Mark West
It's the morality, stupid!
By Mark West
Most presidential elections are manipulated by a few central issues that seem apparent to everyone. Taxes, Social Security, Health Care, Terrorism and a litany of other issues were pressed to the forefront of the campaign. Knowing what we do about the decision of the electorate in this race, determining if an underlying current served to drive that decision in a particular direction is important.
Four presidential elections are in the bag for me and I am beginning to understand the variety of influences that are exuded on the political process during these campaigns. Thinking back to the first campaign I paid any attention to, I recall the 1992 showdown between President George H. W. Bush, Arkansas Governor William J. Clinton and some rich guy named Ross Perot. Aside from the slurping sound that Perot made so famous when he described where American jobs would go under the North American Free Trade Agreement, I remember that the economy had been under the pressure of a recession. While the economy may have been on the verge of recovery, Clinton used the recession to oust the incumbent President. Anyone remember, "It's the economy, stupid!"
Taking the details of this election into account, President Bush shouldn't have been re-elected. His domestic policies had been derailed by the events of 9/11. His war on terror had been "diverted" to Iraq. His economy was sluggish at best. Enough to get a President plucked from office, yet these didn't do the trick. What is it that held him in office?
Morality! Exit polling, though becoming semi-unreliable, revealed to us that most voters decided whom to vote for based on morality, with the economy, Iraq and terrorism close behind. Many, like me, had lost hope in America believing that the nation had fallen prey to the liberal, elite agenda that seeks feverishly to dislodge all vestiges of our national heritage and to deviously replace them with their own brand of muddled ideas.
A spark of hope has arisen from the heartland of this great nation. In the midst of our land a revolution may have been ignited, possibly as the only due response to the vitriol toward tradition that has been espoused by those on the left. Backlash would be the most appropriate term to describe what occurred in this election.
President George W. Bush is not a bastion of morality, but rather a mortal man who acts upon what he believes. Senator John F. Kerry is not a bulwark of immorality, but rather a mortal man who fails to act upon what he believes. Abortion is a prime example of the difference between the two candidates in regard to morality and the morality vote.
If life begins at conception, then the cessation of that life by another individual would only properly be defined as murder. President Bush believes that abortion should be banned and has moved toward it. President Bush signed into law the Partial Birth Abortion Ban that Senator Kerry voted against. Senator Kerry says that he has a problem with imposing his religious beliefs on others, but his policies show that he has no visible problem imposing his secular beliefs on others.
Does anybody remember his response to the federal funding of abortion question in the second debate? Senator Kerry had no problem with imposing the woman's belief on abortion on Americans by making us pay for it, but did have a problem with religious Americans imposing their belief that abortion is a moral wrong upon the woman by forcing her to pay for her own abortion.
No one likes war, but most of us realize that it is necessary at times. I've heard people decry the immorality of 1,000 plus deaths in the war on terrorism, yet these same bleeding hearts never breathe a sigh of despair over the 3,000 plus unborn children that are aborted on a daily basis. The number of military deaths over the last three years doesn't even measure up to one day in the abortion industry.
A new concept arose in this campaign that has further invigorated the heart of America. While proponents of it have attempted to introduce it as a new concept, the fact remains that such thinking has existed from near the foundations of our world. Marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Divorce doesn't modify this truth, it only smears it. Homosexual marriage does irreparable damage to this sacred institution and voters stated emphatically and overwhelmingly at the polls that the heartland of the nation wants nothing to do with it.
Respect for human life is a principle for morality. Embryonic stem cell research is a blight upon that honorable principle. Research has shown that adult and umbilical cord stem cells have proven remarkably successful while those of the embryonic form have been far less promising. All the messiah talk from Senator John Edwards doesn't change this fact. It's unfortunate that those espousing this egregious science have sought to capitalize on the deaths of President Ronald Reagan and Christopher Reeves in order to advance their cause. It is morally and ethically evil to destroy human life in order to harvest stem cells with a vain hope that it will provide a miracle cure for some horrific disease that another human may have. In a land that values freedom, where is the freedom for the unborn in our system?
Voters went to the polls with these issues fresh in their minds. Voters were deeply concerned over the moral fabric of our culture and voted their conscience. Surprised as I was to see this occur, as a pastor, I can't be any more pleased that such a revival may be beating in the breast of this mighty nation.
If we fail to act upon what we believe, then our beliefs are just that. Beliefs! Our Founding Fathers believed in freedom, yet until they acted upon that belief they remained ensnared by Britain. Belief without action is vanity. Belief with action is conviction. Vanity is the securer of vanity. Conviction is the securer of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Which do you believe the True Patriot will be known for? To coin a new phrase for America, "It's the morality, stupid!"
© Mark West
Most presidential elections are manipulated by a few central issues that seem apparent to everyone. Taxes, Social Security, Health Care, Terrorism and a litany of other issues were pressed to the forefront of the campaign. Knowing what we do about the decision of the electorate in this race, determining if an underlying current served to drive that decision in a particular direction is important.
Four presidential elections are in the bag for me and I am beginning to understand the variety of influences that are exuded on the political process during these campaigns. Thinking back to the first campaign I paid any attention to, I recall the 1992 showdown between President George H. W. Bush, Arkansas Governor William J. Clinton and some rich guy named Ross Perot. Aside from the slurping sound that Perot made so famous when he described where American jobs would go under the North American Free Trade Agreement, I remember that the economy had been under the pressure of a recession. While the economy may have been on the verge of recovery, Clinton used the recession to oust the incumbent President. Anyone remember, "It's the economy, stupid!"
Taking the details of this election into account, President Bush shouldn't have been re-elected. His domestic policies had been derailed by the events of 9/11. His war on terror had been "diverted" to Iraq. His economy was sluggish at best. Enough to get a President plucked from office, yet these didn't do the trick. What is it that held him in office?
Morality! Exit polling, though becoming semi-unreliable, revealed to us that most voters decided whom to vote for based on morality, with the economy, Iraq and terrorism close behind. Many, like me, had lost hope in America believing that the nation had fallen prey to the liberal, elite agenda that seeks feverishly to dislodge all vestiges of our national heritage and to deviously replace them with their own brand of muddled ideas.
A spark of hope has arisen from the heartland of this great nation. In the midst of our land a revolution may have been ignited, possibly as the only due response to the vitriol toward tradition that has been espoused by those on the left. Backlash would be the most appropriate term to describe what occurred in this election.
President George W. Bush is not a bastion of morality, but rather a mortal man who acts upon what he believes. Senator John F. Kerry is not a bulwark of immorality, but rather a mortal man who fails to act upon what he believes. Abortion is a prime example of the difference between the two candidates in regard to morality and the morality vote.
If life begins at conception, then the cessation of that life by another individual would only properly be defined as murder. President Bush believes that abortion should be banned and has moved toward it. President Bush signed into law the Partial Birth Abortion Ban that Senator Kerry voted against. Senator Kerry says that he has a problem with imposing his religious beliefs on others, but his policies show that he has no visible problem imposing his secular beliefs on others.
Does anybody remember his response to the federal funding of abortion question in the second debate? Senator Kerry had no problem with imposing the woman's belief on abortion on Americans by making us pay for it, but did have a problem with religious Americans imposing their belief that abortion is a moral wrong upon the woman by forcing her to pay for her own abortion.
No one likes war, but most of us realize that it is necessary at times. I've heard people decry the immorality of 1,000 plus deaths in the war on terrorism, yet these same bleeding hearts never breathe a sigh of despair over the 3,000 plus unborn children that are aborted on a daily basis. The number of military deaths over the last three years doesn't even measure up to one day in the abortion industry.
A new concept arose in this campaign that has further invigorated the heart of America. While proponents of it have attempted to introduce it as a new concept, the fact remains that such thinking has existed from near the foundations of our world. Marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Divorce doesn't modify this truth, it only smears it. Homosexual marriage does irreparable damage to this sacred institution and voters stated emphatically and overwhelmingly at the polls that the heartland of the nation wants nothing to do with it.
Respect for human life is a principle for morality. Embryonic stem cell research is a blight upon that honorable principle. Research has shown that adult and umbilical cord stem cells have proven remarkably successful while those of the embryonic form have been far less promising. All the messiah talk from Senator John Edwards doesn't change this fact. It's unfortunate that those espousing this egregious science have sought to capitalize on the deaths of President Ronald Reagan and Christopher Reeves in order to advance their cause. It is morally and ethically evil to destroy human life in order to harvest stem cells with a vain hope that it will provide a miracle cure for some horrific disease that another human may have. In a land that values freedom, where is the freedom for the unborn in our system?
Voters went to the polls with these issues fresh in their minds. Voters were deeply concerned over the moral fabric of our culture and voted their conscience. Surprised as I was to see this occur, as a pastor, I can't be any more pleased that such a revival may be beating in the breast of this mighty nation.
If we fail to act upon what we believe, then our beliefs are just that. Beliefs! Our Founding Fathers believed in freedom, yet until they acted upon that belief they remained ensnared by Britain. Belief without action is vanity. Belief with action is conviction. Vanity is the securer of vanity. Conviction is the securer of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Which do you believe the True Patriot will be known for? To coin a new phrase for America, "It's the morality, stupid!"
© Mark West
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