I’m reading a biography on the life of James Madison that was written by a biographer in the 1870s. He used the phrase “The Law of Party Politics” and defines it as anything the other party proposes, you oppose it. Even it you agree, you join the party position and fight for it.
As an example, James Madison, primary author of the Constitution, was a strong supporter of establishing a federal government to establish trade rules for all 13 states. He was adamantly opposed to slavery.
However, being a Virginian, when the southern states formed a new political party to defend states’ rights, which included the right to own and sell slaves, Madison left the defense of the Federal Party, and joined the new Republican Party. From that point on, he sold out on his Federalist values and fought for every political view he had earlier opposed. That is the Law of Party Politics at its worst. Party politics can spill over into the church, as well.
Let’s all sort out in our minds what God has called us to do, and not let any new group of ideas move us from our scriptural mandate.
Tags: Madison, politics
I’ve been watching the competition between Lugar and Mourdock for the next Senator from Indiana. I first leaned one way, then the other. After hearing reports on the debate (I was at church that night), I made my mind up. Since then, both sides have spent a fortune attacking their opponent on television ads. None of these has changed my mind.
I don’t know about you, but negative television ads don’t persuade me. Anybody can exaggerate the facts and tell lop-sided statistics. I don’t buy everything advertised on TV, neither do I believe everything politicians say.
But my mind went to the question, who’s paying for these ads? Is this really helping the economy? How many tax payers are benefiting from this use of money? And, is there a better way?
What do you think about these negative ads?
Tags: politics, vote
An elderly lady handed me a letter she had received and asked me to help her decide how much money she should send toward this worthy cause. I took the letter home and read it over. It appeared to be from a circuit court in Washington, D.C.. As I read through the letter, though, there was a lot of inflammatory rhetoric about how Barack Obama (never referred to as “President”) was trying to undermine the constitution and turn America into a socialist state. This was a last resort effort to stop Obama from destroying America using the courts.
Enclosed was a copy of the petition submitted to the court. I read through it. It was a law suit filed against the EPA by a group of corporations and conservative congressmen to change a law (called “Climategate”) requiring an Electric company to use cleaner fuels in generating electricity. The argument used was that they had used faulty statistics when the law was approved. It had absolutely nothing to do with President Barack Obama!
So I called this lady back and told her what I had learned. She agreed with me she did not want to support this type of action.
Both political parties do this type of deceptive fund-raising by agitating people’s emotions to raise money for a cause few believe in.
Its my opinion that Christians must be careful not to get caught up in this type of political action but remember what God has called us to do. For this reason Anita and I rarely give to any political cause. We are big givers in Kingdom causes, however.
What’s your opinion?
Tags: politics
In 1980, Lee Atwater, a political campaign manager for Ronald Reagan, inflicted terrible pain with his words. His staff learned that an opposing congressional candidate from South Carolina, Tom Turnipseed, had once experienced severe depression and undergone electric shock therapy. When Atwater released the information to the press, it humiliated the candidate and cast doubt on his ability. In anguish, the man questioned Atwater’s campaign ethics. Atwater responded by saying that he had no intention of responding to a man “hooked up to a jumper cable.”
Ten years later, Atwater was afflicted with an incurable brain tumor. He was confined to bed, attached to machines and tubes and wires. Before he died, he a wrote the candidate a letter and asked to be forgiven. He saw how cruel and heartless his words had been.
In part, Atwater wrote: “My illness helped me to see that what was missing in society is what was missing in me: a little heart, a lot of brotherhood. The ’80s were about acquiring — acquiring wealth, power, prestige. I know. I acquired more wealth, power, and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want and still feel empty. What power wouldn’t I trade for a little more time with my family? What price wouldn’t I pay for an evening with friends? It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth, but it is a truth that the country, caught up in its ruthless ambitions and moral decay, can learn on my dime. I don’t know who will lead us through the ’90s, but they must be made to speak to this spiritual vacuum at the heart of American society, this tumor of the soul.”
In truth, you and I are the only ones who can make that change within us. Let’s do it.
Tags: confession, foregiveness, politics
In 1884 Grover Cleveland ran against James G. Blaine for the presidency of the U.S. Blaine supporters discovered that Cleveland, who was a bachelor at the time, had fathered a son by Mrs. Maria Crofts Halpin, an attractive widow who had been on friendly terms with several politicians.
Subsequently, Republicans tried to pin an immorality tag on Democrat Cleveland by distributing handbills showing an infant labeled “One more vote for Cleveland” and by having paraders chant, “Ma, Ma, where’s my pa? Gone to the White House, Ha Ha Ha!” The move, however, backfired badly. Rather than deny the story, Cleveland decided to tell the truth and admit the intimacy. This candor helped defuse the issue, and Cleveland was elected president.
When we come clean on an issue, it tends to make people (as well as God) trust us. Confession is good for the soul and politics.
Tags: confession, history, politics