January 20,2009, President Barack Obama, Politics and God
by Dan
The day started for me at 4am. I couldn’t sleep any more. I got up and went down to the main desk at the hotel. The front desk clerk and I chatted about our new president as the first morning papers arrived. I wanted to make sure that breakfast would be on track for my group, as we would leave the hotel at 6am. It was 17 degrees outside.
6:27am. Our bus had dropped us off; we had walked a couple blocks and we were now in “place” on the National Mall. This is the spot we would be at until about 1:15pm when the ceremony was over. (We were right in the middle of the Mall between the Natural History Museum and the Smithsonian Castle)
The special day for our familyThis was the seventh Inauguration day I have been in Washington and the third time that Sunny and some of the kids have been there with me. However, our family Inaugural history goes back even further. As a child Sunny and her family had attended Carter’s Inauguration in 1977, and on January 20, 1965, on President Johnson’s Inauguration day, Sunny was born in Washington, D.C. So as you can see, Inauguration days are special for our family.
I had told our children that we were going regardless who won the election. I volunteered to be there in an official capacity for my company (which I ended up doing) or to come simply as a family.
The man and his politicsWe were very involved in the campaign and disappointed with the outcome, but I was still excited to be there. President Barack Obama has an interesting life story and his rise to national power has been a phenomenon to watch. He was considered to be the most liberal Senator in the US Senate according to the National Journal. His lack of experience and wrong view on Iraq were of great concern to me. I wrote about them as significant reasons why I believed he was the wrong choice:
For instance, He campaigned in 2007 saying the U.S. should be out of Iraq by March 31, 2008. (his original time table) (fact check this as you can see how catastrophic that would have been) He then changed his timetable numerous times to the 19-month timetable recently announced. If the US would have been out 3/31/08, (A time the surge was beginning to work) it would have seen the death of countless thousands of additional US soldiers and Iraq would have ended up in a civil war emboldening terrorists worldwide. As it is, our president never explained he has been consistently wrong on Iraq policy. This is just one of hundreds of examples of why I had campaigned to see the opposite result.
Our first African American PresidentI am proud that our nation finally has an African American president. I think that is a good thing. I also think that it is good for the world to see America have an African American President. At other Inaugurations, I saw political operatives who had flown or driven to town to enjoy the special day. This was true whether it was a Democratic or Republican who had come to office. While that was certainly true again this time around, this inauguration was also something I would not have fully grasped had I not been there. I saw African Americans from all walks of life in Washington on that special day, to celebrate. From the Grandma walking down the street with her family at 6:15am, to little ones following Moms and Dads, I noted that it was the most African Americans I had ever seen at an Inauguration.
When I saw television interviews of African Americans around the country, those interviewed weren’t just saying I am happy Senator Obama won, but they were saying things like, “now I have hope” or "now I feel affirmed.” His Inauguration certainly touched a chord that was long overdue in our culture.
How I wish racism was a thing of the past, but it is not. I do think the election of our first African American president is another step in the progression of freedom of in land. And that is something that we can all celebrate.
At the Inauguration, a “revelation”While at the Inauguration and in the days following, I had time to search my own heart of hearts. Would I support him? Would I oppose this man? If so, how? As a Christian, I had already been praying for him for a long time. I would definitely continue to do that. I came to the conviction that I had to be who God made me to be. To live out my convictions. In a respectful and God honoring way. Simply put I had to be me. I realized that President Barrack Obama wasn’t about to change his convictions, neither am I.
Recent history and God, are we missing something? Let’s take a quick run through recent history. President Reagan (the greatest President in my lifetime) led America to a “dividend” of freedom around the world. God, working through President Reagan, and behind the scenes through other wise world leaders including Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul, the world saw the demise of the evil empire (The USSR). With that demise brought tremendous political freedoms to the East, and the economic expansion of the 1990’s for the West.
When President Clinton left office in 2000, he left an America in stronger financial footing but one that had failed to pay attention to growing threats around the world. In 2000, we saw a contentious election not resolved until Dec 13th. On Sept 11, 2001 we saw the great tragedy of the attacks of the Al Qaeda network and the death of just under 3,000 people. This attack damaged the headquarters of our military while spreading fear across our land. It had been 60 years since America had experienced such a devastating attack.
We then saw the beginning of the war on terror in Afghanistan (2001) and in Iraq (2003). Hurricane Katrina struck (2005) and caused the death of roughly 2000 people and destroyed large parts of one of America’s cities. The American economy faltered (2008) and took a severe nose dive that ignited a worldwide economic decline. Other significant devastating events also affected our nation.
In ancient times, when terrible events happened people turned to God to beg for his forgiveness. They fasted, they prayed ---They sought to determine where they went wrong and to plead for God’s divine mercy. A thinking mind must wonder, should we not bend our knees before the Almighty God of the Universe seeking his aid to our land.
Wars and catastrophes happen. World history if full of them. Is there a message we are somehow not heeding?
Where do we go from here?President Barrack Obama is not the answer – no man is. Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, let me throw some ideas for your consideration:
(1) We need God. We need to look to Him, we need to rely on Him. We need to heed the ancient words of 2 Chronicles 7: 14, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
(2) We should look to God’s answers for our current national crisis. This is both individually and nationally. Things like getting out of debt, helping those in need, and looking for God’s guidance in the scriptures, through answers to prayer, and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
(3) We should pray for our president. We should pray for God to direct him and guide him. We should pray for Michelle and Sasha and Malia. And we should also pray for all who lead our land—senators, congressmen, governors, local leaders, etc.
(4) We should seek opportunities to be politically active. Let us look for opportunities to offer conservative answers to new and pressing needs. The ideas of limited government, personal responsibility, protecting human life, the legitimate use of force, etc will likely be overlooked by our president. We need to make a case for them to a new generation that is confused by the rhetoric and disappointed with real failures that happened on the watch of some Republican leaders.
Smiles!
The proud parents
The parents trying to pretend they are sad about the whole thing
The happy siblings of the graduate
Next we ventured over to Natural Chimneys, a local wonder. We fooled around there for awhile until we were all starving and drove through the gorgeous Shenandoah Valley over to Bridgewater for a lovely Italian meal together.
Considering our 4 a.m. departure, Starbucks was a necessity. Call me an addict.
Panther Stadium. ANTICIPATION!!! Am I the only one who thinks that football stadiums are breathtakingly beautiful?? (Time check: 10 a.m. Only three hourse until kick-off!)
First glimpse of the field! (Time check: 11 a.m. Just two hours until the game commences...)
And that is...PATRICK WHITE!!!!!!! Yeah! (Time check: 11:30 a.m. Game time is getting close...woo!)
Noel Devine + Patrick White. Dynamite. (On a side note...how great of a name is Noel Devine?!)
1 p.m...and the game begins!
All of us after the game. HAPPINESS! Final score: 31, 30...WVU :)
#5! Pat White, we're going to miss you.
Headed home. Me and the kid brother.