WhiteHouse.gov Gets a Redesign

This information appeared first here at TechCrunch, but I thought it was worth passing along.  Cool stuff.

You can check the new website here and browse the blog, see President Obama’s weekly web address, and read up on White House approaches to important issues.  

If the government can adapt their technologies to attempt and communicate better with the people of this country…I’m thinking there is a lesson here.

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World “Faith” in the United States?

This discussion forum found at BBC.com caught my eye this morning.  The question on the BBC front page leading into this forum asked, “Has the world lost faith in the U.S.?”  Word choice is important, and this particular phrasing piqued my interest.  I live within the borders of a world superpower in the midst of a changing world climate.  My country has been a leader in world affairs for many years, and that power might be waning.  The world has looked to the United States for leadership and placed “faith” in our ideals and certain aspects of our vision.  In global politics this makes some sense as ideological battles have been waged between communism and democracy, World Wars have been fought as a result of the clash between freedom and fascism, and industrialization and technology have changed the world economic climate.  The U.S. has had much to say on each of these matters.

As a Christian, the object of my faith is Jesus Christ.  With that being the case, the formulation of the question above was a bit jarring.  Here’s the information spurring the BBC forum.  Feel free to visit the forum and chime in.

US economic, military and political dominance is likely to decline over the next two decades, according to American intelligence agencies. Who will be the next world leader? 

According to the National Intelligence Council (NIC) China and India will grow more powerful in the coming decades as the US weakens. They also predict that the US dollar will no longer be the world’s major currency and food and water scarcities will fuel conflict.

The NIC prepares a global trends report every four years in time for the next presidential term. This report also claims that a world with more power centres will be less stable than one with one or two superpowers, causing a greater potential for conflict.

The report will make sombre reading for Mr Obama, says the BBC’s Jonathan Beale in Washington, as it paints a bleak picture of the future of US influence and power. 

Do you think the USA is losing its influence in world affairs? Which countries will take on the title of the next ‘superpower’? What can they do to regain their position of dominance in the world order? Do you agree with the NIC that this change could lead to a greater potential for conflict? 

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Barack Obama Victory Speech

Whether you are celebratory or mournful concerning the Obama victory, this speech is worth watching.  This has been a historic election.  I’ve gauged reactions to the victory in many ways, the most interesting being chatter among coworkers at the bus company.  Facebook has hosted its fair share of opinions as well.  For something totally different, I really enjoyed this article from The Onion.  Here are three successive clips that contain the speech:

Part 2

Part 3

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Election 2008 :: Decided via Dance Off?

For what it is worth, this is a cool concept.

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Witherington :: Evangelical Voter’s Guide

For those engaged in the political process this piece from Ben Witherington is a short, worthwhile read.  Witherington is the Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary.  Witherington does not tell you who to vote for, thankfully, but offers some helpful guidelines for Christians evaluating both candidates and carefully discerning for whom they should cast their vote.

Witherington speaks strongly to his readers, saying:

There is really no excuse for laziness when it comes to being an informed voter, especially when we now have such a wealth of information online, and through other viable sources of news about candidates. Do not use the ‘cop out’ of ‘they’re all just the same’, or ‘no politicians are trustworthy’ or ‘I don’t have time for this’. If you have time to enjoy the freedoms you have in this country, then you certainly have time to become an informed voter. Period. 

This November Witherington encourages us to do our homework, vote even if we are frustrated, avoid being a one-issue voter, consider character, prioritize the issues, and to think and pray before casting a vote.  He doesn’t break down either McCain or Obama issue by issue–he doesn’t need to.  Others have done the work.  We just have to tap into the resources.

I would fall in to the category of “frustrated voter.”  This comes after watching the debates, reading plenty of print material, and intense discussions with friends about the issues.  I’m particularly frustrated that an $850 bailout bill was passed by Republicans who said that the $700 billion proposal was too expensive, and am miffed that a bill which was around 3 pages when initially proposed expanded to a 400 page document in a week.  If any incumbent voted FOR the bill in my district, which I need to check in to, then they may have lost my vote.  I don’t see our next President addressing the outlandish fiscal policies which have guided Washington in recent years, likely because our elected officials are benefitting in some way.  Obama and McCain have too much at stake to offer strong words and a solid plan for how our finances are and should be managed, likely because that would ruffle the feathers of their most wealthy political supporters.

I plan to vote in November.  That doesn’t mean that I don’t think it stinks to be part of American democracy right now.

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Thanks Ryan :: Some Thoughts on the Economic Crisis

My friend Ryan sent me an email yesterday with some thoughts on the financial crisis.  With permission, I’m posting a portion here.  I took the time to read through the Crockett article which he provided, which is a fascinating snapshot from history.  Here are some of Ryan’s thoughts:

Read your blog regarding the bailout. Below is a link to a story I read while in grad school about Davy Crockett and how his attitude changed with regard to what the Constitution allows congress to do. I think it is applicable to these times. You’ll find that the conclusion drawn is very Ron Paul-ian, and although I think Dr. Paul is certifiably insane when it comes to some things, I agree with him when it comes to how our country’s government spends OUR money. I think you’ll like it. 
 
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1311972/posts
 
I think it was a congressman from Oklahoma yesterday (who is/was a medical doctor) that the bailout bill was like having a cancer patient develop pneumonia due to the cancer and treating the pneumonia even though it is a symptom and not the cause.

This is fuel for discussion.  Thoughts?

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Financial Crisis and the Upcoming Vice Presidential Debate

Over the past few weeks I’ve been consumed with following the impending financial crisis which looms large in America.  I watched President Bush’s first television address to the nation, kept track of progress on the proposed $700 billion bail-out plan on Capital Hill, and surveyed the thinking of pundits from the New York Times, the BBC, the LA Times, FoxNews, and ESPN Page 2′s Tuesday Morning Quarterback.  Even Dave Ramsey has weighed in.  I have friends who have enthusiastically backed the plan and others that have vehemently opposed it, and they have called their representatives to have their opinion heard.

When it comes to the proposed plan I remain suspicious.  I guess I’m more of a free market capitalist than I supposed, holding the opinion that irresponsible firms on Wall Street should have to pay the price for poor decision making.  I also am reluctant to herald those in Washington as “heroes,” for it seems that pressure both from the executive and congressional branches of government led the housing industry to grant questionable loans to under-resourced Americans.  It seems to me that both the government and our leading financial institutions are to blame, and the American taxpayer will carry the heaviest burden in turning this ship around.  Even if a bail-out is a necessary action, I’m still asking if this will change our economic policies and decision making process in the near future.

Considering the fact that our government has borrowed more money in the past decade than in all our previous history combined I doubt that our approach will change, and I’m not surprised that a financial crisis has come upon us.  As Paul wrote in the book of Galatians, “A man reaps what he sows.”  Our reckoning has come.  Who is to say that if our government does manage to pass a financial plan that will save our economy in the short term that in the future our country’s finances will be managed more responsibly?  That would be the voters, both in who we select and in our persistence in following the issues, staying informed, and keeping those who represent us accountable.  This will require education on behalf of the American public–we’ll have to create spaces in our communities–be they local government, church communities, PTAs, Rotary, etc.–where people can have discussions regarding how government works and exactly what is happening in Washington.  When I watched President Bush’s initial television address, I remarked to my wife, “You have to be educated in basic economics to understand what he is saying.  How many people can track with him regarding these basic economic principles, particularly when a staggering number of American’s cannot even manage their own finances?”

In other news, I’d recommend tuning in to the Vice Presidential Debate tonight.  This piece on the debate from the LA Times was interesting.  This quote really struck me:

Also discouraging for the McCain camp must be the finding of a new Marist Poll, described by the Swamp’s same Silva. It reveals that while a plurality (45%) expect Biden to perform better in the debate and a majority (61%) expect him to show a greater understanding of issues, compared to Palin’s 36% and 28%, nearly two out of three expect Palin to come across as more likeable, compared to Biden’s measly 23% anticipated likeability. (emphasis mine)

What disturbs me most about this poll is that I have yet to gain enough faith in the voter to believe that “likeability” is not one of the most significant factors in our image-driven culture.  As Winston Churchill once remarked, “The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.”  I’m not quite that skeptical, but I might be close.

I still need to watch the whole of the Presidential Debate which took place last Friday, though I’ve read plenty of reviews and know not much of note took place.

At this stage in the game, I’m still measuring the candidates and assessing their strategy, plan, and vision for our country.  As I’ve said, I want to cast an informed vote that takes into account the content of the candidates words in written and in spoken form.  I’m also working hard to try to understand where we as a country currently stand, which is quite difficult considering that state of our media.  

If you have a thought, opinion, or question concerning the candidates and the upcoming election, weigh in, write a blog post, and further the discussion.  I’m game for talk of politics.

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Analyzing John McCain :: RNC Acceptance Speech

Since I picked on Guilliani, Palin, and Obama, it is only fitting that I take a close look at John McCain’s remarks when accepting the nomination for president at the Republican National Convention.  The speech can be read here and McCain’s introduction video can be found here.  Here are some comments which I found to be of note:

• From the intro video: “When the North Vietnamese realized who his father was, they offered John early release as a PR ploy.  He said no.  He’d honor first in, first out like everyone else.  And so, he chose to spend four more years in hell.” (I can only think of the Apostles’ Creed (Book of Common Prayer),  though the association is not automatic)
• From the intro video: “What a life.  What a faith.  What a family.  What good fortune that America will chose this leader at precisely this time.  The stars are aligned, change will come.”
• “Finally, a word to Senator Obama and his supporters. We’ll go at it over the next two months. That’s the nature of these contests, and there are big differences between us. But you have my respect and admiration. Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us. We are fellow Americans, an association that means more to me than any other. We’re dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal and endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. No country ever had a greater cause than that. And I wouldn’t be an American worthy of the name if I didn’t honor Senator Obama and his supporters for their achievement. ” (Constitutional language, yet you have to wonder what association people in our country have with the word “Creator” in this statement)
• “You know, I’ve been called a maverick; someone who marches to the beat of his own drum. Sometimes it’s meant as a compliment and sometimes it’s not. What it really means is I understand who I work for. I don’t work for a party. I don’t work for a special interest. I don’t work for myself. I work for you.” (How readily do the American people believe statements like these?)
• “I don’t mind a good fight. For reasons known only to God, I’ve had quite a few tough ones in my life. But I learned an important lesson along the way. In the end, it matters less that you can fight. What you fight for is the real test.” (Providence and human suffering being overtly mentioned in an acceptance speech?  Hum.)
• “I fight for Jake and Toni Wimmer of Franklin County, Pennsylvania…” (I only quote this because John McCain named real people (McCain cites two other families), Obama did not.  He referred to “a man” and “a woman,” but left out specifics.  I wonder if this was an intentional countermeasure.  When I listened to Obama’s speech I wondered why he didn’t name the names of actual people, grounding his examples in real life narrative.)
• “We’re all God’s children and we’re all Americans.”
• “We believe in a strong defense, work, faith, service, a culture of life, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and judges who dispense justice impartially and don’t legislate from the bench. We believe in the values of families, neighborhoods and communities.” (In the words of Alasdair MacIntyre, “Whose Justice? Which Rationality?”)
• “I know how the world works. I know the good and the evil in it.”
• “I hate war. It is terrible beyond imagination. ”
• “I’m running for President to keep the country I love safe, and prevent other families from risking their loved ones in war as my family has. I will draw on all my experience with the world and its leaders, and all the tools at our disposal – diplomatic, economic, military and the power of our ideals – to build the foundations for a stable and enduring peace.”
• “I’ve been an imperfect servant of my country for many years. But I have been her servant first, last and always. And I’ve never lived a day, in good times or bad, that I didn’t thank God for the privilege.” (Sin, servitude, gratitude.)
• “I’m not running for president because I think I’m blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. My country saved me. My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God.” (In many ways, this should be the most debated theological statement uttered by McCain in this speech.  He doesn’t believe history has anointed him, but according to his introduction video the “stars are aligned”?)
• “If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you’re disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them. Enlist in our Armed Forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach an illiterate adult to read. Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier. Because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself.“
• “I’m going to fight for my cause every day as your President. I’m going to fight to make sure every American has every reason to thank God, as I thank Him: that I’m an American, a proud citizen of the greatest country on earth, and with hard work, strong faith and a little courage, great things are always within our reach. Fight with me. Fight with me.”
• “Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We’re Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.” (Is history ours to make, or God’s to give, and only ours to receive?)

Campaign Promises

I considered listing McCain’s campaign promises, but if you’re familiar with the traditional Republican platform this simply is not necessary.  Lower taxes.  Better wages for teachers and better schools.  Strong national defense.  Smaller government.  Traditional values.  ”A culture of life.”  Lower taxes.  Appointment of judges who interpret the law, not legislate from the bench.  Full development of all types of energy resources including drilling, wind, nuclear, natural gas, and otherwise.  Economic security, job training for those needing new employment, and keeping jobs from going overseas.

Did I miss anything?

By the way, Jon Stewart has done an excellent piece pairing McCain’s promises with speeches given by George W. Bush.

And Now for Something Totally Random

Up Next

I’m working on piece discussing a portion of Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It in light of the ministry of Jesus.  I’ll post to the blog in the next couple of days.

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Facebook, Politics, and the Sound Bite

Last night my wife Molly and I watched the coverage of the Republican National Convention, in large part to catch the remarks of Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin.  You can read the full text of her speech here, or watch here.  To view the full speech you’ll need to click through a few links on YouTube, as the speech is broken in to segments.  Below you’re going to find some of my connected, but disjointed highlights from both conventions.  I’m not writing an essay here, but I’m presenting snippets I think are important to consider.

Facebook Moments

As the evening progressed Molly was on Facebook watch, tracking the status updates of a number of friends as they posted reactions to Palin.  Some of the more humorous comments included, “is America getting Punk’d right now?” to “I’m waiting for someone to pop up and say, ‘Smile, you’re on Candid Camera!’”  My friends’ updates included:

• …has been a supervisor.  Can I run for president?
• …is surprised that she really, really likes Palin.
• …WOW Barracuda in the house!
• …wow.  what a %$#^&.
• …thinks the GOP has the all-important hockey mom vote locked up.
• …the republican party gives me a headache.
• …is watching the RNC and is sick to her stomach watching this crap! Country First my *%^! What a f@#%ing joke!
• …is astounded by the amount of hate.
• …is quite fond of community organizers.

From reading the comments it was quite clear who leans to the right and who leans to the left.  Historically I’ve voted for Republican candidates, but this year I consider myself an independent who will research each candidate carefully before casting my vote.  I spent time watching the DNC this year with interest.  Whereas some of my Facebook friends clearly watch the conventions to support their own party and to deride their opponents, I’ve been trying to obtain facts upon which I could base an informed vote.  Unfortunately I have found neither convention all that helpful.

The Politics of the Sound Bite :: Sarah Snow Machine

Perhaps my disillusionment with the presentation of both parties lies in the fact these events, and the speeches which are given during these events, are tailor made for media coverage and the manipulation of image.  Sarah Palin’s speech was a great example of this type of politics.  ”Attack-dog” tactics are not new in politics–they are as old as the earth.  But in the age of media, pithy statements sway voters.  The catchier, the more humorous, the better.  Forget actually talking about a proposed plan, strategy while in office, or solutions to actual problems which exist in this country–that is not what political conventions are for.  Political conventions are for the delivery of zingers which will carry your campaign.  Here are a few of one liners which will be featured in both radio and television reports throughout the day:

• I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a “community organizer,” except that you have actual responsibilities.
• This is a man [Obama] who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word “victory” except when he’s talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed … when the roar of the crowd fades away … when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot – what exactly is our opponent’s plan?
• Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America … he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights? Government is too big … he wants to grow it.
• Taxes are too high … he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan, and let me be specific.
• In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers.  And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.
• But if Senator McCain is elected president, that is the journey he will have made.  It’s the journey of an upright and honorable man – the kind of fellow whose name you will find on war memorials in small towns across this country, only he was among those who came home. To the most powerful office on earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from having once been powerless … the wisdom that comes even to the captives, by the grace of God … the special confidence of those who have seen evil, and seen how evil is overcome.
• For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words.  For a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds.

If you read the text version of Palin’s speech, you’ll find that it is sound bite after sound bite, short statement followed by short statement.  No topic is treated for more than 60 seconds, many of the issues are given much less.  During her speech, it seemed as though no more than 30 seconds would pass before her speech reached a moment calling for applause or the response of the audience.

The sad reality of this format is that it seems to diminish discourse, reducing the basis upon which we nominate and elect our officials to their ability to formulate catchy slogans fit for media consumption and propagation.

I wish I had the confidence in the American public to believe that most people will weigh the issues, research the candidates, and read up on proposed plans and strategies each candidate puts forth before casting their vote.  At this stage I don’t have that confidence.

Most Inane Moment of Last Night’s RNC Coverage

The “Drill Baby Drill” chant which emerged during the Guilliani speech drove me nuts.  Here is an RNC video addressing the energy issue, particularly drilling in Alaska.  I am not necessarily opposed to proposed drilling here in America, but am realistic enough to see that drilling is a short term solution to our energy problem.  Oil based industries (such as automobile manufacturing) have worked for years to stall advancement in the area of fuel efficiency.  Gasoline prices have forced the American public to demand some type of change.  People are driving less, purchasing more fuel efficient vehicles, and raising their voice in support of new energy technologies.  We can be proactive now, or face an even greater crisis later.  I’m in agreement with Thomas Friedman that energy technology could be our next “man on the moon” type mission for the American people.

DNC :: Obama Will Solve All the World’s (or at least America’s) Problems

Here are a few of my favorite remarks from Barack Obama during his speech at the DNC:

• I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.
• I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.
• I will cut taxes – cut taxes – for 95% of all working families.
• I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
• I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power.  I’ll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America.  I’ll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars.  And I’ll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy – wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.
• I’ll invest in early childhood education.  I’ll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support.  And in exchange, I’ll ask for higher standards and more accountability.  And we will keep our promise to every young American – if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.
• And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.
• I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less – because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.
• As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm’s way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
• I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.  I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts.  But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression.  I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. 
• I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.

What’s left for the American people to do?

By the way, I don’t think the President can restore our moral standing, globally or domestically.  That would assume that there is a common morality or a common conception of virtue, which doesn’t exist in America.  A common narrative has eroded over the last 50 years as secularism has increased and pluralism has won the day.  I would say that our public morality is still being negotiated.

Also, what did Barack Obama mean when he closed his speech with the words, “Let us keep that promise – that American promise – and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess”?

What exactly is that hope that we confess, as found in the words of Scripture, which applies to the current state of the nation?  Thanks for throwing those that read the Bible a bone.

Why herald Barack Obama as Messiah when you can have the Republican Party as Messiah?

I had this question when I heard these words from Rudy Guilliani:

And as we look to the future never let us forget that – when we are at our best – we are the party that expands Freedom. We began as a party dedicated to freeing people from slavery … And we are still the party that is willing to fight for freedom at home and around the world. We are the party that wants to expand individual freedom and economic freedom … because we believe that the secret of America’s success is not central government, it is self-government. We are the party that believes in giving workers the right to work. The party that believes parents should choose where their children go to school.

And we are the party that believes unapologetically in America’s essential greatness – that we are a shining city on the hill, a beacon of freedom that inspires people everywhere to reach for a better world.

Both parties present their candidate as the Savior, Defender, and Protector of “America.”

Lastly, to repeat a Sarah Palin comment:

To the most powerful office on earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from having once been powerless … the wisdom that comes even to the captives, by the grace of God … the special confidence of those who have seen evil, and seen how evil is overcome.

Does it seem as though John McCain is being presented here as…Jesus?

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Election 2008

One of my relatives has bounced a couple of email forwards my way this election season, and those are always fun.  He’s a young, committed Republican who isn’t so much for McCain as he is against Obama.  That seems to be a common posture during this election year, much like the 2004 Presidential campaign–a contest between those strongly for and vehemently opposed to George W. Bush.

This past week my relative passed along an email from a soldier alleging that Barrack Obama “blew off” soldiers during his recent visit to Afghanistan.  As with most emails of this kind, I searched for some of the key words to ascertain the validity of this email, and ended up at Snopes.com.  You can read the email which is circulating and check out of some of the evidence to debunk the allegations here, if you’d like.  Snopes has found that the claims made in the email are false.

During the same week I received another note from the same person with a link to an anti-Obama video which can be found at www.phforamerica.com.  The video includes portions of a speech Obama had given at the Call to Renewal Conference in June, in which he posits which portions of the Bible should be used in public policy.  I personally thought this paragraph of Obama’s speech was careless, though I did not see his rhetoric as “mocking” the Bible or those persons who read it as did those at pH for America.  As I said, I didn’t care much for Obama’s comments which made the video, but I wouldn’t go quite so far as those who produced this video.

Obama’s entire speech can be found here, and I recommend that you read it.  It is quite good.  Because my family member asked me for my thoughts, I’ll quote the email below.  Feel free to agree or disagree with some of my points.  I think Obama’s speech brings up a number of important points thinking Christians who happen to live in America should be taking into consideration.  Obama’s argument, at times, is quite sophisticated.  Check it out and think with me about it.

As for the email, here it is:

Dear Friend:

I did receive the email you sent with the anti-Obama campaign ad, featuring a portion of his speech at a Call to Renewal conference on faith and politics.  I’m pretty familiar with Call to Renewal, who’s leading figure is a man named Jim Wallis.  Wallis has commented extensively on American politics and Christian faith.  He considers himself an evangelical, but focuses his agenda on a broader range of issues than the traditional hot button topics.  He is opposed to the war in Iraq, and was at it’s onset.  He focuses more on the environment.  Most importantly, however, Wallis is a champion of the poor in America, and for this I applaud his efforts.  More Christian people need to be vocal concerning their care and concern for the poor.  Guys like Rick Warren have been convicted of just how much the Bible says concerning care for the poor in recent years and has proclaimed just how much is demanded of God’s people concerning care for the poorest of our neighbors.  I hope that we as the church take these words of the Bible more seriously than we have in recent decades.

Anyway, back to the Obama address.  I just took a few minutes to read through Obama’s entire speech–it is interesting reading.  Obama draws from a pretty broad range of theologians and even some political philosophy (John Rawls, is one example) in his speech.  He also includes important historical examples from American history where faith and politics intersect.  Among his examples are Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address” and MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which both invoke religious (specifically Christian) language to elevate our nation onto a higher moral plane.  He alludes to Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptist Association–an important historical document for our thinking on the relationship between our government and religious bodies.  Obama’s speech, on the whole, raises many of the key issues concerning the current state of our religiously pluralistic nation’s dis-ease with religious speech as part of our public discourse.  It’s undeniable that faith has been privatized.  Obama’s rhetoric at least suggests that the religious beliefs of Americans have a place in public discourse, though he suggests certain guidelines in an effort to establish some form of “public reason.”

The paragraph in question, which is integrated in to the two minute commercial, is one which I’m uncomfortable with.  I think that it misrepresents basic principles of biblical interpretation, and belittles thinking Christian people who fall in to the category of theologically conservative.  

Is he mocking those people?  I don’t think so.  Is he mocking the Bible?  I don’t think so.  I do think his statements represent his naivete concerning how the Bible is read, how it should be read, and even how the overarching narrative of the Bible plays a part in public political discourse.  

His statements regarding Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and our Defense Department were the most interesting to me. pH for America seems to think that Obama is wrong in his assertion that Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount would seriously disrupt our Defense Department’s policies on war and combat.  They claim that Jesus’ “Sermon” can somehow be read to support such American campaigns as the “War on Terror,” and that Jesus’ would surely support American efforts to violently retaliate against agents of terror.  I would like to see how they plan to substantiate such a claim on the basis of the text, and how they might construct a politics of the people called “Church” in a way that could justify actions of bloodshed and violence.  I’m not saying that a case cannot be made for Just War.  I am saying that pH for America’s representation in this ad lacks sophistication and raises more questions than it does provide answers for serious, thinking Christians who should be deeply disturbed by acts of violence and bloodshed against people, no matter how depraved, for whom Jesus died and now sends us (his church) to be his ambassadors of reconciliation to the world (2 Cor. 5).

To be truly forthright, I voted for President Bush in the 2004 election, so I supported him.  In 2000 I didn’t vote, which was wrong, but my vote would have counted in Texas, which was in hand.  During his two terms I have seen his speechwriters invoke biblical language in ways that are manipulative of the text as well–sometimes in ways that Christians should have been downright outraged.  Most of the time we didn’t notice.  For example, I recall Bush using language from John 1 to justify the War on Terror.  He chose to use phrases such as “the light came in to the world, and the darkness has not overcome it,” equating darkness with agents of terror and America as “the light,” setting up what I believe is an incredibly dangerous paradigm.  We both know that the “light” in John 1 is Jesus himself, the word made flesh, who not only exposes the darkness in the hearts of terrorists, but exposes the darkness made manifest in certain aspects of the American political landscape.  According to the New Testament witness, it is God, not nations, who rules the world, and one day we will all be held to an account standing before the throne of the lamb who was slain.

Sorry for the long reply.  It was probably more than you were hoping for.

Thanks for the greeting.  Hope you are well.

I linked to Bush’s Ellis Island speech, which you can feel free to read.

It is high time in America that we took seriously the shifts which have taken place in the nature of our public discourse.  The church should recognize that the culture we have created in the West has now become the culture which we must respond to missionally. In the meantime we must figure out how we are to navigate public political discourse in something called democracy.

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