Today, when I posted a Facebook status that said I was "giddy," I had a friend ask me why. I responded by saying that it was all about our new president. I wrote, "Everytime I hear anything about what he's doing or thinking or deciding, I am overwhelmed with happiness for our country and our future. It is wonderful to have someone in office who holds values so similar to my own!" She responded: "I saw your post, and I would be interested in hearing what values he has that you share. People are on such opposite ends of the spectrum on this guy that I would be interested to hear your position." So I sat down and composed the following response, which I thought was blog-worthy. Feel free to comment...respectfully, or not at all. :-)
First and foremost, I respect most of all his committment to the Christian faith, but also his genuine respect for other faith traditions. We Christians tend to think that we have it right, that we have God figured out, and that non-Christians are in dire need of conversion to our way of seeing / thinking. While I do believe that Christianity is (for me) the clearest path towards what God intended for us, I also believe that God can and does work outside the bounds of Christianity, and can save whomever He so chooses. (That is very reformed, very Presbyterian...!) I also believe very firmly that salvation is first and foremost about God, not about us, and that it is not our place to judge. All of these things seem to be in line with what I have come to know about Obama, and it is these beliefs on which I stake my life, so this is very important to me.
I am ecstatic about all of the things he has done just the past few days. The closing of Guantanamo suggests to me that he respects the humanity of all of God's people, regardless of their sinful behavior. We should not be allowed to inflict any harm on foreign prisoners that is not allowed on our own military personnel during interrogation.
His committment to get us out of this war as fast as reasonably and responsibly possible thrills me. I have been against the war from the start (but I border on being pacifist...), and think it's about time we regain some of our international credibility by admitting that we've made countless mistakes in the Middle East and actually DOING something about correcting those mistakes.
The appointment of George Mitchell to be his Middle East envoy impresses me as well. Mitchell's record of pursuing peace in Northern Ireland with both patience and courage is impressive, as is his way of building trust of him among / between all parties, and then carrying that trust to the table for peace negoatiations. He has proven that he can negotiate talks between the most conflicted groups and find resolution. For the first time in years, I have hope for actually seeing the situation there get better over time rather than worse.
His support of same-sex relationships is in line with my own--in favor of civil unions and working towards (if you read between the lines of what he says) a time when gay marriages are legal, although we both agree that now is not that time. Also, his views on abortion and personal freedom are closer to mine. And yet his willingness to include those whose opinions differ from him, not only in his campaign and conversations, but in his inauguration ceremony, says that he is not only willing, but able, to reach across the lines of division that have so long stymied us from living into the real relationships and dialogue to which God calls us for healing and wholeness.
He seems to be in support of capital punishment, but only when tightly regulated and as a very last resort. I am totally opposed to capital punishment, so we differ on this, but at least he acknowledges that it actually does little to deter crime, and that it should only be used for the most heinous criminals.
His limitations on conflicting interests with his staff and lobbyist groups is long overdue with regard to the office of president, or any government official, in my opinion. Also, the salary cap of $100K that he has put on White House aides is long overdue as well.
Just as we teach our children to work through their problems using words and not violence, just as we teach our children to admit their mistakes, apologize, and do what they can to make it right, I think we should expect, indeed demand, the same behavior from our president. Just as we teach our children not to be greedy, to respect and care for each other no matter what differences we may have with those around us, I think we should expect, indeed demand, the same behavior from our president.
I was an Obama supporter from Day 1, and for the first time in my life, I actually gave money to political campaign and put a political candidate's sticker on my car. And even though Joel & I don't always agree on political candidates, he voted for Obama as well, believing the he was more in line with his own ideologies (especially fiscal responsibility) than Bush has been or McCain would be.
I know that no candidate is perfect, and I do not expect Obama to be the 21st century Messiah. There is only one Messiah, and it is on him that I ultimately lean, and it is his return that I ultimately await. But for the time being, while we wait for Lord's Day, I am thrilled to have someone like Barack Obama leading this country into the future.
2 comments:
My most liberal, feminist and inclusive friend: you called God 'He!" I caught you! Oh my. God! I won't tell your professors.
Yes, I did. I typically do consider the person to whom I am talking when I make the decision to use a pronoun (either masculine or feminine). The person to whom I wrote this would not be offended in the least by my using a male pronoun for God, and so I chose to do it. Had I been responding to another person, I might just have easily used a female pronoun, or worked very hard to avoid using a masculine one. But in this particluar case, I knew using "He" for God would be perfectly acceptable to this person, and out of respect for her, I stayed with the more familiar God-language.
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