Jul 15 2008
Personal Responsibility is Paramount Especially in the Political Realm
There seems to be a free pass for all politicians when it comes to matters not directly related to their rhetoric. While this has applied to all politicians, and therefore this could easily be about John McCain or Hillary Clinton, I would like to point it out about Mr. Barack Obama.1 Mr. Obama has been given a free pass concerning his Church and his various friendships with people of extreme viewpoints. I believe that this should not be the case. Even though they are not directly related to his specific rhetoric, they do become an issue by the very nature of what you consider worth being around ends up affecting you.
I don’t believe that Mr. Obama thinks America is the evil that his Pastor (now former pastor) says it is, but at the same time, if you hear negative things about America for 20 years, how can it not affect your viewpoint? I don’t believe Mr. Obama shares the ideology of his more extreme friends (comrades?), but how many times can you hear their viewpoint, without at least letting some of it inside? Whether it is right or wrong may be a different issue, but the bottom line is the lack of judgment in these issues either shows a fairly obvious deficiency in the basic ability to discern “problematic things” or that he in some way is implicitly “endorsing” those views on some levels.
I think we all agree that Mr. Obama was playing the Politician role when he claimed he never heard his pastor say unkind things about America. We are expected to believe him when he says, “I did not hear such incendiary language myself, personally, either in conversations with him or when I was in the pew. He always preached the social gospel and was sometimes controversial in the same way that many people who‘d speak out on social issues are controversial.”2
Given that he did sit through these sermons, and I personally believe he must have over the course of a twenty year period, then he should absolutely be held accountable for that. How much “accountability,” or what should be done? In my opinion these things are not overly huge, and all other things being equal they are minor with respect to the “bigger fish to fry type issues” in and of themselves. The problem however is that it seems that we are used to giving people free passes when it comes to faith and that simply should not be.
“The president of the United States has claimed, on more than one occasion, to be in dialogue with God. If he said that he was talking to God through his hairdryer, this would precipitate a national emergency. I fail to see how the addition of a hairdryer makes the claim more ridiculous or offensive.” –Sam Harris
Sam Harris describes how we give a free pass as long as the religion is close to home. Presidents (and people running for any office) should be held accountable for their beliefs. They should be asked something along the lines of “If you were praying to your God, and felt that his answer was to bomb (Insert any place here), would you do it? Why or why not?” This shows the idiocy of the situation. Because if they are truly getting the word form God, then who can fault them for blowing up a country based on what God says? And if they say they won’t, then it shows just how much their belief in God means.
Either Mr. Obama was in a church for 20 years and chose to ignore the appointed by God minister, or he believes what that minister says and ultimately will let it affect his decision. To be quite frank, I am not sure which of these is worse. If Mr. Obama does not believe his own God should be listened to (That he chose to spend his valuable time with in accordance to “God’s Word”), then how can we know what Mr. Obama will do to something less sacred, like for example the Constitution? And if he does accept the sermons as being sent from God via this minister, then to close with a slightly inappropriate phrase, God help us all.
Disclaimer: I am an active duty military member, but anything I write is simply my opinion and in no way is expected to be coming from the military. I am acting as a citizen in anything I write. Also to be clear, No matter who is elected president, I will gladly serve them with pride, as I have served both President Clinton and President Bush. I may or may not agree with any or all of their respective politics, but I will follow the orders they give. This specific article is to be absolutely clear, not designed to be an attack on Mr. Obama. If I were voting for him, this issue would give me pause, but would ultimately be minor. If I were not voting for him, this would not be why, as I have stated that all of the candidates in various ways are given free passes on most areas of Personal responsibility when it comes to “faith” specifically.
Post script: I would like everyone to think on the Bomb question.
“If you were praying to your God, and felt that his answer was to bomb (Insert any place here), would you do it? Why or why not?”
Let’s assume the place was Iran during a war with them, where they have aggressively attacked American soil. But keeping in mind, what made you decide yes, according to this scenario was “God”, not the prevailing logic behind it. Most people would not bat an eye if you admitted this.
However if for some reason, You decided as a result of prayer with “God” to bomb Washington D.C. for no reason other than God told you to in prayer, I think we can all agree that this would be unacceptable.
There is only one conclusion. Your God is not what makes things “right or “wrong”. It is the prevailing wisdom behind your decision. Point of fact, Your God is simply an excuse to shift personal responsibility from you to somewhere that can not be attacked. Accept responsibility for your actions. Demand that others accept responsibility for theirs. This will make the entire world better, one paradigm shift at a time.
- This is not to imply he is or is not the best candidate. I am using him as the example, but keep in mind with different example this could apply to every candidate in the last 20 years at a minimum. [↩]
- Found on the folling link taken NBC Keith Olbermann show. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23675485/ [↩]
