Lashing Out

I've been getting angry lately. And I've managed to suppress it on many occasions, but at other times I feel like I've lashed out at people. The cause of this irritation?...What else? Politics and the ever popular politically accepted lies, deceit, and hatred that come from otherwise decent people.

At lunch the other day, I heard somebody say that they asked a Democrat, "Do you think it's right to kill babies?" This of course implies that all Democrats think that it is right to kill babies. The conversation seemed to be primarily between two people that were at the same table as I was so I didn't say anything (although I probably could have).

A second incident came in the form of an e-mail that was forwarded to me (and several others). This is the text:

Mark your calendar - This Sunday on Fox Sean Hannity, of Hannity & Colmes Fox news, is going to air a very important documentary about Barack Obama, Sunday night at 8:00 PM central / 9 PM eastern. He stated on the air this evening that no one in the news media was willing to do this. Hannity is going back to Obama's earlier days, showing even then his ties to radical professors, friends, spiritual advisers, etc., he stated this evening that he will show in detail his ties to Rev.. Wright for 20+ yrs. How he was participating with this man, and not for the reasons he states! He has uncovered more of Obama's radical leaders and we will see things that no one in the media is willing to put out there. This will be a night that you will learn more about Obama than ever before. Hannity is very passionate about this program and asked that everyone please, please watch~~ Please pass this on to everyone you know. Democrat or Republican, you can learn from this. It is critical for our country." You can watch it if you want, but I really do believe that the program is more about ratings than about truth. Anyways, I was a bit offended by the assumption that I would be interested in this and also un happy that another well meaning person has decided that I'm a good candidate for receiving their favorite e-mail forwards (yes, they received it from someone else that forwarded it to them!). Snopes usually deters chronic forwarders, apparently not enough in their case. So I wrote asking to be removed from their e-mail list. My letter will probably get me in trouble. This was my response: Please take me off of your e-mail list. I am not a blind follower of the radical conservatives that think that every democrat is going to hell. Like it or not, Barack Obama is the President of the United States. The continuous gossip, lies, and hatred that is being spread by non-Christian conservatives and endorsed by Christian conservatives that should know the Biblical command to respect those in authority over us (Nero was the Emperor of Rome when Paul wrote this) needs to come to an end. I'm sure that the spin on the events of our President's past will be more than enough to generate great ratings for the Fox News Network. In the end, that's really all that it is about...not about truth--about ratings. As for me, I chose not to be a part of the hatred; not to be a part of the gossip; and not to be a part of the belief that every democrat is evil. (By the way, Billy Graham is a democrat.) I do chose to pray for wisdom and protection for my President and all of our leaders. You would be very surprised to know the number of Born-again religious conservatives that have not bought into the Republican Party's propaganda that if you are a Christian, you must vote Republican. I, for one, voted for Barack Obama. Another incident involved pieces of flair sent on Facebook. It came under the category nobama. It said something like--Hitler made great speeches, too. Really? You want to compare our President to Hitler? Some how I find that incredibly naive and ridiculous. I'm sure that Jews around the world would be offended at the comparison and I really don't know what the point of such a statement might be. I know that it wouldn't be to incite hate...this was from a Christian and a church member. (BTW, the other incidents were also from Christians.) Sadly, it was not even two weeks ago that I blogged about this great sermon at our church. Our memories appear to be pretty short. The words from an old song are ringing through my head right now: Go ahead and hate your neighbor, Go ahead and cheat a friend. Do it in the name of Heaven, You can justify it in the end. There won't be any trumpets blowing Come the judgement day, On the bloody morning after.... One tin soldier rides away. If you remember the end of the story told in this song, after the great battle for the mountain treasure, the valley people found that this was the treasure...Peace on Earth. Brothers and Sisters, we are fighting the wrong battle. Paul wrote that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but it is a great spiritual battle. I want to encourage you to set aside the differences of politics, culture, social status, etc. and join together to reach out to others and share the great love of our God. We ought not use the battle armor fighting against each other. It was meant for a far greater purpose. John <>< BTW, for better or worse, thanks to my friend and fellow controller/fellow blogger/fellow searcher of truth, Paul Cox, my posts to Out of My Hat now automatically appear in my Facebook notes. Thanks Paul (I think!).