Choice and Consequence

So, I read this article this morning. I didn't even finish it before I started typing up this post. This is not addressed to anyone in particular. But is aimed at Rev. Jay Scott Newman of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville, S.C. I know that different issues carry different weight with different people when it comes to picking our leaders. With that being said, this country is not a theocracy, and should not be run as one. Sure, we pick our leaders based on our beliefs, but I hope one of the most weighted beliefs we choose with is the one that tells us the person we chose will help this country thrive. I don't think our abortion laws really help us suceed or fail as a country. I think our social, economic and foreign policies have a whole lot more to do with it, than our religious leanings do. I can understand telling parishioners that they should refrain from communion if they have been directly involved in an abortion. Not because they have voted for a candidate that takes a pro-choice stance on the issue. I voted for Obama. I would be one of the first people in line to tell someone not to abort their child. There are too many other viable options. I used to say I was pro-choice. I have been through something that taught me that I wasn't. I didn't have a choice, my baby didn't have a choice, the mother had the choice. It is a long, complicated and emotional situation that I will probably never go into fully on this forum. But it taught me that I was wrong (for me to say that I was pro-choice, you are allowed your opinion on it). But, I will not choose a candidate that might run this country into the ground, based solely on their abortion views, and I would hope that the staunchest supporters of the pro-life agenda would make the same choice. Although, I know that is a pipe-dream.

So, Rev. Newman, I am here to tell you that you are an idiot for trying to alienate your parishioners because they did not vote for someone that will probably do nothing for or against abortion while they are in office. This country has too many other important issues right now. It would be stupid to be focusing on what is ultimately a personal one. Teach your congregation that there are CHOICES that do not include abortion. But don't chastise them for making a CHOICE for a leader, probably based on many more factors than how they feel about a woman's right to choose. By supporting someone else, they might have chose a candidate that is supporting a war that was unjustified in the first place (Iraq not Afghanistan) in which innocent people are being killed everyday. I only use this example to prove a point, that no matter which choice you make, the candidate is probably supporting the death of innocents for what they believe is right. So, as a Christian, a voter and a pro-life individual, I would say, it is not up to you sir, to decide whose soul is at risk. Leave that to God, he will judge us when we pass from this earth. It is up to you to guide them in the right direction. If communion is taken to prove that Jesus died for our sins and this is one of the ways that we can receive Him, then why would you stop someone from receiving Him who might be trying to atone for the sin of choosing a pro-choice advocate. Maybe they used their religion to guide them in their choice and still found that the lesser of the two evils was Obama. Now they feel they need to repent and YOU won't allow it. You may be Christ's representative, but you are not Christ, you did not die for their sins and they are not receiving you, you pompus ass. Get over yourself and do your job. Help people find God, don't turn them away from him. None of us are perfect, least of all you.

Conservative Or Closed Minded?

I have always been a centrist. I am not going to lie to you and tell you that when I voted yesterday, it was without trepidation. However, I do not believe either candidate was a horrible choice. I think they are already both excellent leaders. But, as much as I fear change, as much as I am frightened that my choice may bring about a few changes that I do not want, I chose change. I chose to hope that change will be good, not bad or indifferent. And I chose to believe this because, McCain was not really talking about his agenda so much as he was attacking Obama's plans. I chose to believe this because as eloquent as his speech was, Obama never used that eloquence to change his story and see if we would believe him. I chose to believe in hope, because although Obama is a very talented politician, he has not been at it nearly as long as Senator McCain. I chose to believe it because, as my sister pointed out, "there is conservative and there is close minded". I like to consider myself open-minded. I am religious but don't believe that everyone will be happy believing in my God. I am pro-life, but don't think that the choice is always that easy. I am straight, but love my gay friends and respect their "choice" to pursue their own happiness. I had a conversation last night where someone said to me, "if all those black people hadn't come out to vote based on the color of his skin..." I said, "at least they got involved, and they will be much more willing to vote now that they see that it does matter. Look at most of them, they are lower-middle-class or below and are suffering through not only this recession but also have dealt with racism forever. This is their chance." (I know this statement was a generalization and a bit stereotypical but if the person I was talking to was willing to use race, I feel comfortable turning it back on them) The black population equals roughly 17% of our population, if we all voted racially, McCain would have won by a landslide. I'm 100% positive that some white people voted for the exact same reason the other way. Every time I have voted in the past, I have been disappointed with the outcome. Not because my candidate didn't win, because to be honest I am 3 for 4 in picking winners. I actually voted for Bush his first term. I am disappointed because it always seemed to be politics as usual. Nothing changed, the game stayed the same. With Obama I hope that this country can united and work together, which is something we have not seen since the 1940's and WWII. We have had moments of greatness since then, but I am ready for more. I love this country but believe it is becoming more and more divided. We need to centralize, work together and compromise a bit. Nothing is ever as black and white as the extreme right would lead you to believe, but nothing is nearly as easy as the extreme left would try to make it. Hard work and sacrifice built this country. It is the only thing that will save it from the mediocrity that we are heading toward. Not just monetary or physical sacfice, mind you. We need a little bit of idealogical sacrifice from both side. We need to learn how to be united again.

I choose to hope Obama can lead us down the path of change as he has been preaching that he will try. I hope he does work with both sides and that people follow his example. Change is coming. Let us all be flexible enough to change a little, too.

Enough Already!

Will someone please tell the morons in Washington that America has so many more pressing issues than cheating in professional sports.

First, Congress puts together what I will refer to as a finger pointing committee, to investigate steroid use in Major League Baseball. To what effect? Hey, did you all hear that Roger Clemens might have used steroids. Great. All the problems that we are having holding our national economy together, and millions were spent so that I can find out that some dickhead, on some sports team might have used an illegal, performance enhancing drug to get a leg up on the competition. It might even be true. Joe's sister's boyfriend's cousin is the trainer at that one gym where Billy's boyfriend works out with Marvin Bernard, and he said Marvin admitted to using, but he quit.

Who is Marvin Bernard, you ask. One of the 89 players who got a big Red White and Blue finger pointed at him in the previously mentioned Mitchell Report. 409 pages of wasted effort, time and other valuable resources that could have been allocated toward something useful. Like, I don't know, how to get some of that $9 Trillion national debt cleared up. Hell, future, world-raping, super power, China holds some $1.4 trillion of that debt, alone. Mostly, on paper. But, when you look at it they still hold countless billions in hard currency. If they dumped just a fraction of their holdings, our economy tanks catastrophically.

Putting all those resources to good use just doesn't make sense to our wonderfully, self-important lawmakers though. Nope, they have to start digging into another professional sport's closet for skeletons. Now, Sen. Arlen Spector(R. PA) wants to investigate why Commissioner Roger Goodell destroyed the "videogate" tapes from the leagues investigation into the early season mess. Hey, Blowhard! WHO. FUCKING. CARES? What are you going to do? Arrest General Belichick, for breaking rule 5167823 b. article 17 a. subsection 23 c, in the NFL rule book. Last I checked, that wasn't punishable by anything more than an arbitrary suspension and/or fine imposed by the same man who decided to destroy the "evidence". Hell, you guys didn't even press any charges on any of the parties named in your previous report. They actually broke the law, if you can prove they were using controlled substances illegally.

Let the sports clean themselves up or face the consequences on their own. We the People, need your help right now. I go to work every day and some of the money I earn pays your inflated salaries. I vote you into office. And, it seems that no matter which hole I punch in the ballot, I always seem to regret it later. Do something constructive, please.