2 posts tagged “presidential race”
I have issues.
I know, I know--that sounds bad. (Or maybe if you know me, you already knew that.) But I mean I have issues with politics. I have issues with Republicans. I have issues with the current president. I have issues with Democrats. And I have issues with the president elect.
You might say I'm hard to please. That's true.
In fact, of all the presidents to have served our great nation--and check out this fascinating campaign poster above, with thanks to Jonathan Horowitz--I can't think of one I would trust completely, or agree with completely.
Reason being, ultimately the only "citizen ruler" (which is what presidents are, from a federalist, constitutional, and historic point of view) that I trust and follow is Jesus. That's the significance of the "kingdom" part of this blog's title.
Jesus is, in fact, the ultimate citizen ruler. According to the Christian tradition, He who was God became man ("a citizen") in the Incarnation, and lived, died, and rose again in perfection and in my place. His resurrection was His inauguration into His "presidency," an office He will occupy until the End of Time. My faith in His administration brings me all the benefits which have accrued to Him as the Perfect Son of God.
This is the good news. And this is why, when it comes to other citizen rulers (ie. presidents) and other rulers in general (kings, prime ministers, generals, what have you), I take comfort in the knowledge that God is ultimately in charge.
As proof of this point, check out the ancient wisdom of Solomon--a king himself--when he wrote:
The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever He will.
Last night my children and I prayed for the president elect. We also prayed for his family. And the administration he will build. Our prayer, among other things, is that God--the King of Kings--would guide his heart like a farmer might guide a stream into his fields.
My children were eager to join me in this prayer. Won't you also?
I've noticed on editorial pages, in radio and TV interviews, and even in presidential politics, a significant moral reflex in response to the "current economic crisis." People want to blame someone. I think there are people to blame. Some of them are wealthy people, risk-takers, and people who know what they were allowed to do, but not what they ought to have done.
But, in response to the cry, "You're saving Wall Street, but what about Main Street?" I say if a face on a poster is what people are looking for, what about putting my face or your face in it?
I'm a fan of non-partisan politics, which is to say I believe that both parties are often wrong. In that vein, I heard several years ago that we shouldn't complain about the president we have, because that president is a reflection of the people. It doesn't matter that "I didn't vote for so and so." Ancient Christian tradition teaches that it is God who puts rulers in power--and He has His reasons.
In the same vein, the current crisis on Wall Street (so-to-speak) is my crisis. It is your crisis. We own it. We have met the enemy, and the enemy is us (or "we" if you are grammatically inclined).
As proof positive of this line of thinking, note how this essay cites the depth of the moral decay in the fiscal habits of "Joe Six Pack"--
The average American household is now buried under mortgage debt of $84,911, car and tuition loans of $14,414, home equity loans of $10,062 and credit card debt of $8,565—in sum, outstanding debt totaling $117,952. According to other Federal Reserve statistics, average household savings this year are a mere $392. The spiraling collapse of the housing market, the mortgage market and now the broader credit market was triggered by a cavalier attitude to thrift [and] a preoccupation with short-term gain at the expense of long-term...
There are corporate, "Wall-Street-Excesses" that must be remedied. But Jesus taught that the plank in my eye comes first.
