Some Reflections and a Thoughtful Article

Well, Election Week is over. I'm personally (to be completely honest) not exactly over the results of Tuesday, but not because I don't accept them at the level that I must; it's more that I realize that this election has significance and, as my friend Rachel said over on her blog, there may be a new level of civic responsibility and awareness to which we Christians will be called to in the next 4 (and hopefully not 8!) years. I realize that I need to pray about this outcome and ask God to show me what I can do to help make sure that the worst of what we imagine could happen in the next four years, don't happen (or that we at least do all we can to speak for biblical morality and responsible leadership, even if we aren't always able to get "our way"). I guess it just feels like, more than ever, this election will require some more (ongoing!) inward digesting and thought before I can feel less disappointment and sadness.

I had a lady at work today who is Democratic tell me all about what she thought and basically lecture me about how the new president will "change things" (hmm, wonder where she got that ever-so-vague slogan from?) and that it will certainly be much better than the past 8 years of what she called "dictatorship-like" leadership (referring to Bush and his administration). That made me upset. It is not that she disagrees and voted on the other side as I did; it's the larger issue that I think is common among MANY people in our nation right now: the total and utter lack of respect--and really, the disdain--for Bush. It is really bothering me--and has been for awhile. I don't care if you disagree with him or think he has made mistakes; every president has made mistakes, and this president in particular, I think, was faced with some pretty new challenges that had never really been dealt with before. I will not venture to say what he did right or wrong (I'm no expert anyway, esp. on foreign policy), but I do know that I believe he has led with integrity, a respect for life, and with a desire to do what is best and safest for the country. So...that's why I found a recent article in the Wall Street Journal very refreshing and thoughtful. What made it unique, too, was that it was written by a Democrat, and a former member of the John Kerry campaign at that. I respect this man and his words about the Bush presidency. Here's a few snippets of it, and you can read the whole article at the link provided; when you're done, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president. ...

... It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. ...

... Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them. ...

... The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time. ... Read it all here.

(Source: WSJ, 11/5/08, "The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace," by Jeffrey Scott Shapiro.)