Yesterday I took to Facebook to ask the unthinkable -- a question about politics. Never one to outright engage in a political debate, I've generally kept my cards close to my chest unless having a rousing discussion with my mom, my husband or the bestie. However, I found myself making a post to engage my friends on Facebook regarding the current presidential administration and future administrations. For those who are interested, this is what I posted to the book:
I realize I’m about to open a can of worms here. Before I begin, I want to acknowledge a few things. 1) I am not ignorant of the world we live in. 2) I am not completely ignorant of all that has happened in the last 4-36 years of my life under various presidents. 3) This is my personal Facebook wall. 4) ANY AND ALL NASTY, HATEFUL COMMENTS WITHOUT ANY SENSE OF DECENCY WILL BE ERASED.
With that being said in light of the DNC ending and the RNC soon beginning, what do you consider to be some of the struggles of the last 4 years that are too much to bare? Again, please be kind. This is an attempt for honest conversation without any kind of hate thrown. Romans 8:28
I later followed up my original post and redirected the question as follows:
All: Let me redirect my question. I haven’t really seen the answers I was intending — my lack of clear communication. What policies accomplished under the current administration have been personally harmful to you, your family or a group of people you advocate for? I hope this makes better sense. While I certainly agree our nation is divided and unstable currently, I don’t believe this is new. Decades upon decades, generations upon generations have been divided—- 1776 and the revolution, the 60s, the 70s, the 90s, the early 2000s and everywhere in between. We live in a nation, world of sinners. Unfortunately I’m uncertain the issue of Racism at large will ever be solved. We can begin that in our homes — single or with family — we are responsible for the conversations that leave our lips. Racism is a heart issue that can’t be changed unless by the grace of God in the sinners heart. Both leaders vying for presidential election have uttered strong racial slurs. Could there be a more empathetic leader? Sure, I’m certain there could be. We all know our President isn’t the most gifted in the Twitter world. So with that being said, I don’t anticipate ever living in a nation where all are on the same page. We’ve been given minds by an amazing Creator and the fact that none of us thinks exactly the same like a robot testifies even further that we are made in the image of Almighty. And because we are different, every single individual will never agree. Whew! So back to my original question that was not clearly stated — What policies under the current administration has been too much to bare? Thank you for handling this conversation as adults.
Because I have addressed a few items in the previous response, I will not follow up with those again.
I have prayerfully considered how I should respond. And thus, this is it. My response is as follows, though it may be a little too lengthy:
We uniquely have the opportunity to live in a nation where we are allowed, permitted to vote in elections of every level. I registered to vote at the age of 18. In hindsight, it seems silly to allow a high school graduate the opportunity to vote as there is much naïveté. I'm only joking here, but in truth there was little I truly knew about our nation that would afford me the opportunity to vote with a right, focused mind. However, I knew and still know without a shadow of a doubt there are millions of people who are not allowed to vote. Their government is forced upon them without any say; and therefore, I will vote. I will vote for me. And I will vote for those who can't vote for themselves.
Unique to our government is the system of checks and balances. Because of checks and balances, no single person has the opportunity to gain all of the power. There have been administrations where a Republican president is in office, while a Democratic majority is in Congress and vice versa. Therefore, one person can not be entirely blamed for 4 or 8 years of instability.
As a Christian, I am under no illusion that our nation is perfect, or that it ever will be. Don't get me wrong. There was a time (ahem, 18) where I thought nothing could stop me or America. God is gracious. Over the years, I have begun to ground my voting decisions in theology and intent decision.
First, no matter your political affiliation or candidate of choice, we will never - I repeat never - "make this world a better place." Stay with me here. We are living in a Romans 1 world -- "they did not honor him [God]"; "they exchanged the truth about God for a lie"; "God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done." This world is not meant to be better. If this world was meant to be "better", there would be no desire for eternity. We would be living in a good enough world without God. Praise God, He has not left us here! No, this place will not be better nor can you make it better because He has set eternity on the hearts of man. The new heavens and the new earth (Revelation 21) is the final destination for the believer.
Each person who responded to my post has their own cause and rightly so. What I want to point out is this: there will never be a time when ALL of these causes will perfectly align. I just don't believe it's possible. This is why we need redemption. This is yet another way God places the desire for Him in our hearts. When this world is realized to not be enough, we look to Him. Thus no one candidate is ever meant to be our hope or the one we hang our hat on to champion the cause of Christ. It's not possible. My pastor said it best on Easter Sunday: Could it be possible that all of this is happening to us to pry our grip away from the things of this earth? Amen and Amen.
So, this is where I begin. I begin with the depravity of man when it comes to my political opinions. We will never have all the answers here. We will never have it all perfectly worked out living in a dreamboat of a world. Starting with the depravity of man, I can then rightly turn to the issue that matters most to me.
My intent decision or cause is this: abortion. Long before I ever had a child, abortion was my cause. Notice, I didn't say pro-life. I have narrowed my cause to the issue of abortion. Refer to previous paragraph. In a world like today, is it a futile effort to stand against abortion? Possibly, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to vote every opportunity I get in favor of those who choose to believe life begins in the womb. Do I disagree with racism? Yes! Do I disagree with children being brought into the US illegally to be sex trafficked? ABSOLUTELY! Do I disagree with nursing home facilities housing our elderly, including my now deceased grandfather, that are absolutely disgusting? Yes! Pro-life culminates all of this for sure. But I have yet to see someone raising a banner for better nursing home facilities. Chasing this to the end, there is no candidate who will likely go in to office and do it all. But I'm going to stand by anti-abortion causes until the day I die because children killed in the womb aren't even given a voice. They couldn’t protest their rights if they even so desired. Those at a wall or those championing the causes of racism or those fighting for the care of others all have a voice to do so. But these babies aren't given a chance. They aren't given life. Do you see the disparity there? Biden, the candidate for the Democratic party, as well as his running mate, Harris, support unlimited abortion, meaning the timeframe for an abortion is not limited. An abortion can be conducted up until the due date. Therefore because this is my hill to die on, I will vote for the candidate who most closely aligned with preserving the life of a child in the womb. God has given life, and God should be the One to take it. Psalm 139:13-16, Jeremiah 1:5, Isaiah 44:24
There is a trick in our media depending upon what channels you choose to watch. I am partial to the Today Show. I know. You don't have to tell me, but they tend to be more liberal. Yet, I love Hoda and Al and Craig and Savannah and Carson. This is the trick. If the news station tends toward more liberal, they will never applaud a conservative administration. During the Obama administration, day in and day out the media reported as to the wonderful things accomplished. To be fair, I don't have any outright hate against Obama. There were things I disagreed with during his administration. But, he was my leader for 8 years, therefore I submitted to his authority. Upon Trump's entrance into office, a day has not gone by where he has not been shamed or questioned. I say all of this for us to acknowledge the media has the power to control what we see and what we know. Hello Oak Ridge, TN -- an entire town no one knew even existed or that the atomic bomb was being created in the factories. There is room for true fact-checking, folks.
With that being said since we don't always hear the positive, I do want to share some of the policies and accomplishment of the current administration that have and are providing a better quality of life.
- Finalization of the Space Force as our 6th military branch. Remember the Space Race? Rooted in the middle of the Cold War.
- Signed the "Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act" giving more tools to states to fight sex trafficking.
- Signed a bill to require airports to provide spaces for breastfeeding moms. Don't even get me started on how thankful I am for this one.
-Increase in minimum wage. 25% of lowest paid Americans received a 4.5% income boost in 2019.
- Signed an executive order forcing providers to disclose all costs of services.
- Prescription drug prices have decreased by 1.1%.
- Trump signed a law for up to 12 weeks parental leave for federal workers. Prior to this, moms or dads could only use saved vacation and sick time when having a child.
-First Step Act provides rehabilitative programs to inmates helping them successfully rejoin society.
- Unemployment rate for African Americans hit its lowest since 1970 with a rate of 5.5% in November.
- Poverty rates fell to 11.8% during administration -- a 17 year low.
- In 2018, the Department of Justice dismantled an organization that was the internet's leading source of prostitution-related advertisements resulting in sex trafficking.
- Under Trump's leadership, ISIS has largely been dismantled.
These are just a hand full of the accomplishments made by the administration. I mention these to show that not all is bad. There are good things coming from an administration that is largely shamed.
In sharing my thoughts, my greatest hope is for respect. As done on my original Facebook post, I have accepted the opinions and thoughts of others without retaliating. I expect nothing less here.
Lastly, my hope is built on nothing less that Jesus' blood and righteousness.
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