Some believe that the “battle” that took place the night of the DNC in Charlotte, NC decided the fate of the Democratic Party in the November election.  I am not so sure this opinion is something that speaks solely about a party’s behavior.  I think the reaction of the crowd denotes a mainstream leaning in thinking and behavior that is fast eroding the conscience and values of America, regardless of political affiliation.

I am still not clear how God and Israel were taken out of the language at the convention in the first place, but I am convinced that it was another test from the Almighty so see where the hearts and minds of his people are. 

We are increasingly becoming a Godless nation.  One the rise of approval in our minds is same sex marriages and abortion.  We cater to groups because they complain.  Recently, a state removed from his Air Force logo a reference to God because atheists got offended.  To honor “political correctness” a particular elementary school removed a song containing the name of God from its school assembly.  Battles go on about removing the phrase “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance, we refer to Christmas trees as holiday trees and God is constantly being suppressed in schools.  I am told not to bring God into the workplace.  We lap up the “rag” magazines in the grocery stores and people can tell you more intricate details of a celebrity’s life than can quote just five of the Ten Commandments.

 It took three votes at the recent convention to add God and Jerusalem back into its platform.  The resounding “boos” from the crowd was stunning and surreal.  The more we try to take God out of things because we do not want to offend people, the deeper the hole we are digging for ourselves. 

Peter also denied God 3 times but great mercy was shown.  We should pray for the same.  We are sadly mistaken if we think we can continue to eradicate God from our everyday lives without reaping consequences. 

I love to have power over things in my life and I love to exercise the power I am given.  The 19^th Amendment says I cannot be denied the right to vote. 

In some countries there is compulsory voting and people are fined or imprisoned if they do not vote.  They are given no choice and are told whom they must vote for.  Therefore, it is a privilege to have an opinion and then act on that opinion. 

Voter participation has been a theme of heavy study for years.  In a 2008 Census Bureau voting survey, the two most compelling reasons people gave for not voting were lack of interest and the dislike of the candidates running.  How can we not be interested in the people who might be chosen to lead our country?  In forced voting those leaders dictate what, where, who and how for its people.  Is that what you want?  In the 2008 election, 206 million people were of voting age, 146 million were registered to vote and 131 actually voted.

I read a rather cynical article written by a psychologist and he stated that voting was “a supremely irrational act.”  His reasoning was that one vote would not make a difference in the US Presidential outcome.  He also said that is was “magical thinking” that makes people believe that what they do (in terms of casting a vote) has influence over other people and on our country continuing on the course of democracy.  Another writer stated it did not matter whom anyone voted for; that money would always win out.  I do not think that has always been the case.

It takes effort to research who the candidates are and what they stand for.  Then you have to stand in long lines to cast your one vote.  Maybe that’s what the 75 million voters in 2008 were thinking who did not vote.  Do you really think all those “one votes” did not count?

You know the saying, “If you don’t vote, you do not have the right to complain.”

 Katie Altobellis

No doubt about it; this will be a tight race between both Obama and Romney when November rolls around.  Both are graduates of Harvard Law School, are excellent orators (Obama might have a slight edge) and possess other fine qualities they have used well to serve their constituents.  These are two are highly intelligent men who will no doubt end up in the history books one day.  However, I find it a bit distasteful the way they both have tried to gain voter support using negative attack ads.  They are both much too polished to stoop to this tactic, though this strategy is nothing new.

Negative attack ads have been around as long as TV has but it appears that in all years, this may be the most negative race run yet.  Yes, we want to know as much about our candidates as possible but some of what each side has presented about the other has been sort of nasty and exaggerated, it would seem.  Attempting to gain control of an office by negatively portraying another seems to me to be an act of desperation.  Mega money in donations and securing votes are at stake and seem to be the impetus behind the ads, but what do voters really think about the negative war on words?

While many may not be in favor of the negative campaigning, some political experts agree the ads are effective because they feed into folks’ anxieties and fears and can cause them not to vote for a particular candidate.  I suppose there is no perfect campaign and yes, we deserve to know as much of the truth behind a candidate’s character and record of accomplishments (or lack of) as we can.

Let’s not focus on and cast our vote for the candidate that does the best job of demeaning his opponent.  Our focus needs to be on electing someone who will effect positive change for this country.  We need to pray that God’s choice is the next man voted into office and that he possesses a very sharp game with great vision to lead and inspire this great nation of ours.      

A couple of centuries ago a Frenchman named Alexis de Tocqueville made this observation:  “There is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than America.” 

I was brought up to believe and taught that our country was founded on moral convictions based on the Ten Commandments.  While not all the founding fathers may have had Christian roots, their philosophy respected the Creator of this universe.  Samuel Adams said our Ruler rewards people based on their general character.  Ben Franklin said,” God governs in the affairs of men.”  There was once was a reverence given to God by the leaders and people of this country.  I believe that at one time our national prosperity grew out of our respect for God’s statutes. 

At what point in our history did the train jump off the tracks?  It’s as if “anything goes” now.  I think that our economic and political issues are caused by the decline in our moral interpretations.  At one time in our history, our moral and spiritual actions walked hand in hand but now these two things are in decay and decline.  We have slowly taken God out of the school and court systems.  It is ok to offend Him but gosh forbid we should trample on any citizen’s rights or liberties.  We have redefined what the family unit is.  Half of Americans believe homosexuality is acceptable.  And 54% think gambling is ok, 59% find acceptable premarital sex, 38% believe in abortion.  Many folks now vote for the politician who is in favor of these things, not against them. 

Rick Santorum said, “Satan has his sights on the United States.”  Why do we make it so easy for him to succeed?  He hardly has to put forth any effort. 

Thomas Jefferson said, “To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”

Now is the time to let justice reign down from heaven…not from man.

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Culturally speaking, Americans are obsessed with sports.  For most, one of the first things we engage in as children is some sort of sports activity.  We learn from a very early age how to engage in sports, which teach us life lessons like how to be team players, how to be competitive, self-esteem rises, they teach us how to play fair, and how to be good winners and losers.  According to whom you talk to, football is the most popular team sport, and supposedly, collegiate football is more popular than professional. 

Penn State was a great school with a great reputation and had an insanely popular head football coach, who ruled for 45 years.  But this institution turned its head for at least 14 years regarding the abuse inflicted by one of its coaches.  The question begs to ask, so why was this allowed to happen?  Organized sports are an industry that brings in billions of dollars but surely, money and reputation had nothing to do with intelligent university staff turning a blind eye to these actions, or did they? 

The public is obsessed with sports players and coaches; they are put on a pedestal and idolized.  We elevate them to such lofty and high positions that we make them think they can do no wrong and they are looked upon as untouchable.  The circumstances of misplaced loyalty, shame, scandal and the fear of losing revenue caused otherwise intelligent men to allow another to abuse children and then sweep this knowledge under the proverbial rug.  How did they sleep at night?  With all this being said, I think all concerned, especially the victims, need to be prayed for.

This is an unsettling kind of example to have to learn from but let us all be reminded that no object, no person, nothing is so important to us that it causes us to lose our character, integrity and morality, because if we do, it will result in our downfall…nothing and no one is worth that.

“For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.”   Jesus Christ

            JEHOVAH RAPHA – The Lord That Heals – Rapha in Hebrew means to restore or heal.  God is our Great Physician and can heal us of all things.  God not only to heals us emotionally and physically, His Word tells us He will heal our “land.”  Rapha means to restore something to its natural state.  Psalm 103:2,Matthew 14:14, Exodus 15:26, 2 Chronicles 7:14

The United States and Europe are both having economic woes; that is by no means new revelation but what I stand convinced of (and naturally it goes deeper than this) is that part of our problems are caused by something known as the “entitlement mentality.”  That means that somewhere along the line we have molded and adapted our thinking into believing that someone else owes us a good life, a great home, the best car, expensive clothes and we in turn have passed this thinking onto the next generation.  I am afraid that the US is following in the footsteps of countries like France and Britain, whose citizens have a mindset that it is the government’s responsibility to take care of them from the “cradle to the grave.” 

There was a time in American history when more people took pride and personal responsibility in and for themselves and did not expect others to hand everything to them and then do it on a silver platter.  Somewhere in the 1980’s our mentality started to change and we started believing that society’s institutions were now expected to provide for its citizens’ livelihood.  I am not talking about those who truly need help; provisions for the poor should never stop.  But for others, where did “work” and “pride” become such ugly words? 

Currently, there are about 46 million people on food stamps, our unemployment rate is 8.2% and our population is somewhere around 314 million.  Do those numbers add up?  These numbers include the unemployed, the elderly and children, of course, but how many drain our resources because they have no pride, semblance of a work ethic and/or collect resources they should not while they work??  Where are the moral consciences of those who knowingly allow others to take care of them?  This mindset smacks of arrogance and pride and will be the downfall of many but as sin goes, it never affects just the one committing the act itself. 

There is no easy fix to what we find ourselves in but if we want change, one of the first things we must do first is change our attitudes.