I guess I get my conservative roots from my parents, mentors and friends. However, I have attempted to keep a somewhat open mind to the Democratic Party. In my lifetime there have only been two Democrat Presidents (Carter and Clinton). I think this speaks to the overall values of our nation. With this in mind we enter a new political season and the brink of history as Senator Obama accepts his party's nomination. I watched Hillary's speech last night and thought she walked the line pretty tight between supporting Obama and letting people know she is the better candidate. It was a speech meant to bring unity to a party that is harshly divided but in the end it just reminded Hillary supporters why they would rather have her as their candidate than Barack. As a Republican I would rather have seen Hillary win the nomination because I believe she would be able to handle the rigors of the presidency better than Barack. I just can't believe that a party (less likely a whole nation) would nominate someone with so little experience and history in politics. Twelve years ago he was attending a convention dreaming and was probably inspired to give it a swing and now he is months away from being the leader of the free world. It speaks well to the American Dream but is it best for the country?
Don't get me wrong- I am not a huge supporter of McCain. He has voted against conservative ideas and has developed legislation that was in contrast to the Republican party. He was even considered to run as a Democrat V.P and is now considering former democrats as his running mate! But, in the end, I believe that McCain is more prepared than Obama to lead this nation. When Georgia was attacked by Russia (and Russia said the US had no room for criticism and Barack AGREED!!!) I could not help but laugh when one of our senators (Evan Bayh) had to say with a straight face that Barack was more prepared to handle the situation than McCain. I just imagined Barack wanting to hide and hence his pick of Biden. If Democrats biggest criticism of Bush was that he was a dumb, incompetetent puppet of the right wing branch of the Republican party then what is their defense of Obama? He picked a candidate that is status quo turning from his staple "change and hope" message to "same ole". He betrayed his followers by picking someone engrossed in the Washington culture, who could be a bulldog and viciously attack a close friend for the "good" of the party, because he couldn't do it himself.
When Karin and I first got married I had just accepted that I was going to vote Republican. She challenged my beliefs but in the end it turned out that I really hold to more conservative values- some of these are privatizing social security, keeping health care out of government, pro-life and school vouchers so kids can attend the best schools and not just the ones they are assigned. I do not support a government that wants to continue to take more of my money and demands to take care of me from the cradle to the grave. I have seen welfare babies and people who have been trapped by this system. I know the difficulty of having a family and not being able to afford health insurance and struggling to buy groceries. However, I do not believe government bailouts are the answer. I saw how socialized health care bankrupted Tennessee and how it was abused by people who had no reason to be on it.
Listening to "Dingy Harry" Reid I am reminded of one other point- this idea that McCain is an extension of Bush. It is laughable at best. Yes, according to Obama's commercials he has voted with Bush 95% of the time over the past year but that was to shore up the base. It is politics. Obama has become more centrist and will continue to move to the right. I don't think anyone in the Republican party is confident that McCain will reinforce all of their values but we are pretty confident that Obama doesn't recognize even the validity of our perspective.
I have some friends and family who are deeply passionate about Obama's candidacy. I don't understand their support. If I looked past his policies, gaffes and misunderstanding of world affairs I just cannot get past his inexperience. I think he is a nice guy with a wonderful family who he loves and loves him. He is a good dad and husband and probably could be a good president someday. But, is this really his time? I know he won't be the youngest president but he will be the most inexperienced and is that what we need at this time in our nation's history? A time of war, recession, "climate change", slumping housing market, rising jobless rates, record deficit and a broken education system where only 40% of kids graduate. I don't know- maybe he'll surprise me if he wins. Or maybe there will only be two more Democrat Presidents in my lifetime.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Mentors
The best mentoring relationships are the ones that happen naturally...
I was in high school when I started attending youth group at First Baptist Church in Franklin, TN. A new youth pastor was coming in the fall of 1990. I remember hearing him speak for the first time. It was during Sunday School and he talked about transforming our schools and looking for student leaders. He said if no one in this group would step up then he would go into our schools and find new people. We knew he threw down the gauntlet and we were ready to answer.
When he came on board he handpicked his leaders. I was not one of them. He must not have known who I was. A friend and I decided to crash the leaders Bible study and welcome ourselves in to it. He opened the door with a confused look but allowed us to participate. He quickly warmed up to us and took me under his wing. I learned so much from that friendship and continue to be influenced by him today. He was my first mentor.
I'm not sure exactly how everyone perceived me in college but I know some people looked up to me. There were several times in my upper classmen years when underclassmen would ask me to "mentor" them. I always said "no". This wasn't a pride thing it was a belief that mentoring relationships almost always happen naturally. I had people that mentored me (David Gushee, Mike Mallard among the many) and some that I mentored but it was never "forced".
Now that I'm older it's much harder to find people to be mentored by and to mentor. I am currently working at a place where I would not think to find a mentor. But, nevertheless God has brought people around me to grow and challenge me. My boss in particular is one of those people. For whatever reason he has taken me under his wing and is giving me a lot of guidance, encouragement and friendship. I've tried to let him know that I appreciate his help and he just shrugs it off- not in a bad way but just in a way that says it's not necessary.
I'm learning a lot about humility these days and I believe this is a direct result of being where I am. Pride is a killer and I can be so easily seduced by it. I have called more on God during this past year through this job than I probably did during our church plant. It is stretching me and shaping me in new ways.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on mentors? People who have been mentors to you and people you've mentored? You can give them props here:
I was in high school when I started attending youth group at First Baptist Church in Franklin, TN. A new youth pastor was coming in the fall of 1990. I remember hearing him speak for the first time. It was during Sunday School and he talked about transforming our schools and looking for student leaders. He said if no one in this group would step up then he would go into our schools and find new people. We knew he threw down the gauntlet and we were ready to answer.
When he came on board he handpicked his leaders. I was not one of them. He must not have known who I was. A friend and I decided to crash the leaders Bible study and welcome ourselves in to it. He opened the door with a confused look but allowed us to participate. He quickly warmed up to us and took me under his wing. I learned so much from that friendship and continue to be influenced by him today. He was my first mentor.
I'm not sure exactly how everyone perceived me in college but I know some people looked up to me. There were several times in my upper classmen years when underclassmen would ask me to "mentor" them. I always said "no". This wasn't a pride thing it was a belief that mentoring relationships almost always happen naturally. I had people that mentored me (David Gushee, Mike Mallard among the many) and some that I mentored but it was never "forced".
Now that I'm older it's much harder to find people to be mentored by and to mentor. I am currently working at a place where I would not think to find a mentor. But, nevertheless God has brought people around me to grow and challenge me. My boss in particular is one of those people. For whatever reason he has taken me under his wing and is giving me a lot of guidance, encouragement and friendship. I've tried to let him know that I appreciate his help and he just shrugs it off- not in a bad way but just in a way that says it's not necessary.
I'm learning a lot about humility these days and I believe this is a direct result of being where I am. Pride is a killer and I can be so easily seduced by it. I have called more on God during this past year through this job than I probably did during our church plant. It is stretching me and shaping me in new ways.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on mentors? People who have been mentors to you and people you've mentored? You can give them props here:
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