Monday, October 29, 2012

Political Pressure

Every four years we go through a Presidential election, and I've noticed that my thoughts are pretty consistent. This is my only post on the volatile area of politics, but I wanted to share.

Observations during Presidential elections:

  • Campaigns are a popularity contest.
  • The economy is a huge factor, but in my experience, no one person knows how to and can correct the economy; other factors come in to play besides head knowledge.
  • Voting Biblically should not only be about gay rights and abortion.
  • Democrats are bad; Republicans are good -  but we'll take a Mormon. Actually we don't care about your personal faith, or do we?
  • People select a candidate for the most inane reasons.


Timeline of my political consciousness:

President
Party
Term
My Age
Jimmy Carter
(D)
1977-1981
11
Ronald Reagan
(R)
1981-1989
15
George H.W. Bush
(R)
1989-1993
23
Bill Clinton
(D)
1993-2001
31
George Bush
(R)
2001-2008
39
Barack Obama
(D)
2008-
42


Based on the above table, I can make the following observations
  • Prior to age 23, I paid no real attention to politics. However I got married at 22, and during those first few years really started to read and form my own views more.
  • By age 31, I had three children and we were able to buy a house. At this point I was solidly middle class. In terms of the economy, I felt I could afford my lifestyle though we always lived below our means.  More importantly we were able to provide for our children. On a broader scale, this was a boom time for me in terms of job and career. There were many opportunities available and I pursued many of them.I remember the early 90s where everyone received calls from headhunters on a regular basis especially if you were in the IT industry. Jobs were a dime a dozen and the concept of longevity at a job went out the window.  The next offer was always better.
  • By age 39, I found myself with baby #4. Also, we had taken some hits on the job market and jobs were more scarce. It required more creativity and networking to land a comparable position.
  • By age 42, I was on the west coast away from close friends and family. My husband and I learned to rely on each other a whole lot more. I remember the doomsday news signalling that we were in a recession; it never spiraled in to a depression but personal depression was real for many as they were no jobs. I remember feeling the sting of no jobs. Then Obama got elected and there was a wave of hope in the air. The day of the inauguration  we stayed home (well I had no job) and watched the festivities on TV.

And here we are.


  • Your faith alone does not make you a good politician.
  • Just using my life as an example, many people came of age the same time I did. We are considered Generation X because we were born during the years from 1965 to 1981. According to demographers Bill Strauss and Neil Howe, there are approximately 88.5 million Gen Xers in the U.S. today. (wikipedia.com). This number would explain why it seems that so many know so much about politics today - there's a lot of us.
  • The Bible does not tell us how to vote in terms of party. I don't think any party has a stake on Christian views, nor do I think your views on homosexuality and abortion alone, determine your Christianity.
  • Christians are called to be in the world not of the world.
  • Ultimately if you are a Christian, your allegiance is not to a party but to God.
  • I think this sums it up a whole lot better than I ever could - Ten Commandments of Talking Politics



When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. Proverbs 29:2

Galatians5:13-26 (NKJV)

Do you feel misunderstood because of your political views? Can you tell if a person is a Christian by their stance on political topics, by charitable giving, by the way they speak, by the size of their household? Do you feel pressured to vote a certain way?



5 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this post. I agree that Christians should be concerned with more than just two issues.

    My dad was in the military and so political awareness came a little earlier for me. I remember the Nixon trials. My dad was so upset by the whole thing. Nixon's signature is on his discharge papers.

    The link to the 10 commandments is great. It was written by a fellow missionary who is serving in Ukraine! He posted the link on Facebook this morning so I was so surprised to see it here!

    Blessings to you,
    Alida

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    1. I saw this on FB this morning posted by you - and I thought it fit perfectly with what was on my mind.
      thanks for reading and commenting.

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  2. I really enjoyed reading this and reading the link you provided. Kinda wish I saw it before I posted my own, haha.

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    Replies
    1. i thought you did an excellent job....sometimes in blog world i dont really want to share too much of myself, but for posts like this you have to.

      Delete
  3. The more I read, the more I fell deep into it.
    Resumeyard

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