Dear friends,
As a proud Christian and American, I believe we have the best two choices for President we have had in the four elections in which I have voted. I am proud to have a choice between a war hero and the first African American candidate for president. This should be a great moment in our nation's history, something all Americans can be proud of. And I am proud of the two choices we have, and the country I live in. I have studied both candidates with extremely thorough research, fair and balanced thought, and respectful prayer.
As with all elections, we can choose to find the majority of good that makes one candidate our choice--or we can choose to focus on the negatives that divide and weaken our great country. It is difficult with the amount of negative campaigning that we are flooded with by state and local candidates, as well as this tough presidential election, to keep our hearts open to love and inclusion. And love and inclusion is what makes our churches the wonderful places they are, and what makes our God so great. The greatest teaching I ever received as part of my church, is that God is love. And some of the scare tactics used to prey upon fears of what we are not used to, what we are unfamiliar with, are divisive and not in line with the teachings of our Lord.
Whomever we vote for, I would hope we will do it respectfully, and will support and pray for that person who wins.
So I would respectfully respond with the reasons why I am voting for Barack Obama, in no particular order.
--The negative tone of the McCain campaign. Talking points such as mentioning Barack "Hussein" Obama to play upon fears that he is Muslim--which he is not--are not in line with my Christian faith. My faith tells me that even if he were Muslim, it would be my responsibility to witness my Christian faith to him and pray for his health and prosperity even if he does not see things the same as me. I am so tired of blue and red states. America is red, white AND blue. And we must get beyond this to grow and prosper as a country. This is a big election, one we can't afford to make about small things.
--As part of our younger generation, the apathy I have witnessed in our youth over the last ten years has been disappointing and frightening. Sen. Obama has energized and included my generation in a way no candidate has, and it has been wonderful to see our generation get involved, study this process and take responsibility in our country's future.
--We have two good choices, but I believe in my heart that Sen. Obama has the potential to be a great president. There are few times in our lives that we have a chance to choose a Ronald Reagan, an FDR, a Truman, a JFK. I can't take the chance of four more years of the last eight, when we could restore our status as the greatest country in the world.
--Our middle class is hurting. The economic policies of this current Republican party do not support regular folks like us. Sen. Obama is going to do his best to lift up all of us who have lost so much in this economic crisis. We can't risk more giant tax cuts to oil company CEOs, while all of our retirement accounts go up in smoke.
--Sarah Palin is an excellent person, and has so much to be proud of. But she is severely unqualified to be president of the United States. She does not have the intellectual capacity to be president, which is one of two responsibilities of the VP. Break ties with a vote in the Senate, and be ready in case something happens. I had to ask myself if I felt safe imagining her as president, and the answer is no. And that makes me question Sen. McCain's judgment.
--Now obviously some would point to Sen. Obama's youth and inexperience as a rebuttal, but I have watched and studied him for over a year. And over that time, he has managed an impressive, positive campaign from start to finish, he has grown in intellectual capacity, and has certainly proved intelligent enough to handle this responsibility. One thing we have learned is, being a good person, and someone we can relate to, is NOT enough to ask of a president.
--I have been fortunate enough to be able to interact with people from many different countries, and see first hand how our country was built. By people wanting a better life, wanting to come to the shining light that is the United States. And from my travels, I know we have lost some of that standing. I know for sure that Sen. Obama gives us our best chance to have that standing again. Please remember that almost every one of our families came here from somewhere else. We can be a great nation again.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I wish you all well, and my prayers are with you and our nation.
