Envy is Like Socialism

Recently, sitting in an orchestra rehearsal of Mendelssohn's Reformation Symphony, I had a realization:  Envy comes from a similar place as socialism.  It's like socialism of the heart, you might say.

I don't often get super political on this blog, but I am not a person who thinks that the more the Bill Gateses and Steve Jobses of the world have, the less I have.  On the contrary, I think that people like that are creating jobs for others, creating economic growth, and allowing not only the potential for economic flourishing, but also for creativity to flourish, for advancements that foster all kinds of far-reaching growth.

I may be struggling to pay my mortgage some months, but I don't think a doctor driving a BMW is somehow causing my problems.  And I actually do pretty well with not envying those hypothetical people, the folks running big businesses, the men and women I glimpse from afar in their designer clothes and expensive vehicles.

Your friend that lost 30 pounds?  She's not making you heavier.  Her new clothes from Nordstrom aren't making your thrifted clothes any worse for the wear.  Someone else's nice car isn't the reason my husband drives a Honda that is falling to pieces, and another man's Armani suit isn't why Nathan's two suits he's been rotating for years are in sore need of replacement.  We're not eating home-cooked beans because someone else is dining out three meals a day.  And the gorgeous house across the street from ours isn't the reason ours came with such a long list of things needing repair or renovation.  I know all of that.

But I am totally, absolutely, definitely guilty of envying others their gifts and talents.

That guy is getting better gigs than I am!  Growl, fume, sigh, etc.

She has a better violin than I do!  Bristle, stew, seethe, etc.

I'm exaggerating, of course, but haven't we all felt the bitterness of jealousy creeping into our hearts at times?

His tone is better than mine!  She started younger than I did!  He went to a better school!  He won that audition I should have tried for!  She just knows the right people, that's why she's more successful!  He has more time to practice than I do!

The truth is - while there's an element of scarcity in the market of talent, and sure, there are only so many orchestra jobs to be filled - another violinist's beautiful tone, or superior sight-reading skills, or amazing bow technique don't make me a worse violinist.  His $60,000 violin isn't making mine cheaper.  Her wealth of talent or ability isn't making me poorer.

On the contrary, you might say that those abilities are bringing about a flourishing of the economy of ability.  One violinist's sensitive phrasing inspires me to play more beautifully, too.  A musician with a particularly beautiful subito pianissimo makes me want to practice mine.  Hearing a violinist behind me race through a particularly tricky passage cleanly motivates me to practice it so I won't keep messing up that one little spot. 

Another violinist may be, in a sense, the reason you or I are not in that symphony we wanted to be in.  At the end of the day, there are only a few seats open, and a hundred violinists vying for them.

Or maybe it's the guy at your work who got the promotion or the raise you wanted, or the woman who landed the job you had hoped for.  Sure, on the surface, maybe you didn't get it because he or she did.

But the skills or abilities they have that led them there... those gifts are not making you or me poorer, are they?

There's enough talent to go around.  Our differing gifts and abilities make the world a more beautiful place.  And there's enough beauty to go around.

So thanks, Mendelssohn, for the moments of beauty, and for the realization that socialism in the economy of talents is as silly as it is in the economy of finances, and that, after all, I'm pretty rich just the way things are.

Don't be jealous.  It's such a waste.

the filibuster

Nathan and Nell and I watched a little bit of the filibuster last night.  We don't watch TV with Nell, and I never have it on during the day, but we made an exception last night and tuned in to C-SPAN on my laptop for a bit while Nell decided to be unexpectedly awake around 10 pm.

{isn't she sweet?}

I felt like we were seeing a bit of history being made.

“I will speak until I can no longer speak,” Paul said as he began. “I will speak as long as it takes, until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast that our Constitution is important, that your rights to trial by jury are precious, that no American should be killed by a drone on American soil without first being charged with a crime, without first being found to be guilty by a court.”

{from The Washington Post}

This evening I'm trying to process the events of yesterday, trying to read recent articles about the drone controversy and John Brennan and Pakistan and Yemen and be at least a fraction as informed as I'd like to be about everything.

There's this: John Brennan Confirmation Battle Stirs Drone Strike Controversy

And there's this: Living Under Drones

There's finally a bit of an answer for Senator Rand Paul: Sen. Paul Reaches Victory Through Filibuster

And there are a hundred other things I could try to read and process about war, about politics, about our nation, about mothers and their babies living a world away from me right now, and what their lives are like, and what effect my country is having on them.

Nell is sleeping, so it's my chance to be on my computer a bit, to catch up on the news or read some blogs or write something of my own.  It's also my chance to tidy my messy house, to vacuum the bedroom or finish up the last of the dishes in the kitchen or start soaking pinto beans for tomorrow's dinner.  I'm behind on work, with emails hanging over my head and financial matters waiting to be checked and double-checked.  Where do I start?  It's easy to get overwhelmed.

Nell keeps waking up.  Five times since she went to bed at 7:00, she's awakened crying out and needing to be re-settled.  I run up the stairs, pat her back, lay down beside her.  Her soft, warm little hands reach out for me, find my face in the dimness, and her cries quiet, her breathing deepens.  I kiss her little palms, one and then the other.  I breathe in her scent, sweet and clean from her evening bath.

I want to solve the problems of the world.  I don't want children in Pakistan to die.  I don't want Americans to be complicit in the unnecessary deaths of innocent civilians.  I want change for our government.  I want Rand Paul's filibuster to mean something to our nation.  I want liberty and justice for all, the Constitution to be upheld.

But I can't solve all these problems.  I can't even finish reading the websites and the articles I'd like to read this evening, and those dishes in the sink probably won't get finished tonight, either.

I can only solve the problems of one little baby with warm hands and sweet-smelling skin, who just needs a reassuring touch from her mama.  I can do that.

Troy Davis Executed

There are times when I'm really not altogether proud to be an American.

Tonight ended up being one of those times.

This capital punishment stuff should not be happening.

Period.

More Troy Davis

...and we wait...

Troy Davis

From the Washington Post article States in a race to be No. 1 in death:

With time ticking away on the death-watch clock, the state of Georgia on Tuesday steamrolled all reasonable doubt about the guilt of Troy Davis. He’s now cleared to die by lethal injection, an impressive win for the Peach State’s killing machine, which has racked up 51 executions since the United States reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

...

Back in 1991, Davis got the death penalty after being convicted of killing an off-duty police officer in Savannah two years earlier. But with no physical evidence linking him to the crime, and with seven of nine witnesses later recanting their testimony and others coming forth to say someone else had confessed to the crime, Davis managed to hold off three attempted executions on appeal.

On further review in November, U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. let the original call stand. “While the State’s case may not be ironclad, most reasonable jurors would again vote to convict,” Moore wrote.

Unfortunately for Mr. Davis, the American public is largely still in favor of the death penalty:

According to a recent Gallup poll, about 64 percent of Americans support capital punishment, and about one-third say that killing innocent people is a “natural cost of an important punishment.”

Sigh. This stuff makes me so sad.

{previously on this topic}

America vs. Apple

Have you heard the news?


Apple has more liquid cash and marketable securities than the U.S. government right now.

I'm not suggesting that Apple bail out the U.S. government or anything, oh, not at all. We all know that the government would just continue in their poor spending habits and blow through Apple's cash, too.

Instead, I suggest the following:

Apple should buy America. We can become the United States of American Apples. And since Apple has so much money, every American can have a free computer! A free iPhone! A free iPod!

Oh wait... that's the kind of mentality that got us into this situation in the first place.

Nevermind.

The Airport Security Silver Lining

A silver lining to our cancelled trip to California is, I suppose, that we didn't have to get full-body-scanned or groped.

I admit I got a good laugh out of this college kid, who made the news when he took it a step further than removing his shoes and belt - he stripped down to his speedo to walk through security. "This is a safety precaution," he claimed. "Just making sure I don't have any trouble!"

While the video he made of his little protest is humorous, airport security certainly isn't something I want to deal with these days.

90 Years Later

I have mixed thoughts about Jessica Bennett and Jesse Ellison's 'Reality Check' article on Newsweek today, commemorating 90 years since the 19th ammendment was ratified.

I'm sure a lot of the statistics they quote are true, and many of them are not encouraging. But as I read the sobering figures, I found myself wondering: are they the whole story?

Take this one, for example:

[A woman will] have to work harder if she wants to enter into politics, too. Sarah Palin may call herself a feminist, but women still hold just 16.8 percent of seats in Congress, and there are fewer than 20 female world leaders presently in power.

The implicit question is, I think, are there as many women as men wishing and vying for seats in Congress? I don't know the answer - and the article doesn't provide one.

In another statistic, the authors claim:

She’ll probably watch her mother spend just as much time at work as her father but make less money—no matter the field—and once she gets home, she'll do eight hours more housework a week than her husband.

The link about the wage gap is certainly interesting, and perhaps even alarming - it claims that the average female college graduate will earn $1.2 million less over her lifetime than her male college-educated peers. But the second link included above - the case against marriage - contradicts this assertion that women make less money:

Since the early 1900s, the driving force behind marriage, along with procreation, was that women couldn’t land well-paying jobs: we relied on our husbands to survive. [...] But today, we no longer need to "marry up": women are more educated (we make up nearly 60 percent of college graduates) and better compensated (urban women in their 20s actually outearn their male peers).

For me, the article, while interesting, offers as many questions as answers. So I wonder what the real story is?

I should probably wrap this post up by saying something thoughtful and conclusive, but grad school orientation starts tomorrow morning and I'm supposed to be studying for a music history exam right now.

Did I mention I'm going to grad school?

Music and Iran

Hugh Hewitt linked to this article about the Iranian regime's stance on the study and performance of music.

"Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said today that music is 'not compatible' with the values of the Islamic republic, and should not be practised or taught in the country."

"Khamenei has rarely expressed his views on music publicly, but he is believed have played a key role in the crackdown on Iran's music scene following the revolution. When Khamenei was president, he banned western-style music, forcing many stars to go into exile. Houshang Asadi, a former cellmate of Khamenei before the Islamic Revolution said: 'He hated the music from the beginning.'"

While Khamenei believes that "It's better that our dear youth spend their valuable time in learning science and essential and useful skills and fill their time with sport and healthy recreations instead of music," I tend to agree with Plato's thoughts on the subject:

"...musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the sound, on which they mightily fasten, imparting grace, and making the soul of him who is rightly educated graceful, or of him who is ill-educated ungraceful: and also because he who has received this true education of the inner being will most shrewdly perceive omissions or faults in art and nature, and with a true taste, while he praises and rejoices over and receives into his soul the good, and becomes noble and good, he will justify blame and hate the bad, now in the days of his youth, even before he will recognize and salute the friend with whom his education has made him long familiar."

"...for what should be the end of [the study of] music if not the love of beauty?"

(Excerpted from The Republic)

Super Bowl Ad

I didn't get to watch the Super Bowl yesterday due to an orchestra rehearsal I was in all evening (I know, lame), but I did take some time this evening to watch the much-discussed Focus on the Family advertisement featuring Tim Tebow that aired last night.

My favorite article I've read about this subtle pro-life ad is actually one written by a pro-choice author, Sally Jenkins for The Washington Post. She delivered a solid defense of the 30-second ad that's both powerful and humorous.

"Tebow's 30-second ad...has provoked "The National Organization for Women Who Only Think Like Us" to reveal something important about themselves: They aren't actually "pro-choice" so much as they are pro-abortion. Pam Tebow has a genuine pro-choice story to tell. She got pregnant in 1987, post-Roe v. Wade, and while on a Christian mission in the Philippines, she contracted a tropical ailment. Doctors advised her the pregnancy could be dangerous, but she exercised her freedom of choice and now, 20-some years later, the outcome of that choice is her beauteous Heisman Trophy winner son, a chaste, proselytizing evangelical."

"Apparently NOW feels this commercial is an inappropriate message for America to see for 30 seconds, but women in bikinis selling beer is the right one. I would like to meet the genius at NOW who made that decision. On second thought, no, I wouldn't."

I appreciate the way the author addresses the role of guys and fathers in the issues surrounding abortion:

"You know what we really need more of? Famous guys who aren't embarrassed to practice sexual restraint, and to say it out loud. If we had more of those, women might have fewer abortions. See, the best way to deal with unwanted pregnancy is to not get the sperm in the egg and the egg implanted to begin with, and that is an issue for men, too -- and they should step up to that."

You know, abortion is an issue that is at once both simple and complicated. Simple if you believe that life begins at conception, and abortion is killing of innocents. But complicated because it is women whose lives are changed forever by unplanned pregnancies - young girls who will never finish high school, never go to college, never be able to provide all they dreamed of for their children should they decide to keep them and raise them. And we are a society without enough support systems in place to help those girls succeed when they make the decision to keep their babies. And it is women who live with the guilt, to a far greater degree, should they decide to terminate their pregnancies. Because women are the ones with uteruses (uteri?). Any article that calls men to step up to the plate and accept a greater degree of responsibility wins points in my book.

"Tebow's ad, by the way, never mentions abortion... It simply has the theme "Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life." This is what NOW has labeled "extraordinarily offensive and demeaning." But if there is any demeaning here, it's coming from NOW, via the suggestion that these aren't real questions, and that we as a Super Bowl audience are too stupid or too disinterested to handle them on game day."

An interesting article, all in all - worth reading.

Military Policy, Foxes, and Chickens

Nathan and I have been talking about Obama's call to repeal current UCMJ laws regarding homosexuals in the military. I said I could understand it as an issue of discrimination - why should homosexuals be prohibited from serving their country because of (from their perspective, although I understand that some religious stances disagree on this) who they are? Conversely, I also understand the position of many in the military who believe Obama's action, should he succeed, would weaken the military or misdirect military priorities to a political agenda in a time of war. Nathan looked at the issue in part from a standpoint of practicality and appropriateness when it comes to the logistics of life in the barracks. We discussed the various scenarios:

Sarah: You could put gay men with lesbian women.

Nathan: But then the gay men are still with each other, and likewise for the women. If heterosexual men and women sharing quarters is inappropriate, then that would be, too.

Sarah: Oh, right. Well, you could put the gay guys with the heterosexual women... No wait... You could put one gay guy... with the men... No... Hmm. I guess you could put one gay guy with one lesbian woman and create hundreds of individual barracks and showers. Man, this is as complicated as that logic problem where you have to get the fox, the chicken, and the grain across the river but you can't leave the fox alone with the chicken or the chicken alone with the grain!

(Nathan cracked up laughing at my comparison!)

Massachusetts: The Brown State!

Yesterday was certainly an historic day for Massachusetts and for the whole country. My true-blue state elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate! Nathan and I voted in the morning, and then went about our usual day's work. At 8 p.m. we turned on the news to see the numbers start coming in. It didn't take long for Scott Brown to be a few percentage points ahead of Martha Coakley, and since city precincts are usually counted before suburban ones, we figured the numbers would only get better as the night went on. So... we drove into Boston to join the campaign party at the Park Plaza hotel! I had gotten a text message from the Brown campaign saying anyone and everyone could go join the party, and we figured, why not? This was history being made. We arrived in plenty of time for Coakley's concession and the ensuing celebration.

We didn't have our camera, so an iPhone photo of the two of us enjoying the festivities will have to suffice.


We enjoyed hearing Ayla Brown sing, meeting other Scott Brown supporters, and hearing the night's speeches.

After Brown's speech, it was getting late so we headed for home. As we walked out of the hotel lobby and onto the street, who should we see near a curb but Mitt Romney! We stood about three feet away from him, and I looked and Nathan and Nathan looked at me, and we both confirmed that yes, that was him in the flesh.

Sadly, he was talking on his cell phone, and we didn't want to be the kind of people who would interrupt a man's phone call, so we didn't say anything to him. (My brother - a Romney fan - couldn't believe me when I told him that. I think he's going to disown me.)

[Anyway, I didn't vote for him in the primaries, so it might have been awkward to talk to him.]

Of course liberals are saying it all comes down to Coakley's poorly-run campaign (and her campaign was indeed terrible), but I tend to agree with Hugh Hewitt's assessment:

This was not a stealth vote. The Democrat in this deep blue state did not lack for resources. The Senate Democrats provided the money. The president came on demand and cut the ads. The netroots were pulsing with unheeded appeals to voters.

The voters knew exactly what was on the line and they voted, decisively, against Obamacare. "It will raise taxes. It will hurt Medicare. It will destroy jobs. It will run us deeper into debt," Brown declared about Obamacare in his speech. "And we can do better!"

Nathan and I are happy and relieved at Brown's victory. For anyone living under a rock, the New York Times has a good summary of Brown's win and what it means for both political parties, for the Senate, and for our nation.

Scott Brown for U.S. Senate

My Aunt sent me a link to a great article by Hugh Hewitt on the upcoming special election for senator: A Massachusetts Miracle? Hewitt writes,

"...[Scott Brown] is a Republican running for the Senate in Massachusetts. This is the special election to fill the seat held by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, and the vote is on Jan. 19.

In any other state this year, Brown would be ahead of his opponent, Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley, a conventional Bay State liberal who supports the failed stimulus bill, the takeover of health care and every other big-government push of Team Obama.

In any other year in this state, Brown would be behind by 30 points.

But he is within single digits and closing, held back only by a lack of funds and the stark reality of the political demographics of the commonwealth.

When Brown appeared on my radio show this week, he was upbeat and energized by an enormous populist surge across Massachusetts, where Obamacare is every bit as disliked as it is everywhere else in the United States.

Massachusetts already has universal care, thanks to the initiative sponsored by then-Gov. Mitt Romney of a few years back, so all of the massive new taxes in the federal takeover will buy Massachusetts citizens zip, even as seniors get hammered by the huge cuts to Medicare. If Brown wins, Obamacare is back to the drawing board, which is tempting many Bay State voters to take a hard look at Brown."

Read the whole article, and then check out Scott Brown's website.

This is the first time since I've lived in Massachusetts that I've felt like my candidate has a fighting chance, and my vote might make a difference.

Health Care and the S.A.D.

Just wanted to share a few links I've found interesting lately, mostly on the topics of wellness, healthcare, and food.

Most of you probably saw John Mackey's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal back in early August. If you didn't already read it, I suggest reading his original, un-edited version. Mackey lays out eight clear steps to government health care reform. He also suggests greater personal responsibility for health and preventable illness, pointing out how the American diet is responsible for such an overwhelming percentage of disease. As the CEO of Whole Foods, he's certainly made a lot of liberal foodies more than a little annoyed, and many are currently boycotting Whole Foods because of Mr. Mackey's opinions on the subject. I suppose it was to be expected that stating that health care is not a basic human right would be sure to get people riled up.

"Many promoters of health care reform believe that people have an intrinsic ethical right to health care-to universal and equal access to doctors, medicines, and hospitals. While all of us can empathize with those who are sick, how can we say that all people have any more of an intrinsic right to health care than they have an intrinsic right to food, clothing, owning their own homes, a car or a personal computer? Health care is a service which we all need at some point in our lives, but just like food, clothing, and shelter it is best provided through voluntary and mutually-beneficial market exchanges rather than through government mandates. A careful reading of both The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter, because there isn’t any. This "right" has never existed in America."

Michael Pollan also weighed in on the health care reform issue, suggesting that the biggest problem isn't just the health care system; what really needs to be addressed is the Standard American Diet and the government subsidies within agriculture (corn, soy, etc.) that often affect what Americans can readily afford to eat.

For other news on the health-and-wellness front, check out this USA Today article pointing out that 60% of adults can't digest milk. Yep. Since becoming a vegetarian back in February, I've found myself leaning more and more towards the "human milk is for baby humans, and cow milk is for baby cows" viewpoint, finding it increasingly odd that the human species relies on dairy for a sizable percentage of food intake. (Not that I ever liked cheese or milk!) Of course, some call my viewpoint on this issue "propaganda," but then take the "Got Milk?" commercials in stride without a second thought - of course cow's milk is part of a healthy diet. What?

The American Heart Association made waves by suggesting that women limit their added sugar intake to no more than 6 tsp. a day, and for men, 9 tsp. Quite a reduction from the average, which this article says is 22 tsp. per day!

For those calorie-counters who say, "A calorie is a calorie - who cares if it's from a potato chip or an apple?", here's an interesting article that delves into the science of that very issue. It's not the sort of thing you can skim - I found myself really having to think about each thing the author was saying.

That's all the linkiness for now!

By the way, I still love being a vegetarian. I was chatting with Nathan this evening about how my mindset has changed in the past seven months. I'm gaining a new perspective on how I view food as I think more about where my food has come from, and in some cases, at what costs. I told Nathan I find it interesting that some use words like "extreme" when describing my decision not to eat meat, when I, in my current frame of mind, view my dietary choices as exactly the opposite of extreme. Factory farming seems extreme to me. Almond butter, fresh-picked fall apples, medjool dates, avocados, spinach, hummus, ak-mak crackers, pita bread, sweet potatoes, squash, savory beans... mmm, these things are delicious simplicity.

January 22

This Day in Liberal Judicial Activism reminds us that today marks the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

Frederica Mathewes-Green weighs in:

Not soon—maybe not till the baby boomers have passed from the scene—but it’s possible that a younger generation will see abortion very differently. And the reason is, as the saying goes, “Nobody knows when life begins.” With abortions now running around 1.2 million per year, the total number of abortions since Roe v Wade is about 49 million. That’s a big number—about a sixth of the US population. It’s a big number, if you’re not absolutely sure that it’s *not* life.

After all, if you saw a little girl hit by a car, you’re going to yell, “Get an ambulance!” not “Get a shovel!” It’s in the very fabric of humanity to be on the side of life, if there’s the faintest hope that life exists. We don’t throw children away when we’re not sure whether they’re alive or not.

On a day like today - as with every day, really - it's appropriate to remember the lives lost, and to speak for the defenseless and voiceless.

Open your mouth for the mute,
For the rights of all the unfortunate.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
Proverbs 31:8-9

As one of his final official acts, President George W. Bush defended the rights of the unborn as he had throughout his administration - he issued a proclamation on January 15 declaring the following:

National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2009
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world. We also underscore our dedication to heeding this message of conscience by speaking up for the weak and voiceless among us.

The most basic duty of government is to protect the life of the innocent. My Administration has been committed to building a culture of life by vigorously promoting adoption and parental notification laws, opposing Federal funding for abortions overseas, encouraging teen abstinence, and funding crisis pregnancy programs. In 2002, I was honored to sign into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which extends legal protection to children who survive an abortion attempt. I signed legislation in 2003 to ban the cruel practice of partial-birth abortion, and that law represents our commitment to building a culture of life in America. Also, I was proud to sign the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, which allows authorities to charge a person who causes death or injury to a child in the womb with a separate offense in addition to any charges relating to the mother.

America is a caring Nation, and our values should guide us as we harness the gifts of science. In our zeal for new treatments and cures, we must never abandon our fundamental morals. We can achieve the great breakthroughs we all seek with reverence for the gift of life.

The sanctity of life is written in the hearts of all men and women. On this day and throughout the year, we aspire to build a society in which every child is welcome in life and protected in law. We also encourage more of our fellow Americans to join our just and noble cause. History tells us that with a cause rooted in our deepest principles and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens, we will prevail.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 18, 2009, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies and to underscore our commitment to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Previously: "A Tragedy of Stunning Dimensions"

Let Freedom Ring

I'm watching the inauguration, not because I love Obama (I don't) but because I love America.

I also love Itzhak Perlman, and was pretty excited that he performed alongside Yo-Yo Ma and others.

My sister-in-law Jenn posted thoughts on this inauguration that echo my own so well that I'll just encourage you to read her words here.

"For true equality comes when the color of one's skin is not even a factor--good or bad. [Martin Luther King, Jr.] dreamed of a day when people would be judged not by the color of their skin but the content of their character, and, though the balance has shifted in the other direction, I don't believe we're there yet."

Finally, I can't help mentioning it - and there's no way of putting this nicely - Obama et al. screwed up majorly at the swearing in process. Really, how do you mess that up that badly?

I am not happy about our new President, but I am happy when I call this to mind:

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
...
O, thus be it ever when free men shall stand,
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Pro-Life Issues

Weighing on my mind lately has been the fact that so many Jews and Christians voted for Obama. While I understand that not everyone shares my worldview and I don't expect atheists to live according to a Judeo-Christian code of ethics, It's hard for me to imagine a God-centered worldview that allows this course of action. I believe that when a person makes a decision, he or she will be held accountable for it. I'm a sinner and will be held accountable for many things. But I did not, and never could, cast a vote to put a man in office who, by the power vested in him by my vote, would enact policies that did not protect or value the sanctity of human life. Obama will someday be held accountable for his position against the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act and his position in favor of partial birth abortion, and I believe that those who put him in a position to influence these life-and-death issues will also be held accountable. It just boggles my mind that people who believe in the God of the Bible could elect a man with these kinds of beliefs and such a pro-choice voting record, a man who believes that babies born alive during late-term abortions should be left for dead.

I understand that the issue of human life is bigger than abortion. I personally am opposed to the death penalty, for example, and I know that poverty, war, and disease are robbing untold lives around the world every day. I also understand that many believe that being opposed to the war in Iraq/Afghanistan is as much a "pro-life" issue as abortion because of the loss of lives for our troops, and may have cast their votes accordingly. There is a big difference, though, even if you truly think our country's actions in Iraq are not the right course of action at this time. Our men and women serving in the armed forces choose to put their lives on the line for their country, and they should be honored for that brave choice. Unborn children never get that choice, or that honor. They are deemed nothing but a few cells, a blob of tissue.

Jessica has written a very good post on a similar topic: Wanted Children. Go read it!

Post-Election Life

Since Obama became our country's President-elect, I have come down with a nasty cold and my beautiful fish Poseidon died.

There must be some cause-and-effect going on here, I'm just sure of it.

Assorted Thoughts

Well, I'm not the happiest I've ever been. I did not vote for Obama, and I did not want him to become our next president. I am concerned about a lot of things that will likely transpire in the coming years: the state of the Supreme Court, the state of our national security, and the future of the abortion industry, to name a few.

I think that in the course of the next year, people will discover a lot of things. They will discover that you can't put your trust in a human. That they shouldn't have thrown around words like "hope" and "believe" with such levels of messianic zeal when speaking of anyone short of Jesus Christ. Jesus is, after all, the only one who can truly offer change and the only one in whom we ought to place our hope.

At the end of the day, when Obama is President, there will still be economic troubles. We will still live in a culture of debt. There will still be energy woes, oil companies, and irresponsible lenders to complain about. Oh, and America will still be a great nation founded on the greatest of principles. Let's not forget that.

Many are saying that Obama's presidency will cause a dramatic shift in the way the rest of the world perceives the United States. Perhaps so. Other countries have loved to cite America as a racist nation, and that will have to change. But the American president doesn't have the power to change everything overnight - thanks to the way our government is established. Obama can not fix the market tomorrow or end the struggles in Iraq and Afghanistan. And countries that hate America, if they are honest, hate some of our virtues as well as our vices, and we are not going to bring an end to capitalism or freedom. We are still a nation founded on the same principles we were founded on four years ago, and 232 years before that as well.

We live in a country that has come a long way since 1861. While I am certain I will disagree with many policy choices in the next four years, I will say this: I am proud to live in a country that is free and democratic. A fair election and peaceful passing of power should not be taken for granted. The Constitution still stands and the flag still waves. Diversity is a good and beautiful thing, and we have taken another step toward that infamous dream, that dream deeply rooted in the American dream:

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

...And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

God bless America.

Resignation and Carrot Juice

Earlier today I said to Nathan with a sigh, "I hate the Democratic Party." Nathan replied, "Yes you do, dear, more than anyone I've ever known." I came back with, "Have you ever met my Dad?"

Just now I spoke with Dad on the phone, bemoaning the way the numbers are turning out so far and briefly analyzing the Obama phenomenon and American voters. Dad finally said, "I didn't think I could feel worse, but after talking to you I'm more depressed than ever. I need a stiff drink....I'm going to have a glass of carrot juice."