Why is it when peopled were expressing their dissatisfaction with Clinton they were exercising their freedom of speech.
But when people express their dissatisfaction with Bush they are anti-American?
I got the “if you don’t like it, leave” thing again. Am I safe in assuming that they only returned to the country four years ago? Perhaps they don’t realize they have more in common with the 17th century meanies who drove the Puritans out of England than the forefathers of this country. Perhaps they are the ones who should leave, eh?
The whole thing is reminding me of that eerie episode of the Twilight Zone where that kid would send you to the cornfields if you weren’t thinking happy thoughts.
I’m not thinking happy thoughts right now. Will I get sent to France? (crossing fingers and hoping).
The fact of the matter is this country was founded on the acceptance of differences. The Statue of Liberty doesn’t read “Give us your poor, your huddled masses only if they sign this contract and hold to the opinions we set in this here manifesto.” The preamble to the constitution doesn’t grant life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness only if you believe in the God of the Bible.
As Christians we have allowed nationalism to supplant the power of God. We have blustered in and declared our way the one true way and by golly the nation is going to run under that premise no matter who gets lost in the process. We, who were allowed to freely choose God, are trying to force everyone else to make that same choice. Why, when our salvation was a gift, do we try to make it another person’s sentence? People have to choose to accept the gift. Some people are not going to accept it. That is what free will is all about. But those who wave the flag of Christianity simultaneously with the flag of the United States are saying that God isn’t good enough on His own. It is one thing to be proud of your country, it is another thing altogether to wrap that pride up in a package deal that God never offered.
As Christians, our behavior is supposed to model God’s grace toward us. We are to be merciful because He is merciful. We are to love because He is love. We have a choice each morning when we wake up to live a life that points people toward God or away from God.
I am a registered Democrat. I am a Christian. I believe in the elemental freedoms this country stands for. I believe that Bush and his cabinet are the Sanhedrin of our times. I believe in the God of Abraham. If He told me to renounce my party affiliation, I would do so in a heartbeat, regardless of my politics. Because deep down I know that He is good and right (all the time). But the thing is that, while He has convicted my heart on many a thing, He has never done so about my vote. Why? Because I don’t think our politics play that big a role in the relationship we are to have with our Creator. Why do we insist on double-billing God along with politics?