i'm voting.

first of all, my reasons for my blog-entrance to the political arena are 1) the accountability it offers (i am forced to figure out what my opinions are and put them into coherent thought), 2) the counter-thoughts it stirs (i never want to be so close-minded that i refuse to hear a respectable person's logic based on their understanding and knowledge...which may be different or more expansive than mine), and 3) the chance that my thoughts would spur someone into really looking into the issues and voting with knowledge instead of assumption (the media is our most popular advisor in this country...and the LEAST reliable). i have highly intelligent, knowledgeable, righteous people in my life who disagree on at least one or more of my political reasons with me and with each other. so i realize there are many opinions out there. i need to make my decisions on my beliefs and opinions, and that's what this is an attempt to discover.

before i blurt out my presidential decision, here is a synopsis of my personal politics:

my voting fulcrum will always be my belief in absolute truth and my relationship with it. it is the example of the character of Jesus that begins to shape my politic. the example of Jesus: a man who came to spread Love in this world...to tear the division of people down...constantly leveling the ground between the religious zealots and the broken they were shaming...pushing back on the traditional-for-traditional's-sake...instigating change. this is his example.

my God is not interested in politics...He is interested in people. He did not create our government and does not need it to accomplish what He will accomplish. we, however, live inside this man-made institution built on the very concept of free-will (which He instilled in us at creation...free-will...freedom...the very thing that our relationship with Him is based on). so we must make decisions preserving the freedom He gave at creation, and the equality Jesus came to recover. these two things make up the core of my politics.

i believe the government works best when it is focusing solely on these things: 1) protecting our human rights for survival, 2) establishing equality (not the same thing as "sameness") between gender, race, religion, socioeconomic groups, tax brackets, etc, and 3) preserving our individual and collective freedom within the safety of the boundaries set by the previous two roles mentioned.

anything beyond these responsibilities is a dangerous misuse of government. inside our opinions and beliefs, we have a tendency to want to equip the government to help us accomplish our tasks...get people in office who will cure the ills, when, many times, we could be curing them ourselves. we see what we think needs to be done in this country and assume it is the government's job to do it. on the contrary, i believe the government exists to equip us to do what needs to be done...it's our job, not theirs. as i have said before, i will say again because i believe it is crucial: i will never ask my government to do what it is my responsibility to do. and i'll say this as well: Church (big C church), you have a tendency to ask the government to do your job. it's time to stop doing that. do your job. vote to protect your right (which must be equal to everyone else's right) to do your job...don't vote to get your job done. see the difference? it's absolutely crucial.

another misuse i see is the idea that freedom means boundary-lessness (yeah, i make up words). on the contrary, as i stated previously, freedom for everyone requires protecting human rights and equality. it requires the existence of boundaries. we seem to feel that we need to fill every space of freedom...as though if we don't take advantage of the freedom, it isn't really ours. for example, we have freedom of speech...so naturally many feel they have to exercise that free speech to its full extent...stretch the elastic as far as it will go...otherwise it's not freedom. just because we are allowed to do something, doesn't mean we should. that's the beauty of the choice...freedom to choose what is best, not just what is in front of you. it doesn't make it any less of a choice to choose well. at the same time, for it to truly be a freedom, it must be a choice...not a requirement.

so boiled down i vote considering this: freedom, equality, the right to survival and the government within its role as protector of those ideals.

with those as the forefront of my goal, with much deliberation and research and council and prayer and thought and pain even, i've decided that mccain offers the most potential to fulfill these goals.

if you want detail on the issues, here's my synopsis on those:

regarding war: mccain.
of course we hear till our ears bleed that mccain was a war hero (and he was and is to be respected for it). i don't think that automatically makes someone ready for presidency. but when i look at mccain's views on war versus obama's, i believe his position is a safer one. it is interesting to me that obama has a reputation as being the "no to war" vote. i thought this for a long time...thought that voting for mccain means voting for war. looking at the facts, i began to believe the opposite. mccain is actually, it seems to me, inclined to bring this country to a place of long-term peace. he believes in ending the war in Iraq with dignity and getting the job done...which is important, even simply out of respect for the lives given. obama, on the other hand, i realized is not anti war...he's just anti this war. his position is to simply reposition the troops out of iraq and into afghanistan. which i'm not saying i'm against, i just resent the popular idea that mccain's a war guy and obama's not. when it comes to knowledge and experience in war matters, mccain is the obvious choice.

regarding running-mates: neither.
yikes. to be honest, i'm not real excited about anybody's running-mate. do i love sarah palin? yeah. would i like to have her over for dinner? sure. she's precious. do i think she's ready to run the country if she needed to? mm. not so sure about that. she is untainted, though...i love that she doesn't know how to woo people. i wish she wasn't so clumsy with her words sometimes...it is certainly unsettling. but more important than sweet speech is integrity, and i think sarah has it. i don't, however (and i wish i did), think that she's ready for this. she could be. i mean, this world is often most affected by people who weren't "ready" for what they stepped up to do. look at martin luther king, jr. look at ben franklin and roosevelt. look at david, even. abraham. sheesh, the list could go on for days of people who were not equipped or trained to change the world but did. sarah could be that... i would love it if she was. i'm just not going to be laying any bets down. biden, on the other hand...let's just say i don't want biden over for dinner, and i don't want him running the country, and leave it at that.

regarding abortion: mccain.
i've expressed my views here already in previous posts, but suffice it to say, this is the issue that tugs hardest on my heart strings. i did not allow it to be a deal maker or breaker in my decision, though i wanted to. i appreciate very much obama's position to put systems into place to make this less of an issue in our country...i agree with him that there is MUCH we can do to reroute the road to the clinic to other options and support alternatives. however, partial birth, full-term, and late-term abortions are beyond the realm of choice. these are acts of brutality and murder and i cannot see it any other way...i truly can't. i can politicize everything else about it...but not these survivable babies being destroyed...i just can't do it. it makes me tremble, i feel so passionately about it. mccain is very clear on his position. and his decisions back him up. obama is not as clear. i felt a little betrayed by him, even, after hearing him speak...i felt very connected to him at one point...sure we were on the same page...ready to cast my vote...but his decisions speak differently, and i have a very difficult time trusting him as a result.

regarding the economy: mccain.
i could write a lot of stuff here to make it sound like i know things, but the truth is, i am not an economist and i do not know what plan will work best for this country. however, there are a couple of things i have to address because they relate directly to my personal politics. there are some that believe to achieve equality, the government's job is to enforce it inside every aspect (i.e. financial). i strongly disagree with this tactic. i believe that freedom for financial equality is vital, not an enforcement of it. sharing the wealth is a beautiful idea...one that i think would do a lot of good in this country. however, it must be a choice...a freedom. relative taxes are an attempt to enforce an equality that cannot be enforced. offering all individuals equal ground to build and grow and gain financially fits the government's job. freedom to gain wealth and share it...yes. but requiring the sharing limits that freedom and is not true equality...it's a farce. on a side note, i also, generally, believe that the money the government spends is often outside of its intended role, and therefore i support lower taxes.

regarding healthcare: obama.
i am actually more inclined to support obama's position on this issue. the medical field is so twisted right now, we need to try some drastic changes. i would love to see how national healthcare would pan out in this country. i can't imagine it could possibly be worse than it is.

regarding the environment: obama.
i believe it is hugely important that we take better care of this place we've been given than we do. it needs to be a priority (just not over human life). i was surprised to discover that both candidates show a history of supporting attempts to limit american waste. obama has definitely made more effort to voice his position in this regard, and i support and appreciate many of the policies he would put in place. mccain has also made some good decisions in my opinion regarding the environment...i think he could stand to give this issue a little more weight.

regarding immigration: neither.
here's another one that took me by surprise. i have a hard time with the immigration stuff because the majority of us are immigrants who crowded out an existing nation. now it's biting us in the butt, so we push back on it... just seems blatantly self-serving. i do not believe we are better because we are americans. i do not believe we have more right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness just because we are americans. and i have a hard time with our government placing so much money and effort on solidifying those borders. i don't know what the answer is, but i'm pretty sure a big fence isn't it. but the candidates are pretty much in agreement on this one...at least as the decisions show. this is another area where i feel obama has been a bit misleading.

regarding israel: mccain.
this is a biggie for me. while obama speaks of supporting israel, mccain is all about it. and i do believe their preservation is critical for this world...hugely. it needs to be top-of-the-list kind of priority in my opinion.

regarding gay-marriage: obama.
another biggie for me. you can read about my opinions about this in my blog on prop 8. in addition, i support both candidate's position that this should be a state government issue rather than a federal one.

regarding fuel/energy: mccain.
off-shore drilling seems to me to be a very natural way to begin solving some of the foreign affair issues surrounding this topic. beyond that, both candidates of course support solving these problems. mccain is offering $2 billion to clean coal fuel development (which is a duh to me), $300 million as an incentive to developing better and more cost efficient electrically powered vehicles, requirements on car companies to develop and make more efficient hybrid and clean cars (love that). obama is not as clear on his methods of solution. he has mentioned loan- and tax-funded rebates and development (which is a bit unnerving to me...) and tends to flip flop a bit.

regarding general gut-feeling:
of course one should never make a decision from guts alone, but in context, they are an important factor in any decision. we have instincts that we do not invest enough faith in. i was once an obama supporter...argued may times in his defense...and i still very much respect the man. but i have discovered discrepancies in his record that are very unsettling to me. i have not found such discrepancies with mccain. i do not agree, obviously, 100% with mccain. there are things that are unfortunate about him, in my opinion. but i do not feel unsettled by him. i feel that, at least as far as anyone can tell with a politician, he has integrity. and i will vote for integrity every time.

so there you have it. i'll add that colin powell's (i would have voted that man into office in a heartbeat) endorsement of obama shook me up a bit and forced me to look into things yet again and more deeply, and i still have a hard time voting against his endorsement. but ultimately i have to make my decision based on what i know and believe. and i feel i have done as best as i can to be sure i know what i'm voting for and who...to be sure i'm informed and wise in the process...and to be sure to stay true to my own views on the government's role.

that being said, please vote. whether you agree with me or not, please take the time to be informed and vote. it's such a gift that we get to. take advantage of it.