Today I find myself wondering if the outcome of this election is perhaps a humbling visited upon the self-righteous religious conservatives that have tended to dominate the Republican party and continuously sway the party agenda and platform. Maybe this election finally hits home the point to religious conservatives that their staunch social stands and inflexibility are not the way forward? That is to say that there needs to be a distinction between holding a moral conviction and the infliction of those convictions upon others? This is fundamentally what “free will” is all about … We are here to make our own choices and those choices must be embraced, felt and wholly processed in both the heart and mind of the individual. Spiritual enlightenment and progression of the soul along its journey does not move forward as a result of coercion or fear. So while religious conservatives may feel that they are in the right and doing God’s will by continually pressing to force others to make the “right choices”, the Creator may be sending them a wake-up call to rethink what it truly means to do God’s will here on Earth. If we follow Jesus’s example, we as children of God … Christians … do not judge, do not condemn: we lead by example, not by condescending self-righteousness. We welcome the sinners. We love them unconditionally, one and all … We shelter them, feed, clothe and heal (inside and out) them and in doing so we open their hearts and minds to see that they are worthy of God’s love and that they can choose to make choices here on Earth that further His will and advance the spiritual evolution of their immortal souls. And yes, many Christians do much of the latter, but how many can honestly say that their help comes with unconditional love ...without conditon?
To that end, I would say that the time for Republican party to abandon their staunch stands on women’s reproductive health, and more specifically on abortion, has come. Yes, abortion is the taking of an innocent life and it is not the will of God, but if one truly believes in “life ever-lasting” … in the existence of an immortal soul … then they have to trust that these innocent souls are with God and He will decide when and if they will re-incarnate again. As Christians we can educate others and lead by our example, but the final choice on these issues has to be a personal choice, processed on an individual spiritual level. We interfere with God’s wisdom and plan for the progression immortal souls along the path of spiritual enlightenment when we force others to do the “right thing” with forced legalities. As Christians we can be “pro-life” in our beliefs and show our support for life (e.g., supporting adoption programs that offer support to expectant women and find homes for unwanted children) but we should not dictate or inflict these beliefs onto others. I know that this way of thinking will be a sore point for many “Christians”, but I strongly feel that if people would momentarily remove “religion” from the equation and pray/reflect upon this in their own heart and mind that they would then begin see the reason for our being here on Earth and the journey that we are each on, individually, on a higher spiritual level which to my way of thinking super cedes the ways of the world.
I'm not blaming the defeat of the opposition to "four more years of the same" --and likely worse with another full-blown recession looming in our immediate future-- in this election on Christians ... I'm just saying that perhaps, in light of this election's outcome, it is time to do some serious self-assessment as "Christians" and as "Republicans." Granted this election saw an unbelievably downright and dirty campaign on the Democratic side, the likes of which I think history will prove out that the American people have never before seen. This campaign has forever changed the face of politics in this country and not for the better. The outcome of this election will likely forever change the face of America as we once knew it, because we are no longer the "Land of the Free and the home of the Brave." With this election 2012, America has become the "Land with the illusion of 'free' and the home of the 'free-ride'." The problem with what 51% of Americans have voted for in this election is that ultimately there is no "FREE" ride. The free-ride that people think they want from government comes with conditons that will slowly, quietly and systematically whittle away so very many of our hard-won American freedoms (i.e., true free speech, personal health-care choices, religious freedoms). But what concerns me most about this election, and its final outcome, is the fact that the United States of America has now become a nation where honesty, integrity, hard work, truth-based fact and accountability no longer seem to matter and that saddens me deeply. To me this election rings with a newfound, dark and demoralizing truth: that not only are our American votes for sale, but our hard-won --by the sacrifices and lives of those brave Americans who came before us-- American way of life now seems to be for sale as well. Christian values do embody many of the latter noble principles--principles that have made America a great nation-- so in that respect Christians may just wind up being this country's saving grace. Bottom-line: I am not knocking Christians, I am simply wondering if this might be a good time to reassess how Christians approach others when it comes their personal beliefs and moral convictions.
The above being said, I would not want to be in B.O.'s shoes for anything right now. The progressive liberal agenda has been gifted an unwarranted and unprecedented second chance given the current state of the economy. They now have an additional four years to make their case and if they fail, the repercussions will be lasting, not to mention devastating. In fact, I would venture that these progressives would sooner sacrifice their “messiah” by having him die a martyr’s death –allegedly at the hands of the 'radical extreme', 'evil right' … thereby hammering yet another nail into the coffin of conservatism—before they will ever see their ideology outright fail.
P.S. And I know many “Christians” will reflexively counter with arguments lumping all life issues together into one. Arguing that if we do not impose legal repercussions on abortion, then why not remove penalties for murderers, rapists and child-abusers. Why? Because the former does not have immediate and far-reaching implications on the functioning of an ordered society. Because those living here in the world would be significantly hindered in their ability to grow and progress along a path of spiritual enlightenment if they perpetually lived in fear for their lives and the safety of their children, thereby limiting the progress they could make --spiritually speaking-- in their present life incarnations.
[ Have not had much sleep of late ... So I am writing and editing this in waves as time, clarity and energy permits and also as I receive feedback from family and friends ... some of whom seem to be taking my questions here as a personal attack on them, as Christians, and their entire way of life. At times like these I have to remember Bible passages where even Jesus often felt misunderstood by the people that were supposed to be his own.]
Think some
people misunderstand my suggestion here: I am not saying that religion should be disbanded
by any stretch of the imagination and I am not implying that religious conservatives should no longer participate in helping to shape the party agenda. Organized religion is not all bad. I am not
criticizing any Christians “for believing” or questioning their right to BELIEVE,
nor are most people who have a problem with organized religion. I am simply saying let
us reconsider how we, as Christians, embrace the world around us. I am saying
that maybe the way of God is true peace, love and understanding and not the
infliction of our beliefs onto those in the world around us --which IS the
problem that most people (and maybe even God?) have with organized religion.
That's all I'm saying. ... And someone else mentioned changing demographics (all comments via email). Yes, I do agree changing demographics is also an issue that needs to be addressed by the Republican party. Clearly the Democratic party has a better handle on demographics than the Republican party did (during the election)/does now. I have to wonder if the problem lies in the fact that many voters who might potentially vote with the Republican party --given the right candidate and platform-- now identify themselves as Independents and hence are not adequately accounted for or readily able to be identified?
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