Why I will vote Republican in this Age of Confusion

Not long ago, I asked online what the Democratic Party stood for—I had been reading a Hate Trump sort of post.  I got one vanilla reference to a third-party sight that at least mentioned some differences between the two parties, but I have yet to hear a Democrat articulate their objectives, save get elected and impeach Trump. 

I grit my teeth whenever I think about Americans of any party seeking to overthrow a legal election by circuitous and subversive means. There is a presidential election in 2 more years.  If you don’t like the president—even if you hate him—the Constitutional way to overthrow our Chief Executive is already in place in 2020.   I still ask for someone to state with clarity what the Democratic Party really wants for this nation.

Taking that into consideration, I thought I should hold myself to the same standard and enumerate what the Republican Party stands for.  This is my list, which is surely not comprehensive but at least hits 10+ main areas.  Some of these are less Republican Party goals as they are Donald Trump goals.  The latter are annotated below.

I will state in advance that I am not happy with the Republicans sticking to traditional values.  Too many have sold out, especially at the fiscal responsibility level.  At the national level, I still lean right of center on most issues, especially considering some of the anti-American rhetoric from the left, but I should be able to state why.

Here’s my list.

God is welcome

National Defense

Strict Construction of the Constitution

Value Individual Liberties provided in Bill of Rights

Value life from inception to death

Smaller Government

Fiscal Responsibility

Jobs back to America - Trump

Immigration Reform - Trump

Lower Taxes

Reasonable Health Care - Trump

American Uniqueness – Without the USA who will be a light unto the world?

Distinct Separation of Powers—Namely removing judges that usurp legislative and executive power

Civility and Statesmanship

Providing Opportunities for Success over Handouts

Free Markets over Socialism

A tide in the affairs of men

In Act IV, Scene 3 of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, there is a dialogue between Brutus and Cassius about whether to attack or defend.  The safe course is to defend and cause the enemy to expend his forces in greater number than the defender.

But the only chance of victory is to advance when everything is in place.  The only chance of achieving great things is not to hesitate when the time is right.  This did not work out for either of the two men conversing in the play or on the actual plains near Philippi.

Octavian, better known in the Christian world as Caesar Augustus, would be the ultimate winner of the 4 men contending to succeed Julius Caesar as Emperor of Rome.  But consider now the words of Brutus as penned by Shakespeare before the battle near Philippi.

Under your pardon. You must note beside,

That we have tried the utmost of our friends,

Our legions are brim-full, our cause is ripe.

The enemy increaseth every day.

We, at the height, are ready to decline.

There is a tide in the affairs of men,

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their life

Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves

Or lose our ventures.

The cause failed.  Antony and Octavian defeated Brutus and Cassius, then Octavian subsequently defeated Antony.  Causes fail, battles are lost, men die.

But how many have died never trying?  How many people go to their graves having never given a great cause a chance.

Today, we are on the verge of taking a chance.  We have a new president elect.  We have the current establishment pledged to a professional transition.  We have the best opportunity that this nation has had in many decades to bring back what I can only characterize as the pioneer spirit.

We as a nation once had a hardiness to us.  We expected struggles in our lives.  We sought to overcome them.  We moved west to conquer the wilderness.

Now so many seek to see what they can get for nothing.  They pour out vitriol online.  They demonize those who oppose them, which we understand somewhat in the middle of the fight; but now that this round is over, it is time to heal, support the victor for a time, and accomplish what can be done in a political system not designed for efficiency but to make difficult the accumulation of power in a single man or group.

But there is a tide in the affairs of men when things must be accomplished for inaction surrenders to mediocrity.

There is a tide in the affairs of men and high tide is almost here.  Our elected officials who have done little but demean the offices to which they were elected to serve the people, must set aside pettiness and do the work of a statesman.  They must serve those who sent them to represent us all.  They must reject personal interest and embrace the attitude of a servant.

There is a tide in the affairs of men.  Get the protests and bickering out of your system now.  Embrace that change has come.  Consider that most democracies do not survive beyond 200 years.  Understand that the republican nature of our democratic desires keeps us afloat beyond the historical model.  But know that our liberty and our hope diminish in continued acrimony. 

There is a tide in the affairs of men.  It is time to move beyond our state of divisiveness to a time of unity and action. 

To all who have been elected to serve, now is the time to truly serve your nation.  Put aside selfish differences and do what is best for America.  Your children’s children have placed their futures in your hands.

Be faithful to God and this fantastic idea that we know as America.  Do not hesitate to do the right things for this is the right time.

Democracies and Republics--what were we thinking?

God’s people asked God for a king.  The elders of Israel went to the prophet and demanded a king so they could be like the other nations.  God told the prophet what it it would cost them.  It was a very steep price that a king would exact from his people. 

The people wanted a king anyway.  God told the prophet, “Give them a king.”

I wonder if God laughed out loud when the peoples of the world wanted republics and democracies.  Sometimes it seems that we bit off more than we can chew in this whole business of self government.

Dear God,

Please have mercy upon us as we embark upon a year of presidential campaigning.  Please grant the parties and candidates some civility and cast out the demons of bitterness and acrimony.

Grant us the wisdom to turn off or shut down the bombardment of ads that are surely coming our way and read your holy word more and more in the year to come.

Please bless America and send your Spirit to guide us back to you!

Amen.

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. ² The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. ³ But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

⁴ So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.⁵ They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead^[b] us, such as all the other nations have.”

⁶ But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. ⁸ As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.⁹ Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

¹⁰ Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹ He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. ¹² Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. ¹⁶ Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle^[c] and donkeys he will take for his own use. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸ When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. ²⁰ Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

²¹ When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord.²² The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Samuel%208

The Day After

A hurricane and winter storm made things difficult in the northeast.

Some had to wait hours to vote.

Some hardly waited at all.

Some are celebrating victory.

Some are crying.

Some don’t care.

But once again, the United States of America has peacefully elected a president, vice president, and a legislature.  That’s an accomplishment even if your candidate or party didn’t win.

There are no troops or tanks in the streets.  There was no blood shed. 

There was a participatory process that produced a government.

Whether you like the outcome or not, count your blessings that we live in a nation that believes power emanates from the people.

This is a bigger blessing than most realize.

Pray for your leaders.

Pray for those service men and women who offer their lives for our liberty.

Pray for God’s continued blessings on our nation.

Amen.

More on civil government

Recalled to active duty.

On November 7^th, 2012, 4 men need to be recalled to active duty for 60 days of government service.

They are Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush.  Each may bring 3 assistants with them.

Why would we do this?

To build an independent task force to prioritize and strategize on how to address this nation’s problems and how to realize the opportunities before us.

Why recall presidents?  Why not experts?  Why not technical experts?

Because these 4 men have all been the chief executive and know that no campaign agenda will survive fully once in office.  These 4 men have no further political ambition.  We have seen former presidents work together to produce excellent results before.  The burden of the office is lifted.  There is no election at stake.  There is a lot of hard earned experience that could be leveraged in the name of statesmanship and patriotism instead of party loyalty.

Why 60 days?

So the plan may be before the president and congress by the time everyone is ready to get to work in 2013.  There will be some familiar faces and some new ones in our government.  We won’t have the scorecard completed until the election is over, but we could have a bi-partisan plan in place by the time they all took office for the term to which they were elected.

Politically and philosophically, this country is split in half—or so nearly so that compromise, tradeoffs, and perhaps even a little synergy and creativity will be needed to get anything of substance done in the New Year.  This is not such a bad thing.  Our representatives will have to talk to and listen to each other to get anything done.

Would it not be easier if they were handed a blueprint for the first steps?

Would it not be more expeditious if 4 men of presidential stature proposed the give-and-take in advance?

Would 4 men who held the oval office not be the best equipped to move beyond politics to solutions?

There have been bipartisan commissions before.  Sometimes their recommendations were followed and sometimes their efforts were squandered.  Sometimes the bipartisan group could not produce anything of substance.

But would 4 former chief executives settle for anything less than something workable—perhaps even something excellent?  Would they not work together to produce the best possible strategy for a nation struggling to maintain both liberty and an economy?  Would they not be the wisest counsel available for addressing our current wars and those conflicts which seem to be looming on the horizon?  Could they not come up with the best approach for job creation and deficit reduction?

I say, let’s recall these 4 men to active duty for 60 days and have them work out the basics before the next terms begin.

Let’s jumpstart the cooperative process in our government before the new government convenes.  Let’s give them no choice but to hit the deck running.

A Christian's Prayer for America

My prayer is for a strong America.

One that is both safe and free.

My prayer is for a land where God

Is truly first in all we see.

My prayer is that the bitter acrimony

And the vitriolic overtones

Depart from every heart among us

And let the fruit of the Spirit be known.

But hate and divisiveness are the order of the day

And they have left no stone unturned

And hope of a revived nation

May not come before Christ’s return.

Oh how I would love to see the judgment

Of all the nations, but most of all

To hear the words “Well done” and “faithful”

When these United States of America are called.

Though I long to see our nation

Strong, and healthy, and on top once again.

It seems that we are headed elsewhere,

Thriving on hate and loving sin.

But God did not promise to preserve this nation,

Though that request I make anew each day.

He has commanded that we love and serve him

And follow Jesus along his way.

Sadly those two paths may be parting

The one of country and the one of God.

‘Tis a sad choice we leave our children

When God and country separately trod.

But to the Christians of this nation

Our call is clarion, crystal, clear.

To be God’s light amidst the darkness

In a land that once we held so dear.

But truly we are far from lucid

To think to be American is to be godly and just

When our words and actions question the motto

That we claim for our own:  “In God we trust.”

But as for me and for my household

We take light over darkness, and choose it again this very day.

And do pray in earnest that our nation will witness

The call to life that says Jesus the only way.

We knew this was coming yet tried to ignore it

For this very land some have shed their own blood.

But when faced with a choice so distinct and so real,

We are loyal to our homeland, to the Kingdom of God.

 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,  if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

 2 Chronicles 7:13-14