Him.
Speaking of Jesus and politics, I said in an earlier post that Jesus was probably more conservative than some people think. Consider some of His parables.
Parables are not deeply mysterious. They are illustrations of spiritual principles taken from common experience. The most well-known parable is the one about the Sower. This was something very common in an agricultural society where the work was done mostly by hand, because not many people had animals suitable for plowing and such. When Jesus started by saying, "A sower went forth to sow..." I'm sure more than one listener thought, "Been there, done that, my feet still aching from all that walking!"
I won't go into the spiritual side of the parables, but Jesus gave some parables, that just on the level of human experience, they would make no sense except in a capitalist economy.
The best one of these is in the first part of Matthew 20. A landowner needs to hire some men to harvest his crop. He goes to the village square early in the morning and hires some guys to work for a day's wages. He goes back at 9 AM, noon, 3 PM and 5 PM and hires more men. Each time he does, he offers a full day's wages to each group. When he pays everybody at 6 PM, he pays them all a full day's wages, including the guys that had been there only for an hour. The ones hired first thought they deserved more, because they had been there all day. But the landowner pointed out that they agreed to work for one day's wages, and he paid them what they agreed to. If he wanted to pay the other men the same amount for working a shorter time, that was his business and not theirs. He was paying with his own money, and it was his to do with what he wanted.
Of course, this story wouldn't make sense in a socialist or communist economy. The landowner wouldn't be a landowner, it would all belong to the government. Some bureaucrat would tell him when the harvest had to be finished, and how many workers he would have for the harvest, and how much to pay them.
Now, try telling me that Jesus was a socialist. Jesus flat out said that the kingdom of heaven was like the landowner, the capitalist.
I'll admit that McCain is not my ideal candidate for president. But he is not trying to pass himself off as any kind of savior, because he knows he's not, and presidents are not to be saviors.
Too often I hear or read where people say the president runs the country, or he runs the economy. NO HE DOESN'T!!! THAT'S NOT HIS JOB, NEVER HAS BEEN AND NEVER WILL BE!!! IF YOU THINK THAT WAY, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT RIGHT NOW YOU....
Sorry, lost control there for a second. But this kind of ignorance is what gets liberals elected, and leads to the financial problems we are having right now. The government is not responsible for your welfare, you are. We do not have a command economy. No command economy has ever prospered. Communist China is prospering right now, but only because they have adopted limited capitalism. Orientals also have a very strong work ethic, and that is what has sustained them through years of socialism.
For those that doubt Sarah Palin's foreign policy experience, take good look at a map for once. You cannot enter or leave Alaska without crossing an international border or international waters. If you were to take that map, cut out Alaska and place it over the 48 contiguous states, you will see just how big the state is. Even though the population is small, governing that much territory is a challenge.
While I don't agree with all of McCain's positions, I believe he is right about the most important issues, he truly cares about this country and wants what's best for it, and I also like his taste in women.
If you are one of those that don't see the point in voting, let me propose a little exercise that will open your eyes. Get out a sheet of paper or a notepad and your wallet/billfold/pocketbook. Make a list of what's in your wallet. Then go over the list and put a mark by any item that is issued by a government entity: money (Dept. of Treasury), driver's license (DMV in most states, DPS in OK), etc. Also put check marks by anything that is government regulated: credit or debit cards (banking), business cards from regulated or licensed operations (plumber, electrician, wrecker), etc. Now count the number of marks, and the number of unmarked items.
Now, if you are one of those who chooses not to vote because, "All politicians are crooks," consider this: Where else do you get to choose your crook? If you didn't have a choice about being robbed, but you could choose which crook, would you choose one who would steal only $10, or one who would steal $10,000? Or, would you let someone else decide? Guess what you do when you don't vote.
Back to this year's elections.
Too many of Obama's supporters think he is some kind of a savior. Well, I hate to disappoint them, but there is only one such position, and the current occupant, Jesus Christ, is not planning on vacating His spot anytime soon. I'm sure He's not too happy that people are trying to replace Him.
Speaking of Jesus and politics, I said in an earlier post that Jesus was probably more conservative than some people think. Consider some of His parables.
Parables are not deeply mysterious. They are illustrations of spiritual principles taken from common experience. The most well-known parable is the one about the Sower. This was something very common in an agricultural society where the work was done mostly by hand, because not many people had animals suitable for plowing and such. When Jesus started by saying, "A sower went forth to sow..." I'm sure more than one listener thought, "Been there, done that, my feet still aching from all that walking!"
I won't go into the spiritual side of the parables, but Jesus gave some parables, that just on the level of human experience, they would make no sense except in a capitalist economy.
The best one of these is in the first part of Matthew 20. A landowner needs to hire some men to harvest his crop. He goes to the village square early in the morning and hires some guys to work for a day's wages. He goes back at 9 AM, noon, 3 PM and 5 PM and hires more men. Each time he does, he offers a full day's wages to each group. When he pays everybody at 6 PM, he pays them all a full day's wages, including the guys that had been there only for an hour. The ones hired first thought they deserved more, because they had been there all day. But the landowner pointed out that they agreed to work for one day's wages, and he paid them what they agreed to. If he wanted to pay the other men the same amount for working a shorter time, that was his business and not theirs. He was paying with his own money, and it was his to do with what he wanted.
Of course, this story wouldn't make sense in a socialist or communist economy. The landowner wouldn't be a landowner, it would all belong to the government. Some bureaucrat would tell him when the harvest had to be finished, and how many workers he would have for the harvest, and how much to pay them.
Now, try telling me that Jesus was a socialist. Jesus flat out said that the kingdom of heaven was like the landowner, the capitalist.
I'll admit that McCain is not my ideal candidate for president. But he is not trying to pass himself off as any kind of savior, because he knows he's not, and presidents are not to be saviors.
Too often I hear or read where people say the president runs the country, or he runs the economy. NO HE DOESN'T!!! THAT'S NOT HIS JOB, NEVER HAS BEEN AND NEVER WILL BE!!! IF YOU THINK THAT WAY, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT RIGHT NOW YOU....
Sorry, lost control there for a second. But this kind of ignorance is what gets liberals elected, and leads to the financial problems we are having right now. The government is not responsible for your welfare, you are. We do not have a command economy. No command economy has ever prospered. Communist China is prospering right now, but only because they have adopted limited capitalism. Orientals also have a very strong work ethic, and that is what has sustained them through years of socialism.
For those that doubt Sarah Palin's foreign policy experience, take good look at a map for once. You cannot enter or leave Alaska without crossing an international border or international waters. If you were to take that map, cut out Alaska and place it over the 48 contiguous states, you will see just how big the state is. Even though the population is small, governing that much territory is a challenge.
While I don't agree with all of McCain's positions, I believe he is right about the most important issues, he truly cares about this country and wants what's best for it, and I also like his taste in women.
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