Democratic Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, spoke in South Carolina and had some rather odd comments to make. He, at one point, told the crowd that he will be an "instrument of God" and that people should pray for him. He finished his speech by saying:
"We're going to keep on praising together. I am confident that we can create a Kingdom right here on Earth."
Why the hell would any candidate use that type of language? I mean "instrument of God" and "Kingdom" are not exactly phrases that should be used in politics. It strikes me as completely out of the blue and completely out of place.
Now I'm certainly not saying that candidates shouldn't be able to express their faith, but I think most people can agree calling yourself an "instrument of God" is a little extreme, not to mention a little self serving. I, for one, would like to ask Obama how exactly is he going to create a "Kingdom" right here on Earth. No offense to Obama, but he's not exactly a Messiah. I do not want us Democrats to fall into the Republican mold of using our faith to gain votes. Faith should be something personal, that is unique to every person, and that is, for the most part, not overused in politics. Talking about your faith with voters is absolutely fine and necessary, but calling yourself an "instrument of God" is, without a shadow of a doubt, overusing and exploiting religion.
Monday, October 8, 2007
The Republican Politics of Fear (a special editorial by John Lucia)
President Bush and VP Cheney love to govern by fear. The Republicans in Congress like to use fear in their legislative agenda. And now, with the exception of Ron Paul, the Republican candidates for President are trying to use fear in their campaigns. The fear of terror has become their number one weapon of choice.
Our past President's answered the call to war five times in the 20th century with character instead of fear. They cultivated the spirit of America to face our adversaries and governed with wisdom and strength. Now the Republican presidential candidates say that they and only they can protect America and that electing a Democrat would put our nation at risk. Their motive is to try to take the people's mind off the fact that the worst foreign terror attack on U.S. soil happened on George Bush and the Republican's watch. They failed to protect our country and people from the tragic events of 9-11 and then invaded Iraq over WMD that did not exist, creating more terrorists to threaten the United States than ever before.
Republican's can't seem to call on the spirit of America that is unity. They try to divide the country and its people with their talk of fear. They are obsessed by the word and want us to be in a perpetual war of fear. Our past leaders brought out the best in our people during trying times and moved our nation forward to face the challenges ahead, with out fear.
Fear is what dictators and people without character thrive on. Using fear as a tactic is not only against the basic principals of democracy, it is against the basic principals of life itself. The Republicans fear an informed people that can think for themselves, to them that is what is most frightening.
Our past President's answered the call to war five times in the 20th century with character instead of fear. They cultivated the spirit of America to face our adversaries and governed with wisdom and strength. Now the Republican presidential candidates say that they and only they can protect America and that electing a Democrat would put our nation at risk. Their motive is to try to take the people's mind off the fact that the worst foreign terror attack on U.S. soil happened on George Bush and the Republican's watch. They failed to protect our country and people from the tragic events of 9-11 and then invaded Iraq over WMD that did not exist, creating more terrorists to threaten the United States than ever before.
Republican's can't seem to call on the spirit of America that is unity. They try to divide the country and its people with their talk of fear. They are obsessed by the word and want us to be in a perpetual war of fear. Our past leaders brought out the best in our people during trying times and moved our nation forward to face the challenges ahead, with out fear.
Fear is what dictators and people without character thrive on. Using fear as a tactic is not only against the basic principals of democracy, it is against the basic principals of life itself. The Republicans fear an informed people that can think for themselves, to them that is what is most frightening.
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