Ignorant Historian

Civility (n) – politeness, the act of showing regard for others

Civility…that’s a good word, no?  Then why is it sorely lacking from political debate in this country?

I love a good discussion.  Whether I’m discussing an issue with someone who I mostly agree with or with someone I mostly disagree with,  I believe it’s healthy to question and examine one’s assumptions.  It’s rare that my views are not changed or at least fine-tuned after a discussion of an important matter.  Being forced to state my views in a comprehensible way helps me realize my argument’s weaknesses and recognize any unfounded and unjustified claims.

So why do people think that yelling at one another and calling one another names is a good thing?  Why do they think that this is “debate?”  Why are talk radio shows and cable news programs filled with venomous, vacuous speech?  Do they even think it’s helpful, or is their only aim to disrupt their sworn enemies (because we’re really at war and there can be no middle ground)?

Perhaps I’m naive, but I believe that there is a place for meaningful debate.  That doesn’t mean that we’ll walk away from the table at the end of the day with the same opinions, but we can walk away with a greater respect and understanding of one another and an idea on the things that we can agree on.  While I don’t agree with the President on many of the issues, I share his belief that there is a place for meaningful discussion beyond party, religious, cultural, and racial differences.  I believe our country would be a better place if more people believed this, but I also believe that the sinfulness of man will always taint how we relate to one another.

Photo by Jenn Jenn

Murder is no way to show that abortion is murder.  This is not the type of news I like to hear out of my home city.  Shame on he who did this:

Abortion Provider George Tiller is Shot Dead at Church

From time to time I’ve heard the sentiment, usually from those of a pro-choice persuasion, “Why is abortion such a big deal?”  Obviously, this issue has me and several others all in a tizzy, but for what purpose?  There are many issues that I feel strongly about, so why is abortion often front and center?

In order to realize why I think of it as a big deal, I’ll try to help you see it through my eyes.  It’s really an issue of worldview: because of the way I see the world, I can’t help but make a big deal out of abortion.

I believe that life begins at conception.  That’s when the man and the woman’s DNA are combined in such a way to create new DNA.  The embryo–even when he’s just one cell–does not have the same genetic material as his mother, so he can’t just be an extension of her.  Because that baby–no matter how small–is his own person, taking any actions to deliberately kill that person is MURDER, just like it would be murder to kill any other innocent human being.

If you found out that the government was allowing (and in some cases funding) people and organizations to murder innocent people, wouldn’t you be upset?  Wouldn’t you do all that is in your power to speak out for those individuals and help them?

That’s why abortion is such a big deal to me.  While I know many of my readers won’t agree with the foundational premise of my pro-life position, I hope you recognize the logic of my conclusion based on that premise.

You all know I’m a dork, right? The other day I was talking to my roommate about my taste in boys, and I told her I was surprised she didn’t know that I liked dorky guys. She thought I meant that of course I’d like dorky guys because I’m dorky, when I just meant that the guys I’ve liked in the past were dorky and she knew that.  The people who live with you know you best, right?

Along the same lines, the age that I was most excited about reaching growing up was 18.  Why 18?  Because that’s when you can register to vote.  I knew early on that I would just miss voting in the 2000 election by 6 weeks and that bummed me out.

When I registered to vote that first year, I registered Republican.  They were the good guys, right?  I suppose my political philosophy, young as it was, mainly fit in the Republican camp, except I didn’t want legislation against abortion (I held some vague idea that this was forcing your morality on others), wanted capital punishment gone, and could care less about gun legislation one way or the other (this last one is still more or less my view).

Since then, I’ve grown a lot, and not just politically.  I’ve read, listened, thought, and talked out my beliefs, seeking to form a consistent, relevant, and biblical worldview.  Still, I’ve remained Republican, or at least the voting records still said I am.  In the last years, I’ve drawn further away from the Republican party as I recognize that a political party will never accurately reflect my views (unless it’s based on mine, but who wants to follow me?).  When I officially moved my voter registration to North Carolina last year, I registered Republican because I thought I had to in order to vote in the Republican primaries.  Turns out, that’s not the case.

All that to say, I’m proud to announce that I’m now officially “unaffiliated.”

This has been one of the fastest weeks ever.  Of course, I’m of the subscriber of the philosophy that our perception of time means we DO feel like each increment (day, week, year, whatever) is faster than the last because it’s a smaller proportion of our life as a whole.  That means that this week WAS the fastest ever!

Anyway, now time for your comments:

Wickle said: “Just for fun … When someone gets too whiny, you could say, ‘You can’t get a bigger refund because they needed the money to send to me.’

“Of course, you might want to update your resume first. Just a thought …”

You don’t know how many times I want to say something like that!  I love to joke and use sarcasm (just ask any of my little kiddies who’ve fallen victim to it), but I really have to hold my tongue and not joke about stealing people’s money!  It’s not quite professional…

Vicki had some ideas for a celebration post that I think you might like:

 ”1. Give away a million dollars
2. Or just a vacation to an exotic island
3. Or just a Gift card (for $600 or 600 pennies or somewhere in between)
4. Or highlight some of your favorite older posts that new readers will not have read”

Any idea on how to get a sponsor for either of the first two ideas?  If so, I’d totally be up for it!

OneMom said, “Future posts? How about writing about your hopes for the future … 1 year, 5 years, 10 years from now.”

I absolutely love this idea, though I’m not using it for my 3rd anniversary post.  Look for it soon (Soon meaning a few weeks from now…I’ve got several weeks of posts already written!  It’s very freeing.).

Amanda (my future sister-in-law) said about my Christmas/April Fool’s post, “Haha nice one! I was about to comment on the girlfriend/fiance remark, but then saw I was ‘fooled’ since that was irrelevant back in December. Burritos? Seriously? Awesome!  Why am I not too terribly surprised by number ten? He has gotten a lot better about gifting though.”

Iva said, “Oh you totally got me! And you were the only one.”

Yes!

And there were several good comments on the “Tar and Feathers?” post.  Here’s some snippets:

“I’m getting really tired of many of the US blogs I read continually moaning about everything the guys does. Sure, disagree with him and state your case, but if all you do is complain about how bad things are now that he’s in power, it’s going to be a very miserable four years for many people.” – Rodney Olsen

“To be fair, people did the same thing to Pres. Bush; but back then the people who are doing it now were calling it wrong.” – Wickle

“The focus, however, should be on how we as constituents deal with what we’re given which should be in a way that glorifies God.” – Elizabeth

Why do I get so defense when someone slams the President?  I hinted on Saturday that I’d be talking about this sometime this week, and here it is.

Any of you who’ve been reading this blog for a while understand where I stand politically, and if you don’t and are curious, feel free to click the tag “politics.”  As far as this post is concerned, only the fact that I disagree with our current president on many key issues is relevant.

Though I don’t agree with everything he did, my political beliefs are more aligned with President Bush.  It’s understandable why it would have irked me when someone ridiculed him (though I think this BNL song may be the best anti-Bush thing I’ve heard, it’s hilarious primarily because of the manner in which it was done). 

I think it annoys me as much (if not more) if someone treats Barack Obama in the same manner even if they’re on “my” side, or possibly because they’re on “my” side.

I’m all for meaningful discussion of the issues, and I don’t think the president is above scrutiny, I just think that as the leader of our country he deserves respect, though certainly not mindless, mute followers.  I will seek to hold him accountable for his actions and call him out on foolish decisions, but I won’t deride his character unless specific, verifiable incidents back up my accusations.

So, to sum up, I don’t disagree with people disagreeing with the president or any other leader.  I just disagree with doing it in inflamatory, slanderous ways.  Or maybe I’m wrong and we should be bring back tar and feathers?

We’ve all heard, reheard, and heard again that famous JFK quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country,” right?  Well, it seems like we’re all for quoting it, but not for putting it in action.

Given my job, I hear a lot of whining about taxes.  The most common complaints is that the government just isn’t giving them enough money: whether they should have gotten more in the stimulus payment last year (one suggested $6,000 instead of $600), more back in their tax refund, tax breaks for veterinary bills (you’d be surprised how many times I’m asked about this one), or just another stimulus check.

I’m all for getting people the credits on their taxes that they deserve and the laws allow, but it seems like all people are interested in how they can benefit from the government.  Isn’t that what all the congressional pork is about, getting the constituent what they want, not caring about if it is in the interest of the country as a whole?

I can’t say that I’m entirely innocent on this issue, but it does disgust me.  I think the seagulls in Finding Nemo said it best when they said, “Mine!  Mine!  Mine!”

Ah, you’ve been good to me this week.  Here’s some jewels:

Jacki: “You’ve been mentioning the President a lot lately….becoming a fan?”

Well, I’ll let that hang there for a bit (I did answer Jacki via email, though.).  Expect a post about that later this week, probably.  I’ve got other good stuff lined up, but I’ll see if I can squeeze in a non-political talk about politics!

Heather: “Don’t fret, my dear – you’ll get your old passport back with all its kewl stamps!”

Haha, you used “fret” and “kewl” in the same sentence!  Oh, and I’m really glad to hear that.

Elizabeth: “I love that about Open Door. Every sermon/lesson is for the whole church and is modified to be on everyon’s level of understanding. I think it’s incredible what young children really do know and absorb through those lessons and especially if parents work with them at home.”

It’s certainly a challenge sometimes, but oh so worth it!

Joy said, “I try and comment as much as I can. I tend to try and write shorter post and I like to read short post.  I think we’re all stretched for time and like to read as many blogs as possible. When I click on some blogs and I have to scroll my mouse several times just to read the post I’m like aiyiyi. That is why I like your blog. You are great at getting to the point.  Keep em short and sweet people.”

Thanks, Joy!  I like them short ‘n’ sweet, too, though I have a bloggy friend or two that are known for their verbosity that make me laugh, just like Dickens or Fielding (ahem, Heather, ahem).

Last week I talked about how I’m going to get more involved in politics. My first step was to write congratulatory letters to the 4 top officials that were elected from here: president, governor, senator, and representative. Several of you asked to see these letters, so here they are! I’d love it if you would join me in writing letters or emails to these men and women (or those that are represent you). In the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t vote for any of these 4 individuals. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever voted a more losing ballot.

I addressed each letter to the office that they are currently in. The address for mailing a letter to a US senator is:

Office of Senator (Name)
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

So that’s where I sent Barack Obama’s letter. Here is what I wrote:

Click the picture to see it bigger. Sorry these are a bit blurry, but I don’t have a scanner. As you can see, I hand wrote the letter. I didn’t use their appropriate titles in the letter (though I did on the envelope) since I felt weird since none of these people have officially taken their new offices yet. If I were to do this again, I would use their titles out of respect.

I also included my last name and address, though I took the picture before I wrote them in. I wouldn’t want my mailbox would be stuffed with fan mail from you all!

The next letter I wrote was to our newly elected US senator. Her current address is:

Senator Kay Hagan
NC Senate
300 N. Salisbury St, Room 411
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925

Here’s what I wrote:

Next up was our newly elected governor, Bev Perdue. She’s North Carolina’s first female governor, but strangely, she’s my 3rd (I lived in Kansas under governors Joan Finney and Kathleen Sebelius). Anyway, this is her address:

Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue
20401 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0401

I just realized I spelled her last name wrong. Whoops. Don’t do that if you decide to write her. Anyway, this is what I wrote:

Finally, I wrote a letter to my representative, Brad Miller. He’s the only candidate here that was actually reelected, so I was able to send the letter directly to his congressional office. His address was the hardest to find; I guess they think that you just need to email your representative. It took me several tries, but finally Google helped me out:

The Honorable Brad Miller
United States House of Representatives
1722 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3313

Here’s what I wrote him:

I hope you find these letters helpful as you seek to be an encouragement for your elected officials. Feel free to use any/all of my letters you find useful. Let me know if you decide to this!

This post is a part of Works-for-Me Wednesday. For more great ideas, stop by Rocks in My Dryer.

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I’m thankful for all those that work for the public good. It’s such a blessing to have reliable emergency services!

What do I write today? Of course I’ll write about the elections, we’re all thinking about it anyway. But what do I say? I thought I might just write what I wrote in my journal last night, but I don’t feel like today is a day for being divisive. I believe that God has His sovereign hand over the elections, so I fill work with these elected officials, even if they weren’t the ones for whom I voted (and let’s face it, I don’t think I’ve ever voted for such a losing ballot).

I’m more determined than ever to be involved in politics. Sure it’s a mess, but there are things I can do. I can commit to pray for elected officials more than I have. Let’s face it, praying for the president every couple of weeks isn’t praying on “behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

I also can write to my elected officials, encouraging them to do the right thing on important issues. I actually got this idea from a book I was reading yesterday for school, but I’m going to write congratulations letters to each of the major elected officials yesterday (president, senator, governor, and representative). These won’t be you’re-my-elected-official-now-do-what-I-say type of letters, but a genuine congratulations and a commitment to pray for them. Why should I only write to them when I think they’ve messed up?

So no, this isn’t the outcome that I would like, but it’s what our sovereign, holy, and just Lord has ordained. And in Him I hope.

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Oh, sorry about forgetting this. Though it is implied in this post, I’m thankful that I have an all-knowing, all-powerful God. When things seem to be falling apart, I know that the Rock is always standing firm.