Random Thoughts

In this world we will have trouble…

I miss President Bush already. I miss civility, and humility, and the sense that the leader of our country operated within a moral framework, answering to a Higher Authority.

Having spent from 6 am to 9 pm working as a poll inspector today, I’m burnt out on the process. I had nearly 70 people (that’s about 10% of the total vote at my polling place) come in and vote provisionally, with the explanation that “I don’t remember where I’m supposed to vote,” or “I never got my voting information,” or “I vote absentee but forgot to send it in.” Invariably they were Democrats. Not saying anything duplicitous was going on, but it was…odd.

Now I’m watching the celebrations on the news, and seeing people waving signs that say things like “Why wait, throw Bush out now!” and feeling ill. Even when Clinton was president, I felt some degree of equanimity, I had a sense that there still was a system of checks and balances in place. Not so anymore. The Presidency, the Congress, soon the Supreme Court will all be controlled by the left, and of course the extreme liberal media is backing it all. So this is what it feels like to be disenfranchised.

I don’t want to think about my son going into the military under Obama’s leadership. I don’t want to think about the reaction terrorists are going to have. I do not want to think about what this shift of power means for unborn babies and people with disabilities, the most vulnerable in our society. These things sadden me, but at the same time I wonder if perhaps God is teaching us something. Perhaps, like Israel, we’re getting the leadership we deserve.

My pastor on Sunday pointed out that the most important thing is not who wins the election, but that the gospel be preached. And when things get bad, when a government becomes oppressive, that’s when the gospel of Christ flourishes.

The Anchoress writes with more grace than I can summon towards Obama. I will respect the office, regardless of who holds it, but I’m not sanguine about the ability of Obama himself to treat his subjects citizens with any respect.

Brutally Honest reminds us of the purpose of lamenting and gives us healthy food for thought. They’ve also got a clever sidebar ad that reads in part,

We lived through the Carter years. High interest rates, high taxes, bad judge appointments, gas shortages, high utilities, ‘coming ice age’ scare, hostage situation in Iran, defunded military. Worst economy in a century.

Then came Reagan. And we recovered.

Palin for President in 2012!

Please God, send us another Reagan, and help America to recognize her when she runs for office.

Michelle Malkin tells us it is time to gird our loins,

What do we do now? We do what we’ve always done.

We stand up for our principles, as we always have — through Democrat administrations and Republican administrations, in bear markets or bull markets, in peacetime and wartime.

We stay positive and focused.

We keep the faith.

We do not apologize for our beliefs. We do not re-brand them, re-form them, or relinquish them. We defend them.

We pay respect to the office of the presidency. We count our blessings and recommit ourselves to our constitutional republic.

And despite my mournfulness and general sense of foreboding, The Onion manages to make me chuckle.