Anyone who knows me well knows I have strong political views, but I decided long ago not to make this blog political because I have found that, believe it or not, not everyone I know, love, and associate with has the same politics I do. Yes, I am naive, but I expected at least those who seemed to share my religious views would be pretty much in line with where I stand politically, but my eyes have been opened to the unfortunate falsehood of that belief. And yes, I do say unfortunate -- you can take issue with me for that if you need to, but the Gospel is what it is, and Christianity is what it is, and you can't believe one thing on Sunday and something else the rest of the week.
Anyway, I don't want to start off making anyone mad. I just want to say that even though I have tried to avoid the possibility of offending anyone by spouting my beliefs, I'm not going to do that anymore. I respect without wavering the rights of all people to disagree and to hold different beliefs, and I don't try to push my feelings on anyone. But what I will no longer do is avoid voicing them so I don't rub anyone the wrong way. I have found that those who disagree with me have no qualms about voicing their beliefs, and they couldn't care less about how they rub me. And they do rub . . . my hide is completely chapped.
I've been reading a really good book called, "Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto," by Mark Levin. I would recommend it to everyone, no matter your politics. The problem with this country is that people are getting their facts from Oprah Winfrey, Katie Couric, and David Letterman, all of whom are complete idiots, at least politically. Sorry if you like them. The average person gets his news from absolutely biased liberal organizations and from complete zealots at The New York Times. Check out Levin's book for some actual facts.
America is a wonderful country. We have a rich, incredible history. I believe this country was chosen by our Heavenly Father to be a blessed nation, to be the location of the restoration of His Gospel. I know there have been mistakes made in our history -- the country is run by human beings. But I have had about all I can take of our great land being hated and disrespected by ingrates without (who have more than benefitted from our generosity) and betrayed by enemies within (who have no idea how lucky they are). I'm sick to death of our President (and boy do I hate calling him that) touring the world apologizing for our faults and shortcomings. I can't abide him calling us a Muslim nation but not a Christian nation.
I keep reading all these articles and hearing conservatives talk about what they need to do to find the success that has been eluding them. For years now things have gone from bad to worse for elected officials in the Republican Party, and analysts are saying they need to do this and change this and say this if they want to start winning elections again. It seems to me that the problem is not only with the party -- don't get me wrong, they do have major problems and need to change they way they do things. But I think what it really boils down to is that the people in this country are becoming more and more liberal . . . no, it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. It doesn't matter what conservatives say or do if what the voters of this country want is gay marriage and late-term abortion-on-demand. If they want more welfare and more handouts and bigger government. And I think that's what they want, more and more.
It saddens me to reflect on the state of the people in America, in the world, really. These are my brothers and sisters, who have come so far away from God and have forgotten Him. People are so arrogant and spoiled. The sense of entitlement that prevails among so many people is sickening to me. What happened to self-reliance? What happened to taking care of yourself?
The hardest part for me to accept is that so many people around me, good people who I love and who seem to want to do what's right, are being sucked in by this new trend of liberalism. It's so hip now to be liberal in your political views, even among those who should know better. And I know I am on thin ice saying that one "should know better" than to be liberal, but my politics are a reflection of what I am taught at Church. I haven't been mesmerized by the Obama machine or gotten on the hope and change and whatever bandwagon. So many good people were so eager to elect our first black President that they didn't bother to check out anything else about him. I couldn't care less what color the President's skin is -- what matters to me is whether he or she upholds my values and leads this great nation toward prosperity and liberty.
I was shocked during last year's election to find out how many of my good friends were so conflicted and so confused as they tried to decide who to vote for. This floored me. (I certainly didn't love John McCain, but sometimes it's about what you're voting against.) It seemed obvious that good, Christian people would never vote for the liberal -- the extremely liberal -- Barack Obama. But boy was I wrong. I had several conversations with people where I ended up pointing out that, hey, he is pro-choice, and my friend would respond, "Oh yeah. I hadn't thought about that." Come on. Really? Were that many people just so caught up in his smooth-talking, teleprompted campaign speeches that they failed to see what he is really about?
And boy are we seeing it now. The problem again, though, is that no one's even paying attention. Our great nation is suffering, and we are sliding quickly away from the principles upon which America was founded. But no one is noticing. How can they, when they are watching Keith Olberman and Bill Maher and all the other America-haters, who are practically wetting their pants with excitement over our impending demise?
Like I said, my politics are based on my core beliefs. You cannot separate politics from religion -- sure, you can separate Church and State, but if you think you can have a set of religious beliefs that differs from your politics, you're fooling yourself. The two are inseparable.
I believe marriage is ordained of God to be between a man and a woman. Does that mean I am not tolerant of gay people? No, it doesn't mean that at all. I respect their rights to live and be happy and do what they want -- but not to enter this sacred order of marriage.
I believe in the sanctity of human life and that life begins at conception. No wiggle room. It's not your choice -- you already made your choice. It's not your body -- it's someone else's body. Heavenly Father blessed us with sacred procreative powers that are not to be abused or taken lightly, and the ability to bring children into this world is the greatest blessing we have.
I believe in self-reliance. I was given the ability to work and to improve and to take care of myself. As long as I am physically able to do that, the government doesn't owe me anything other than protection. Welfare and doles are demeaning and make us slothful and dependent. That is not fulfilling the measure of our creation.
I believe in obeying the law. I believe in the right to bear arms. I believe in the purity of the Constitution as an inspired document. I believe in the vision of our Founding Fathers who sought God's help and wisdom in their decisions, and I appreciate those men and women who lead our country while acknowledging the supreme power of a Being greater than themselves.
The few people in this country who still seem to espouse genuinely conservative principles are asleep for the most part. There are a few voices crying out, but for all intents and purposes, we are asleep. Our great country is being overtaken by those who are not afraid to speak their minds and who don't worry about stepping on our toes. Barack Obama supports sexual and homosexual education that begins in kindergarten. He supports late, late-term abortion and does not support giving healthcare to babies born as a result of botched abortions. Those things make me mad. They make me feel a desire to do something, and if nothing else to stop keeping quiet. I'm offended, and I'm no longer worried about offending others.
27 comments:
I like it already. We have so many issues with Obama. You voiced quite a few already. After the bar, I will get more into this dialogue. For now, I will read and enjoy. Thanks for expressing.
Late term abortion makes me sick, as does torture. Chenney can call is "advanced interrogation techniques" all he wants, he can even spout out how well it *works*, but it is still torture. Written into our constitution is the right to a speedy trial and the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. I firmly believe that the constitution is for all people--not just those on American soil. Such is written in our very own Doctrine and Covenants. Now, I am no Obama lover, but at least with all his faults, he is making the effort to end torture and wrongful detaining of people. It is more than McCain promised to do. Protecting the sanctity of life includes protecting the lives of the born as well as unborn.
I'm glad you started this blog. I look forward to future entries.
becca, i agree to you about torture to an extent. i certainly don't advocate it as a general practice. however, i don't think that the Consititution extends rights to people who wish to do America harm -- to take American lives. it doesn't bother me terribly that someone might be waterboarded if it prevents something like 9/11. anyway, obama may be making inroads with that, but it seems the least of our worries as our country heads toward socialism.
thanks for your comment! i'm excited about this chance to discuss all kinds of things.
hey jules i am so excited for you to write this blog! i enjoyed reading it this morning. we share the same feelings with everything that you shared! keep up the good work and bless your heart for this. it's nice to read something other than menu plans for the week and playdates. it's also nice that you are being true and real. love you!
I really agree with everything that you have written about. Thank you for being true to yourself and your nation. I am so glad to read something that talks about real life instead of menu planning and play groups. Keep sharing your views no matter what others may say or think. Love you!
AMEN SISTA! Although, you and I have talked about this already, and both know we are on the exact same page! So, hey, you're not the only one out there. Do you ever listen to 570 KNRS AM Family Values. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this station. I'm getting quite addicted to Rush Limbaugh, who knows if I spelled it correctly. They played THE BEST song ever to the tune of Candyman. It was an Obama slam, it was GREAT!
It makes me nervous to know our country is being lead by an
I.D.10.T as N and I say!
Amen. So help us God
ahhh...refreshing. Thanks for telling it like it is. I studied Sociology at BYU and my favorite social theory was called the Moral Proximity theory--it was written by a man named Levinas. He wrote that for the mere fact that a human being is alive equates that we have a moral responsiblity to that person to make sure they are given basic human kindness, compassion etc. (Levinas was a survivor of the Holocaust). In terms of Pres. Obama anyone who believes in and gives money to agencies who perform abortions but flips the coin and says we must interrogate enemy captives with civility (which I agree is how we should do it) is still WRONG in my book and I don't trust them (Obama) farther than I can throw them. You can NOT serve two masters--each human life is worth civility, respect, compassion--especially the most innocent.
Can't wait to read more posts!!!
I would disagree you are a great writer! We are probably opposites in our political beliefs. But mine have never contradicted my testimony to live a Christlike life to the best of my ability.
There has never been a President that I could have said I agree with 100% but much good can come from each of them.
p.s. I am not as liberal as you probably think I am just passionate about some.:)
elizabeth, i appreciate so much your honesty and have "enjoyed" sort of debating with you on jessica's fb page (hahaha -- she probably wishes we would 'take it outside.')
i agree that no president is perfect and i too have never agreed with one completely -- probably because the president is often at the mercy of congress anyway, and nothing much seems to ever get done. some have been much worse than others, and as you mentioned before, only time will tell.
and that's ok with me that our politics are opposite -- i still think and always have thought that you are great and wonderful and kind and i hope we're always friends. i'm looking forward to this blog as a place to exchange ideas and discuss things that really are important, and i hope you'll feel free to express yourself here whenever you wish.
thanks for your comments!
Your too sweet Julie!
Re: "it doesn't bother me terribly that someone might be waterboarded if it prevents something like 9/11"
The problem is that they are waterboarding and using other torture methods on people on the slightest suspicion, without any real evidence that they are affiliated with terrorists. One man who was taken to Gitmo and later released I heard speak of his experience. He was just picked up off the street by the little shop he ran. He wasn't doing anything wrong (or selling anything wrong), but he was made to suffer months of abuse and torture without any charge ever coming against him. When he was released, he had lost his health, his home, and his business, and his family was starving. His is not an isolated case.
Are you really for waterboarding people like that? Oh, sure, we MAY actually find a terrorist who already has some big plot up his sleeves, but how many innocents are we torturing in the process? How much false information are we getting from psychologically damaged people who invent something because that is the only way the torture will stop? Torture me long enough and who knows what I might say.
Look at it this way, there are a lot of murderers walking around Kansas City. Should we do a sweep of the streets and arrest everyone who looks suspicious to us and torture them until they tell us who (not "if")they are going to kill and when? (These are American lives we are talking about. Who knows? We might actually save someone. But at what cost?) If you are uncomfortable with that idea, then you should be uncomfortable about us carrying out the plan in other countries or territories. What has been going on in Gitmo is inexcusably and horrifically wrong. That is not how we treat our Spirit brothers and sisters, no matter how terrible they are (or we think they are).
I stand by my position that the Constitution is for all people, as stated in the Doctrine and Covenants, until the Lord tells us otherwise.
p.s. I love that quote from Bradley on the sidebar. :)
p.s.s. Thank you for humoring me in my opinions. It is nice to be able to have a little healthy debate. :)
becca, i had to double check and make sure i hadn't accidentally written that i was in favor of waterboarding the innocent....i hope that it would be obvious that i am not a hateful person who would like to see an innocent person's life ruined, like in the example you gave.
i can't claim to know enough about the happenings at gitmo (or to believe what i hear reported by the media) to speak about specific cases. however, in general, i will say again -- i am not in favor of torture as a general practice. but when we have people who are genuine suspects, who have been part of groups responsible for terrorist activity, i have no problem with the military using waterboarding to get information out of them that will save lives.
i still think that murderous behavior forfeits certain Constitutional rights....sort of like when you kill someone you forfeit the right to not be in prison. (i would be interested in the references in the Doctrine and Covenants you mentioned.)
thanks for posting.
by the way -- everything i have been able to find says that only 3 people have been waterboarded since like 2003, so it doesn't seem likely that they are going around waterboarding tons of innocent people. if you've seen another source, let me know. i'd like to read it.
and, like i said before -- this subject of torture, although important, is far from the most important issue we are facing right now. that's just my opinion.
Then I would say you should petition for a constitutional amendment to allow waterboarding dangerous suspects. If it is not a practice acceptable on American soil, Americans shouldn't be doing it--period. And remember, these are only suspects being waterboarded. They haven't been tried and found guilty in due process of any terrorist plot. I'm glad to know that your information says there has only been 3 cases of waterboarding since 2003, but I still think it is wrong. I cannot see God's hand in it. Additionally, there has been a whole lot more documented abuse going on at Gitmo than waterboarding, pictures of beatings and such. If I come across sources, I'll let you know.
The Doctrine and Covenants references are 98:5 and 101:77. :)
(another coming coming)
I agree that there are other major issues we are facing. Socialism scares me too. I hate the debt that we are in and that there doesn't seem an end to all this "bailout" spending that doesn't seem to be helping anyway, or if there have been any benefits (debatable), they definitely do not out way the costs. (I recently signed a petition against this and other issues; I'll send you the link.) I was merely pointing out one thing that I think Obama is doing right, because I believe if we are going to discuss a person's faults, we should at least try to find some good in him as well. I would hope my opponents would do the same for me. I oppose torture and the more I learn about the war in Iraq the more I am convinced that our declaring war was the most non-conservative move we could have made. I wasn't always against the war, but over the years as I've pondered what the scriptures teach us about war and justification for it, and as more information on the war comes to light, I cannot justify it. (Afghanistan is a different issue entirely. I do believe we have right to be there.) I'm glad this administration is trying to fix the mess the previous administration has made, though I am not at all happy with how the current administration is handling things at home.
You wrote that you cannot separate politics and religion. I agree. But I think it is important that we look at ALL the issues and each candidate’s qualifications, not just whether someone is pro-choice or not. After all, I hold very dear all those pro-life, conservative family values, but I would make a horrible president. The fact that I did not say, "Oh, Obama is pro-choice, so duh, I should vote for McCain" does not mean I am not trying my hardest to live my religion to the best of my ability every day of my life and in all circumstances. I struggled with who to vote for because torture and the war in Iraq also go against my religious beliefs and McCain was very war-hungry and wishy-washy on his stance on torture and Gitmo. (I realize I place higher emphasis on these issues than you.) I had to research all the issues and the candidate’s qualifications, weigh them, decide where I stood in issues that Church has not taken an official stance, and vote for the man I thought best represented my believes, the whole time praying and doing my best to follow the guidance given in the letter from the First Presidency. It didn’t help either that much of the information on the candidates and their stances on issues conflicted (e.g., what you sent me on Obama raising middle class taxes conflicted with what Obama said in his speeches and what I read in the newspaper; this required more research and weighing of validity of sources). And then there was the fact that the candidates kept changing their position on things. (Frustrating? Very.)
Anyway, I think I’m finished now. Wow, it felt good to get that out. Thank you, Julie. I love you. You are amazing.
The petition I mentioned: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/8/an-open-letter-to-our-nations-leadership
You can read the letter the petition was taken from here: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/26742/?ck=1
since the Church has made statements on abortion and gay marriage, that made the choice pretty darn simple for me.
Yes, but the president has very little power over abortion and gay marriage. Just look at how little Bush was able to accomplish in those areas. On the other hand, the president has a heck of a lot of power over war and the economy. Those issues cannot be ignored. (Do not take this as a statement that I support Obama; I merely support researching and weighing all the issues and not merely voting for someone because of their party.) Now, when it comes to electing people to congress, that is a completely different issue. I don't think I good in good conscience vote anyone into congress who is pro-choice.
the president doesn't have much power on ANY issue unless he has congress on his side -- whether it's abortion or war. it's all the same. george w. didn't succeed in these areas because of the democratic congress, just like b. hussein wouldn't succeed with his socialist agenda if he had a republican congress. that being the case, i could never bring myself to cast a vote for any candidate, in any office, who supports abortion. never. period. it really is a "duh" moment for me.
Ok seriously. I just read the post on your life views blog and there are so many things i want to say. First I will say that I obviously agree with all things said a hundred percent. And you know why? Because I am a faithful Latter Day Saint who lives the gospel that I have been taught!! Its just that simple. You said it all when you make the point that you have to live it to truly believe it. I do not think it is possible to be Liberal and Christian. That would be like me saying that I am fat and skinny. You cant be BOTH!! Am I right? And bravo to you for just saying what needs to be said. I'm glad you no longer worry about offending. You are not spewing hate in any way. I've known you two decades and I know that you are kind and loving and I am just proud to know you. Well done!! Cant wait to keep checking in.
Love you!--Ami
I applaud you for being true to your convictions, Jules.
Would you PLEASE take it outside! :)
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