I wake up this rainy November 4th with more trepidation then I thought I would. I don't see this election as lost - I think it could still go either way, but it is leaning towards an Obama win and that makes me uneasy.
I feel strongly about this election. People tell me not to take it too seriously - after all, a president is basically just a figurehead and really, the power lies with congress, etc. etc. But then I remember all the times Bush vetoed a bill that passed congress...furthering abortion rights for example...and I think of the damage an extremely liberal democrat, with a democratic majority in congress and the support of liberal supreme court judges, could do and I feel the heavy weight of this election on my shoulders.
I look at my little boy and think of what kind of nation he might grow up in for the first four to eight years of his life. Will I continue to have the right to choose the education I think is best for him? Will I continue to have the right to dictate his health care and will I still be able to have him treated when I disagree with the "one size fits all" socialized medicine? Or will they say they can't treat him because he doesn't have his vaccinations therefore he is too much of a risk for the governmental health plan?
I look at my husband who has sworn to obey the president of the United States for the next 4 years and I wonder what kind of nation he might be defending in the next four to eight years. Will he be forced by that oath to do what he considers cowardly and dishonorable by pulling out of Iraq before they are ready to defend themselves? Will he have to put his life on the line because of a weakened military under the command of a young, inexperienced Commander in Chief? With our reputation undermined by leaving a country we invaded to implode helplessly?
I look at our nation in general and wonder what powers could come into influence if Obama wins...He has surrounded himself with a host of questionable people and then denied doing so...He became a political figure - from a nobody - extremely fast due to his association with these questionable people...what is the pay off going to be? Will there BE a pay off or is his association with racists, domestic terrorists, ACORN, etc. just coincidence like he claims?
I try NOT to think about all the children who could be killed in gruesome and torturous ways over the next four to eight years if Obama wins.
Sure, I could be taking this all too seriously...maybe it's because of the gloomy rain, maybe I'm still hormonal after giving birth, maybe it's because this is only my second presidential election. Maybe. But I know I have a feeling of unease today that I cannot shake as I wait and watch for the polls to close and the results to come in.
This sounds completely melodramatic, but I gotta say it anyway as it keeps pounding in my brain...
God forgive us.
Restore this nation.
Make us a force for good.
Protect it from our selfishness and self righteousness...our greed, our entitlement.
Let us do what is RIGHT, not what is EASY.
I feel strongly about this election. People tell me not to take it too seriously - after all, a president is basically just a figurehead and really, the power lies with congress, etc. etc. But then I remember all the times Bush vetoed a bill that passed congress...furthering abortion rights for example...and I think of the damage an extremely liberal democrat, with a democratic majority in congress and the support of liberal supreme court judges, could do and I feel the heavy weight of this election on my shoulders.
I look at my little boy and think of what kind of nation he might grow up in for the first four to eight years of his life. Will I continue to have the right to choose the education I think is best for him? Will I continue to have the right to dictate his health care and will I still be able to have him treated when I disagree with the "one size fits all" socialized medicine? Or will they say they can't treat him because he doesn't have his vaccinations therefore he is too much of a risk for the governmental health plan?
I look at my husband who has sworn to obey the president of the United States for the next 4 years and I wonder what kind of nation he might be defending in the next four to eight years. Will he be forced by that oath to do what he considers cowardly and dishonorable by pulling out of Iraq before they are ready to defend themselves? Will he have to put his life on the line because of a weakened military under the command of a young, inexperienced Commander in Chief? With our reputation undermined by leaving a country we invaded to implode helplessly?
I look at our nation in general and wonder what powers could come into influence if Obama wins...He has surrounded himself with a host of questionable people and then denied doing so...He became a political figure - from a nobody - extremely fast due to his association with these questionable people...what is the pay off going to be? Will there BE a pay off or is his association with racists, domestic terrorists, ACORN, etc. just coincidence like he claims?
I try NOT to think about all the children who could be killed in gruesome and torturous ways over the next four to eight years if Obama wins.
Sure, I could be taking this all too seriously...maybe it's because of the gloomy rain, maybe I'm still hormonal after giving birth, maybe it's because this is only my second presidential election. Maybe. But I know I have a feeling of unease today that I cannot shake as I wait and watch for the polls to close and the results to come in.
This sounds completely melodramatic, but I gotta say it anyway as it keeps pounding in my brain...
God forgive us.
Restore this nation.
Make us a force for good.
Protect it from our selfishness and self righteousness...our greed, our entitlement.
Let us do what is RIGHT, not what is EASY.
November 4, 2008 at 12:48 PM
I feel all these things today, too, Holly. My stomach feels full of butterflies and I just can't get myself to watch the news. It isn't exactly "fear" I'm feeling or a lack of trust in the Lord to manage whatever happens according to His will and give me what I need to stand for Him in this kind of day. But, more like a combination of regret for not standing stronger, more involved, not sharing and coming alongside and instructing - this is happening on "my" watch. And, the feeling in my core of watching the edge of a hurricaine coming towards me - danger, prepare for the struggle, stand firm, don't give in to fear.
For the moment, we've done what we can - we've prayed, we've voted. Now we can only watch as our country creeps over the edge, will it go over or hold? Even holding has its danger.
Full of dramatic similies and metaphors today.
Love you.
November 4, 2008 at 12:51 PM
I'm feeling it too, Holly. This is my first election that guarantees a change of leadership. My first election Bush was re-elected so not much changed. But this time... something will change and likely not the way we would prefer....