This is not news. The president's approval rating is low. The president is doing stupid things. Scandalous things. Things that many wonder how in the world he gets away with. There is no shortage of websites that give lists of Obama scandals. I even did it. So, what seems to be the problem?
If you think that I just missed the point, you would be mistaken. President Obama is not the problem. President Obama is the symptom. Why? Because as bad as he may be, the problem is actually elsewhere. You see, in 2012, after 4 years of President Obama, more than 50% of American voters voted to reelect him. These didn't have the excuse of "We didn't know what he would do." He was doing it. Thus, the popular vote was in favor of the president's policies. What seems to be the problem? Not the president; the people.
We are a republic. A republic is a political system where the people elect representatives. Get that? Representatives. People that ... represent us. We vote into office people we believe will best represent our concerns. That's the way it works. So while we may complain about the president we have, he is not the problem. He is simply a representation of the people who elected him. When a majority of people share his views, the problem is clearly not him. We have met the enemy and he is us.
America is in trouble. We're in economic trouble and moral trouble. We're fighting in places we're not wanted. We're not wanted in most places. We have a shortage of energy, a shortage of justice, a shortage of compassion, a shortage of common sense. "The right man" or "better legislators" or even "a good judiciary" is not going to solve this problem. America needs Christ. Let's be careful about where we lay the blame and be sure to go about our assigned task of making disciples.
4 comments:
I have argued this many times, most recently in discussions regarding term limits, meant to deal with the problem of "career politicians", which also is really rooted in the quality and numbers of people who vote. Good people staying engaged and supporting good people for office will not result in "career politicians" every being seen as a problem. This is because, as long as a good person is willing to serve, good people will prefer to vote to retain him until he no longer seems good enough, or a better choice becomes available.
We would say that we need Christ, and that we need leaders and elected officials who feel the same. I agree of course. I'll settle for reasonable facsimiles at this point, but we need a lot more people to pay attention and make that massive effort required to vote.
I always make your point by saying that if a tidal wave washed everyone of our politicians into eternity, within a few months we'd have their clones right back in office. Why? Well, you answered that question very well I think.
Here’s the problem: Jesus-is-the-Answer logic, when applied to US politics and legislation, works off the assumption that some level of theocracy in American government is both possible and desirable. In other words, if Jesus is the Answer for changing all these laws and enacting all these new ones and getting Christians in the right positions of political power to make godly and righteous decisions for our nation, then this is nothing other than the dream and the delusion of Christendom. It is the myth that America was at some point , and should be again, a Christian nation.
What if, instead, the dreaded “pluralistic society” is really the answer for the world today?
Now, I’m not advocating for separatism or agnosticism when it comes to US politics and legislation – not at all. And I’m not even saying that Christian ethics can’t inform how we vote, what programs we support and participate in, and, perhaps, even how we run for office. Instead, I’m saying that we must do all these things from an underlying belief that America is not, nor should be, nor ever shall be, a Christian nation.
It should not be a place where Christian privilege and theocratic superiority are sanctioned by the state. Thus, Christian ethics of peace, fairness, protection, and equity for those of all cultures, religions, genders, and ethnicities in a pluralistic society must be the driving force behind these choices. Not particular (and often debatable) Christian ethics of sexuality, sociology, belief, etc.
Perhaps you missed the point. I was not saying that we need a theocracy. I was saying that the government represents the people, so if there is a problem with government, there is a problem with the people it represents. Jesus isn't the answer to change the government. America (a nation) doesn't need Jesus. Americans (people) do.
My point was that the government isn't the problem. People need changed hearts and changed minds. Not a question of who's in power.
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