Wise Words, Not Written by Me

Thank you Sarah Clark for referring me to this blog.
This is one of the best blog posts I've read in a long time. Quite interesting...I didn't quote it all, because it's very long. You can read the entire thing by clicking on the title below:

My Journey from being a Reagan Republican to an Obama Democrat
by Don Miller

"I grew up in a Southern Baptist Church along the Gulf Coast in Texas. It was a suburban church nowhere near a bus line, protected as it were from most demographics that didn’t have our common interests. Those interests were embodied in the Republican Party, then led by President Ronald Reagan. Reagan captured our attention with an anti-communist, anti-atheist message, that was easy to understand, emboldening the American people against a clear threat , that of nuclear war and a godless communist regime. Reagan rode that same horse his entire career, even as an actor while President of the Screen Actors Guild, taking stands against blacklisted actors and directors thought to be sympathizers with communist ideology. The Democrats, on the other hand, were squishy, hard to understand, and believed life was complicated. They sounded intellectual and suspicious.

We were told that if Democrats were given power we would certainly be destroyed by nuclear weaponry, indefensible by our weak military. We were told that, if a Democrat lived in the white house, we would become a socialist nation and you would not be able to choose your own profession, drive a car that you wanted or attend a school of your preference. The government would make those decisions for you, we were told. We were taught all sorts of terrible things about the Democrats. We were told if a Democrat ever came to power the government would launch legislation that would mandate ten-percent of all public-school teachers be homosexuals. But when a Democrat came to power, none of that happened. Instead, the average family’s base-earning went up by $7,500 per year and we operated under a balanced budget. And we didn’t go to war against an enemy we couldn’t exactly find and certainly didn’t understand.

Our theology insinuated that shortly after original sin, once Adam and Eve at the apple, they registered as Democrats and went on with their lives, trying to create large governments that would enable lazy people through expensive social programs. We believed we were right and they were wrong, our ideas were Biblical and their ideas were pagan. And we did not know, exactly, who “they” were. Our church wasn’t on a bus line, and our church programs catered to a slim demographic, and so “they” didn’t come to our church. We were all of the same race, the same theological disposition. Our conservative, moral ethos transcended politics.......

We didn’t like Bill Clinton. We listened to Rush Limbaugh, who told us not to think, that he would think for us, and so we bitterly groused against large government and our supposedly growing welfare state. He was a pro-choice candidate with a feminist wife who belittled women who only wanted to “stay home and make cookies.” Those were our women, we thought. And they made very good cookies........

.....I was shocked to find out abortion had decreased by 18% under President Clinton, and another 8% under George W. Bush (a significant slowing) and the pro-life lobby had largely ignored the economic factors that contribute to unwanted pregnancy. Bill Clinton won me over, in part for the unbelievably harsh things my Christian friends would say about him after the Monica Lewinsky scandal (and in part because the original investigation that unearthed the Lewinsky case found the President innocent of all white-water charges), but mostly because he spent the last year of his Presidency traveling to the most poor regions of America apologizing for his failure as President to help those he referred to as “the least of these.” ......

Having met the enemy, I discovered the enemy wasn’t who I thought they were. They were flawed, even as we were flawed, but they were no less patriotic, and no less good. And what’s more, they weren’t out to get us like my conservative friends had told me.....

Since then, I’ve received more than my share of e-mails containing the most absurd lies. Barack Obama is a Marxist, a terrorist who trained with Al-Qaida, that he has a pet dragon he flies on nights when there is a full moon and that if we vote for him all the computers will stop working at midnight on new years eve. I wondered how simple a person would have to be to believe such lies.

I voted for Barack Obama (we vote early in Oregon) because I think he is right on healthcare (his plan will allow 27 million more Americans, including young, pregnant mothers to be cared for) and he is right on responsible fatherhood. I voted for Barack Obama because he will keep George W. Bush’ Faith-based Partnerships Program in play, only increasing it’s funding. I voted for Barack Obama because he has the respect of world leaders, which will be necessary to deliberate an American agenda around the world, and I voted for Barack Obama because he had the judgment to oppose the war in Iraq. I’ve taken some blows from the conservative right on my stance, but, even in public debate against McCain representatives, have not been deterred. I will not be guilted, shamed or controlled. I am not going to vote for one candidate because I have been made to fear the other. I support Barack Obama because he has beat back the dark hour of cynicism and irrational fear, and provided hope to a country closing in on itself. I believe there are great days ahead."

I hope this can bring comfort to those who voted one way but saw things turn out a very different way...and mostly I hope it can bring unity to Christian Americans who can have a tendency to be quite vicious with one another, missing the boat on the greatest commandment..

'Love the Lord your God with all Your heart....and Love your neighbour as yourself.'