The great delusion

Obligatory disclaimers:
This is a completely personal and unofficial post to a personal blog. In my official capacity as a Pastor/Overseer I don't discuss politics and don't endorse candidates. As an individual American voter, I have opinions, and I express them here to keep them out of the pulpit.

So, having prefaced this, here are my questions... the things with which I struggle for answers that never seem to come.

• After the United States of America lost tens of thousands of lives fighting and defeating the very ideology represented by Senator Obama, why would any sane person with a sense of history vote to hand the reins over to him, essentially rendering the sacrifice of our brave patriots of no effect? Communism, and it's younger sibling Socialism, is a failed economic system. It led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the collapse of the Berlin Wall, and keeps millions of Cubans and North Koreans living in abject poverty and misery. When Senator Obama says he wants to "spread the wealth around" -- make no mistake, it is code for "redistribution of wealth" which is the core of socialist economics. Redistribution of wealth is sold as "fairness." How is it fair for the government to force you to surrender the fruits of your hard work, initiative and investment risk and have them give your bounty away to people, many of whom have no worked as hard, shown the same initiative or taken your risks?

• I will not question Senator Obama's commitment to Christ or his salvation, but I can not reconcile his stated proposals with my understanding of Biblical Christianity -- so why are some Christians closing their eyes to the facts and voting Obama? He will appoint federal judges and possibly change the make-up of the Supreme Court in ways that will impact the nation for decades to come. No, I am not just talking about Roe v Wade, though that is an issue for me; I am talking about the nature of marriage, private property rights, Second Amendment rights, Education Policy and pretty much every kind of liberal social engineering one might imagine.

• If you are, like me, the parent of a daughter, listen carefully: Senator Obama is in favor of your girl registering for draft... signing up for Selective Service, and he is also in favor of opening all combat positions to women. I served in Vietnam and can tell you that men, by nature, will protect females in danger at the risk of their own lives and to the detriment of the mission at hand. It is another step in the emasculation of our military. I am for women serving in the military, should they choose to do so, but am firmly against drafting women and also against women in front-lines, direct-combat positions.

• Obama is black, or at least HALF black. That's no reason to vote AGAINST him or to vote FOR him. It is just one of many characteristics about the man. I believe we are seeing a reverse Bradley Effect; some people are voting for Obama for no other reason than that he is black. There's a clip on Breitbart.tv in which Howard Stern plays a clip from on the street interviews in Harlem. The interviewer asked people who they were likely to vote for, and all said OBAMA. He then presented John McCain positions to them as if they were Obama's and asked if they agreed with them -- to which they all said "YES!" He even asked if they agreed with Obama's selection of Sarah Palin and they said "YES!" I know there are ignorant McCain voters, too -- I have the SPAM email rumors to prove it -- but those interviews scared me.