Happy Birthday, Marines! November 10, 2006
Posted by marineben in Marine Corps.add a comment
Well it is that time of year again. For us who claim the title United States Marine, it is the birthday of our Corps. On 10 November, 1775, the Continental Congress authorized the raising of a battalion of Marines to serve on board the Navy ships that were authorized with the formation of the Navy on 13 October 1775. The Marine Corps is now 231 years old, and still charging ahead full steam. To all my fellow Marines past and present, I say Happy Birthday, OOHRAH and Semper Fidelis!
Post Election Thoughts November 10, 2006
Posted by marineben in Politics, Theology.add a comment
Well, the election is over, and I for one am glad. I was getting so tired of seeing 10-15 different political advertisements every time I turned on the television or listened to the radio. I have become pretty jaded with any and all politicians in the past couple of years, but I still had to vote for who would best represent my conservative social and fiscal views. The Republicans have not done this well recently, but they still give more lip service to conservatism than Democrats so with the exception of one state office, they received my vote.
While I did cast my vote for Republicans, it is very obvious that the majority of people in the USA wanted change. It seems to me that most have become jaded with the war in Iraq. I am still one of those people who thinks that the war in Iraq is keeping terrorism from rearing its head again here for the present, but I can see how many people would not want to keep hearing the bad news that seems to come weekly from Iraq. No matter what your view of why or how we got there, the fact is we are there and need to finish the job. It also looked to me like many of the Republicans who were defeated were those of the more liberal persuasion anyway and were simply RINO Republicans. I would rather have a minority party of true conservatives than a majority party that is so big tent, it becomes the party of big government. I think when it all comes down to it, people don’t see any difference in the two parties, and what was really interesting was one exit poll I saw (I don’t remember where) that showed that by an 11% majority, voters believed that the Republicans were the party of big government. In many ways they have become that, which is why when it is all said and done, they may not have deserved to win and I won’t shed any tears over their loss.
To wrap it all up though, no matter why or how the election results happened, God ordained the results. As a follower of Jesus Christ, it really doesn’t matter to me whether Democrats or Republicans are in place, because I know that for good or bad, God has placed them there. He is ultimately in control, and politicians are not the ones who will determine our nation’s future. Our job as believers is to follow God and live our lives to spread his gospel to others – everything else including politics is far below that priority. Too many Christians have forgotten that God doesn’t command us to make Republicans or Democrats, but He tells us to make Disciples of Jesus Christ. This is my focus, no matter who is in Washington.
Two good articles on the election that I read today are linked here.
Russ Moore talks about the importance of praying for our leaders no matter who they are.
My favorite talk show host, Ralph Bristol, has a great commentary as well. (Look at November 9th daily dispatch if it doesn’t come up)
