I'm a bit ticked off. Whether you like Governor Sarah Palin or not, whether you are a staunch Democrat, Independent or Republican, be consistent! I can't stand the hypocrisy of our media and many of our social institutions and organizations. Are not kids today encouraged to have sex? Isn't abstinence education looked down on? Don't they say that women have a right to abortion? So, what happens when our children fail to live up to our moral standards? We are scrutinized and ridiculed. "What else is in our closet?" they ask. "What else is being kept secret from the public?" Give me a break!
The office of the President of the U.S.A. is the highest calling of a public servant in our country. And yes, we should be aware of what's in the history of our candidates. Governor Palin has electrified conservatives because of her views. Now that her 17-year daughter, Bristol, is found to be pregnant, what do we hear? We don't hear that she's a teenager and is expected to have sex, and should have the right to do so. We don't hear how she should consider having an abortion (God forbid that she in fact was planning on having one--she isn't). We don't hear the cry of feminists that come to her defense.
Conservatives, instead, are condemned for their hypocrisy. How dare conservatives place someone with these family problems in the office of Presidency at a time like this? Why doesn't Palin apply her conservative views and stay home and solve her own issues? Hello? Is this situation really the heart of the matter? Do problems at home with children disqualify you from holding public office? Should our children's behavior and choices determine how we can serve? How quickly do so many forget the actions of some while still in Office?
Whether or not you agree with the choice of Palin by McCain, is up for debate. But, don't speak out from both sides of the mouth and dish out a double standard. Our culture prides itself with giving freedom to sexual expression and right over a woman's body. Are we now going to play the role of a society zealous for absolute truth and biblical morality in order to discredit a potential candidate from holding office? Pure hypocrisy!
The reality of life is that children don't aways follow the ways of their parents. The Bible is full of examples where good kings in Israel sometimes were followed by evil children (See 2 Kings 14:1-4). Many are the hearts of fathers and mothers which are broken over the poor choices made by their children. Furthermore, the reality of the world is one of tension and conflict between how we want to live and the way we do live. Still, for Christians, the Bible encourages us to live lives worthy of the call as followers of Christ. We are to live lives that are filled with integrity. Our children will also live with this tension and sometimes live lives of dissonance.
You may want to cast your vote against Palin on arguments based on her inexperience and the challenge she would face if she had to take over the Presidency if something happened to McCain. But, don't argue against her on the basis of the poor choice made by her daughter and cast your vote based upon the decisions of a family member over which she had no power. Everyone is responsible for his/her choices.
Obama said it well and forcefully on Monday: leave the family out of the campaign, especially the children. More importantly, I think many in our society need to learn to sing a tune of fairness for all and begin holding a distinct note of judgment that applies to everyone. Above all, everyone needs to seek mercy and compassion, forgiveness and restoration. And remember the words of Jesus, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3).
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5 comments:
Hey Roger -- I hear what you're saying, and I agree with most of your post, but I do think we need to be careful here, lest WE be the ones who sound like the hypocrites talking out of both sides of our mouth. It cuts both ways, and I would've stayed away from defending this issue with a ten-foot pole for these reasons:
1) WE are the ones who talk about the fact that the abstinence message works better than the "Safe Sex" message. Oops! So much for abstinence; from a family that claims to be a conservative, Godly, Christian household. It plays right into the other side's hands that maybe they should've also taught about the importance of Safe Sex. I agree that parents can't control the behavior of their children; nor should be held responsible for the actions of their kids -- but it just doesn't bode well to our argument that "our way" works better. It's an ancedotal argument, but it puts the issue out-front-and-center; and they will use it against us.
2) Secondly, WE are the ones who preach the virtues of the "traditional" home, and the importance of mothers making children the priority of their lives. We are the ones who criticize the Left when they place career over family, and personal ambition over the high priority of raising their children.
Here is a mother who has 5 children -- most still at home; a baby who has Down Syndrome; and a troubled teenaged daughter who obviously is "acting out," and the mother thinks it is more imprtant to be the Vice President of the United States than taking care of her children? Hello? I'm sorry, but I have serious issues with this, and I think we are the ones who look like huge hypocrites.
Where are the Family Values here? Where is the dedication to Biblical principles of home and family especially in the light of the mother's role as we understand it from the Bible? This ticket is certainly not winning the vote of Christian home-schooling parents!
Again, my issue is not that the daughter got pregenant -- It is how they have chosen to deal with it; and how conservatives will be portrayed with handling this. The children need their mother!! And that's the issue here. We have to be consistent here -- Do we believe in the traditional roles of parenting or no? Do we believe it is more important to raise your children or run a State / country? Sorry -- I want to be seen as a little more consistent in my talk / walk.
That's my 2-cents :-)
Could have not said it better. Great work.
That's why I like you, Tommy. You are always objective. I understand that we too can be accused of hypocrisy. My main point in the post is about criticism based on teenage pregnancy when this is assumed and encouraged by our society. In terms of the care of her children, Gov. Palin is a working mom who apparently has a system in place for the care of her children that will be extended further if she and McCain are elected. In addition, you (and others) are assuming that the family crisis in her home is out of control. Sarah and Todd are loving their daughter through this period in her life and are supportive of her and the unborn child. Sarah has chosen to stay with the child and will soon get married. This is the tension and reality of the modern family, whether Christian or not. Should are lives be better? Yes. Many families have been able to navigate through modern pressures and come out with less emotional injuries. But, think about this for a moment. Absolute truth remains contant, whether or not someone wants to abide by it or refuses to submit to it. The rejection of the truth behind abstinence doesn't nullify the morality taught at home. Many are the pastors who have preached the pure gospel and yet their children have rejected the ways of Christ and have gone wayward (Billy Graham and Franklin Graham, for example). I concede that we can be attacked for hypocrisy. But, we are Christians, not necessarily because our lives can be better (they often are), but because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
This is great food for thought. I think I will write about this as well. Thank you for stirring my brain!
Hey Roger, God Bless you for this blog... always the professor! I have a comment on your post too.
I don't understand the anger at the Left's hypocrisy on this. I believe it is expected and beyond that... I believe it has a very positive reason for existing. Just as the Bible warns that teachers of the Word will be held to higher standards, a parallel can be drawn to Christians and non-Christians.
We should not follow or apply the world's rules in our lives. We are not of this world and we have been warned that we are hated by it. When we as Christians act like those that are of the world, we need its' scrutinizing, evil eye upon us.
Getting angry about it makes us seem like we are desirous of being measured by secular standards. Instead, I say lets thank God for this constant source of accountability. With the right mindset, these hypocrites can be a huge blessing in this regard. We are measured against the standards set by the Lord of the Universe. All in all, considering the diseased nature of the God-less, "hypocrite" is of the mildest accusations one could raise.
In conclusion, let us thank those who persecute us for our sins.
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