I'm struggling and completely conflicted in light of the impending election. Here's why. At the very onset of choosing a political candidate, I took the abortion issue off the table. I vowed not to allow that to be the deciding factor in who I choose this coming Tuesday. I personally believe that abortion is wrong; further, that partial birth and late term abortions are evidence of a level of brutality that I'm ashamed to admit is part of our human existence.
Granted, there are gray areas. Incest, rape and danger to the mother are all cause for rethinking that, and I'd like to think that each of those situations would allow for the life of both. However, if it's not the case, the life of the mother should be of primary concern. Those are just my thoughts and though I don't agree with abortion, I ain't the judge. Am I for the overturning of Roe v. Wade? I'm not sure that I am, to be honest. But that's not what this post is about; cause I took abortion off the table.
I vowed to do my best to make an informed decision not based on what FAUX News or any other media outlet spoon fed me. So I started looking into both Obama and McCain and their previous voting records. I looked at what Obama did at the state level and what they both did at the Senate level. I looked at bills they supported, those they voted "present" on and why that might have been the case. I FactChecked stuff they said and stuff that each said the other one said. I looked at both platforms and what they claim to represent. I looked at the proposed economic policies and comments on war in Iraq, Afghanistan and, possibly Iran. I scoured un-affiliated websites looking for balanced insight into what their claims were. I read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to see what it is these guys are supposed to be protecting and fighting for. Needless to say, I feel like I've done more than most to take this seriously.
Where did I end up?
Well after all that I strongly feel that Obama is the far superior candidate to turn this country out of its current state of affairs. Now I'm going to get some major flack from that. I live in Georgia which is dyed in the wool republican. My family's republican, and so was I until this election. Honestly, I can say that I'm an independent looking for the best choice. People will ask how can I vote for Obama when he's promoting Socialist ideas. Let me say that socialism is a lot more than just increasing income taxes on those that make an adjusted gross income over $250M and promoting the thought of government aided health care. Many European union countries provide national health care and tax at higher rates, but aren't considered socialist, while many other countries like Columbia and Venezuela leave the poor and middle class to fend for themselves, while the "capitalists" enjoy the fruits of their endeavors. I doubt that the US strives for either of these two positions exactly so the likelihood that this country will ever be led by a "socialist" regime is a little ridiculous to me. I think the Obama=socialism moniker is trumped up. Both JFK and FDR were accused of the same thing.
Personally, I'm a recipient of a social program. Because of Elliot's condition, he qualifies for Medicaid. I can honestly say that this has had a tremendous impact on our one income family. Are there people out there that game the system? Sure there are. Will a nationally sponsored health care have its downside? You betcha. However, I have seen some pretty ugly things when it comes to private insurance and medical coverage. I've got great insurance; I consider myself to have an above-average education; but we have had to fight for coverage in several instances and, would we not have continually pressed our case, we would have been deemed responsible for tens of thousands in medical bills that insurance was responsible for.
Having said all that... I can't vote for Obama. I'm kind of ashamed to say that it comes back to his stance on abortion. His voting record at the state level on partial birth abortion and the Born Alive Infant Protection Act left me with the feeling that he was getting a little to "legal" in the view of infants and moms. Granted, there are a lot of lines and some pretty foggy areas in that whole arena, but I would prefer that we err on the side of protecting life rather than looking for how far we can push the envelope on when a baby/fetus is qualified for the same rights as any other human. Reading through some of his comments made it sound like we were back in the days of Clinton and we were trying to find out what the definition of "is" is.
Where does that leave me now?
Because of our electoral system I have been presented with an option of only one of two candidates being considered for the White House. One I will not vote for and one that I want to, but can't. Fortunately or unfortunately it's taken me about nine months of research to get to this point of indecision. I'm not sure there's a purpose to this post other than to assuage my conscience, if my vote is ultimately not to vote. If that's the case, then I have come to that decision with as much knowledge and soul-searching as I could muster. I guess I should really be more concerned with my local officials, but heck...I don't have another nine months to dedicate to those guys.
I understand your point, but let's think about how we reduce unwanted pregnancies, and I believe Barack has said it very eloquently (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCifpbfQlOM). Let's look at education. As a nurse, there are many, many aspects to this argument that people may not even consider. I, as a health care worker, believe in educating the public to the best of my knowledge, that it starts with education and prevention.
Posted by: Natalie C. | October 29, 2008 at 02:30 PM
Natalie,
I completely agree. That's where I feel like we've dropped the ball, and where the most focus needs to be placed.
Posted by: Jabulani Jonny | October 29, 2008 at 02:48 PM
First, I am not surprised to see that you have done your due diligence. I would expect nothing less from you because you are so bright! That said, it won't surprise you to know I don't agree with some of your assessments. So, even though I'm not crazy about the Republican choice and I wish there was a 3rd alternative, here are some of my thoughts.
1. Having the support of a government program to help when people need it - like Medicaid in your case - is a wonderful resource and I don't know any in my inner circle who disagrees with that. We all pay taxes and give to charities to help those who need a hand when the going gets tough. That looks very different from just giving hand outs to everyone. I can assure you that your situation would have looked very different in a government run healthcare program. I am convinced the government would never have allowed you to go to Philly to try and save your baby. Why would they when it looked hopeless and their decisions are based on the cost and availability of care. Atlanta would have been just fine as far as they could see based on my experience with them. Working in the healthcare field and dealing with the state office of Medicaid where there is no competition and private healthcare companies who must compete to get business doing this through quality and customer satisfaction measurements,I have no question which one provides the best and most timely care for the ill.
2. Here's an analogy of the redistrituion of wealth issue that I would ask you to consider. Sunette has watched her country as the "government with an agenda" takes the land and resources from people with assets to give it to those they deem who need it more. I remember when the poachers were camping near her parents home and it was sketchy -based of the government's involvement of lack of protection for landowners in the past. At least that is what I remember.
3. I remember how challenging it was when Sunette applied for her visa and citizenship. Remember the lost papers, long waiting lines and the lack of motivation of employees to help her? Have you visited the post office or the DMV lately? Here you have 3 real life examples of what government run programs that we've encountered looks like. I would prefer to drive my own destiny and if I fail then I know it is because of what I did and not because of what a big government did through a bureaucratic system. You have always hated bureaucracy -how has that changed for you?
4. Spud and I own a small business. You are involved in that as well. The economy is a mess regardless of who is in office. So, do we want to err on helping small businesses or hurting them? Based on what I see with the leaders of the democratic party, I don't trust them with zelosport. WHat does the democratic tax plan really look like? Dave Ramsey has reviewed it and you can see his thoughts at www.daveramsey.com. I would prefer the economic policies of Reagan - which is to reward companies for creating jobs and growing the economy - not punishing them because of their drive to do well. You know how hard I've worked all my life being a single parent raising two babies on $750 per month to where I am today - one of the ones Obama wants to take from. I didn't get here because of a steady government handout although plenty of fine Christian people helped me along the way without being made to. It feels good to know I did this on my own rather than the government taking making the determination that they would have to do it for me by taking away from someone who has worked hard to get where they are. What incentive would that have been for me and how would you have turned out differently if you had been raised in that environment? I didn't get my degree until after age 50 but I did it because of the opportunities available to me and that motivates me. I don't want to see a national welfare system that we've already proven disincentivizes people.
5. France isn't necessarily a friend of the US - I think we would agree. Their President has stated that although Obama was well spoken, there wasn't a depth of content there and it worried him. Why would he say that? Certainly, he hasn't been a fan of the Bush administration. That says a lot to me.
6. You said you wouldn't vote for one candidate - which I'm assuming is McCain. I wondered what you found in your research that was so bad about him. He has served his country his entire life and although I don't agree with him on everything, I don't question his integrity and character. I don't see an agenda with him except to help this country get back to her roots of health, wealth and happiness. I haven't heard anything that anyone has said that talks negatively of his character, integrity or heart to change the county by reducing and exposing those who pad bills with pork for their own benefit. I believe he would try his best to expose those Senators who have done this for their own special interest on both sides of the aisle. McCain doesn't have a single exmaple of pading any of the many bills he has authored with port. No one has denied that.
7. Finally, if I can't decide and I am truly confused, then I would look at it this way. If I put the radical leftists who support Obama on one side and move to the middle of left with other Obama supporters with the radical right on the other side moving toward the middle with moderate McCain supporters - I ask myself which of these two groups would match at least some of my values. When I look at the radical left - there is just no way I can agree with anything that is said or done by people like Ted Kennedy, Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, Hollywood, the mainstream media and questionable and unpatriotic people such as the Rev Wright, Ayers, Jessie Jackson, Farakan, abortion rights advocates, entitlement thinkers etc. When I look at the radical right, I see some religious leaders who embarrass me because they are so out there and opinionated.There are also racists which is just wrong. I also see people like Bush who has disappointed me at many levels but I have to admit has been dealt a pretty challenging hand the last 8 years. Given those two comparisons, it isn't a difficult choice for me. I wouldn't turn my child over to the left so I couldn't turn my country over to them either because that in turn is the country my child will inherit.
Finally, I would encourage you to make your choice based on your conscience of given the worst case scenario, who could has experience and decision making abilities to handle the worst of times? Who has demonstrated that?
Voting is one of the most precious gifts we have been given. Men are dying this minute to maintain that freedom for you. I would encourage you to vote and regardless of your choice you can know you had a part in the history of this great country. And, when the results start to come to fruition from your choice, you will have a piece of ownership from your choice and not what someone else chose for you.
Love you!
Mom
Posted by: Cathy | October 29, 2008 at 05:25 PM
I have so much respect for the time and energy you have put into this process thus far. If more Americans did that, well, I don't know how much farther we would be in the world. That said, here is my food for thought.
If there is one leader who can bring both sides together to find common ground on abortion or any other issue, it is going to be Barack Obama. McCain scoots closer to the right every day and further from his earlier reputation for bipartisanship. Besides that, we need to think about what will happen to all of those children who aren't aborted. What if they get sick but live with poor or very young parents? Under the current system, they will not get the care they need. They will probably not have the benefits of a great education either - which will most likely lead to more unwanted pregnancies in future generations. And if we have more young mothers who are convinced (I pray) to keep their children, what will their lives be like? Will it be a daily struggle to pay the bills and make ends meet? Will there be more or less job opportunities for them in the coming years? I believe we need to think of these issues when we hope for less abortions - which I am with you on 100%.
And if your research has lead you to listen to Obama's goals for this country, and to hear how exactly he plans to provide more services, I think you will agree that a world in which he is president will be a better one for all of those children who are given a chance. Maybe more parents would make the right decision if they had a health care system they could rely on, or the economy was in better shape.
Obama is not going to take away anyone's health insurance, he is going to make the system better. Right now, health care is a business out for the bottom line - you and I know this better than many families. I don't know how much your doctors pressed abortion at the time of Elliot's diagnosis, but that is exactly what our doctors recommended to us. And I am willing to bet it is the choice so many families feel pressured into making when the alternative is to let their child die before their eyes a few days after birth. Thankfully, we have amazing health insurance, and our Sonia was given a chance. What about all of those families who receive similar diagnosis and are told they wont be able to afford (or their insurance wont cover) the care their child will need? The choice may not be so clear at that point.
Health insurance companies as they are today will deny needed services at every chance they get. Obama plans to change how they operate and draw lines on what they can and can't do with our hard earned money. He also wants to provide more children with the opportunities for higher education, and better our current education system. With better education and opportunity, I believe we will have less women who find themselves in the predicament of making a "choice."
Finally, it would be hard to agree with any politician on every single issue. However, I truly believe with all of my heart that Obama will make this country a better place for all of our children - including the ones saved from abortion. For the last 8 years, we have had a president who was anti-abortion, and look at what he gave our country. The only thing he did for abortion was place judges in the Supreme court to change laws. Meanwhile, he pushed for abstinence only education in schools - which has been proven to be ineffective. Less knowledge about preventing unwanted pregnancies is the cause not the cure for them. Case in point is the current GOP VP pick's daughter - pregnant as a teen and raised in an abstinence only environment.
I want a president who will try to fix the problem of so many unwanted pregnancies with real solutions, instead of just voting for new laws and trying to please his base. I haven't looked into his wording on this issue in votes, but I have heard him speak about the problem and I believe he will stand up for changes that will help the women in these situations, not just changes that will increase his voter support. If you stand against abortion, you cannot stand by and let another president take the stage who will do less for these mothers before and after they give birth, and who will do nothing to curb the number of unwanted pregnancies. You have to know from all of your research how great this man can be for our country, and if that is the case, I pray you do the right thing for all of us on Nov. 4th.
Lots of respect,
Shannon
Posted by: Shannon Rubin | October 29, 2008 at 10:40 PM
One more thing about taxes and small businesses for Cathy - who I also have a lot of love and respect for :)
I would encourage you to check out exactly how Obama plans to support small businesses and give tax cuts to large companies who do the right thing by their employees - such as keeping jobs on our soil. I think you might be impressed if you looked into it. http://www.barackobama.com/taxes/
For a non-partisan analysis of both plans, you can also check out http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/. I think it is worth having a look - if nothing else to have a better idea of what you are voting against.
I can understand your appreciation for working for what you have, and not taking handouts. However, I don't think a quality education for every child in this country is a handout. Neither do I believe good health care or fair tax cuts are a handout. I think my hubby - who is currently serving his country away from home - put it well when he said Obama isn't raising your taxes (or taking your money) and putting it into the hands of people on welfare. To begin with, he isn't raising taxes for most of us, but is rather discontinuing Bush's tax cuts for the top 1% of Americans. But the tax money he does collect is to go to the services we all deserve and the services that will make this country a better one with a better educated and healthier population. Not to mention paying for the good services of our armed services.
Okay, that is it for now. You have such a wonderful family and I think it is a gem that you can discuss politics so openly in this way.
Shannon
Posted by: Shannon Rubin | October 29, 2008 at 10:55 PM
My Buddhist beliefs do not in any way allow for abortion to enter the picture. But here's the problem... it's not just unborn life that concerns me, but ALL life. An unborn American baby has the same value to me as a civilian child life in Iran which McCain is wanting to "bomb bomb bomb... bomb bomb Iran." When I look at things from that perspective, I'm left in a bigger quandary, because I can't boil it all down to abortion as the only possibility for loss of life in the new presidency.
But even if abortion IS the focus, it's STILL not easy.
For example: Sarah Palin is an advocate for abstinence-only sex education. Since this has been proven by every possible study to be ineffective at preventing teen pregnancy, she's basically contributing to the abortion problem. Kids don't have the knowledge they need to prevent pregnancy in this sexually-charged world we live in (as her own daughter testifies), so they are more likely to get pregnant. What happens then? More abortions. You can't have it both ways, because even if abortion is made illegal, it's still going to happen... especially if teen pregnancy rates escalate under her sex education policies. The only difference being that wealthy kids will be getting safe abortions in foreign hospitals, while poor kids will be getting dangerous back-alley abortions here at home (putting even more lives at risk).
Adding things like that back into the equation, the choice isn't quite so cut and dry... at least not for me. In the end, everybody has to do their own math and vote their conscience.
I net out at Obama. As a Christian, he does not personally believe in abortion but... like me... understands that this is America, and the beliefs we hold dear are not necessarily the beliefs of other Americans. Also like me, he believes that personal choices... even those we vehemently disagree with... are part of the fabric of our freedoms and should not be regulated by the government.
Is Obama my perfect choice? No. But he is who I feel is the best choice available to me.
Your milage may vary, of course. But that's why you get your own vote! :-)
Posted by: Dave2 | October 30, 2008 at 12:14 AM
I think it is encouraging that none of us agree with abortion. I am saddened, though, that we would not do everything in our power to protect those children who have no choice about an opportunity to live or die.
I will have to admit that all of you bright, intelligent young folks - like many who are your age - have great insights. I, much older and life-taught in many ways, watch what the liberal party SAYS and then what they DO and it leads me to say that I do not believe them. So many things they propose to help - they vote against.School vouchers comes to mind for me. If they want to help children get education and if they believe that WE should be empowered to make our own choices, then why can't we each decide where we'd like our child to go through a school voucher?
I must admit that since reading Jonathan's blog I am more depressed than ever about the future of our country. I'm afraid for what is going to happen with an Obama presidency and I fear that it will take decades to undo the damage that a liberal President and House will do TO this country. ( much like Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford.) It is apparent that many in his age bracket wants change. THat change means one thing - the government will be more involved in our lives and that goes against everything our founding fathers chose for our country.
My best to all of you. I probably won't read anymore. It is disturbing to me.
Cathy
Posted by: Cathy | October 31, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Excellent points by everyone, from both sides. I won't be able to do justice in my response but let me say that each point brought up in the previous three comments actually got heavy consideration in the process over the last several months. Seriously, from trying to figure out how Obama's tax plan is different from the reclamation of land in South Africa and Zimbabwe to why McCain's seemingly giddiness about the proposition of invading Iran is different from Roe v. Wade. All of those have been weighing on my mind, and more so in the last week as I have tried to come to a conclusion.
Thanks for the thought provoking comments and here's to Tuesday.
Posted by: Jabulani Jonny | October 31, 2008 at 10:49 AM
What a very well-thought out post. No matter how you slice it there were some very tough decisions for everyone this past Tuesday. I wrote some of my thoughts on the whole process the other day on my blog.
I appreciate your heart and attitude. At the end of the day, the decision has been made and now it is our responsibility as Christians to hold our leaders up in prayer.
Posted by: Brad Ruggles | November 07, 2008 at 12:33 PM