It’s no secret that this election season piqued my interest. I’ve had some great discussions with people and learned a lot. As I’ve taken the last month to contemplate how to move forward in light of a desire to shape a better future for my children, one thing has become very clear.
No lasting good can come from zoning out for 3 years and 6 months, then slowly building oneself into an emotional and polarized frenzy for the six months leading up to our Presidential elections.
Most of us have been guilty of this. I know I have. And I think that’s the way our elected officials want it. Because they know that that the more we zone out, the less they will be held accountable for their votes, decisions and actions. From the looks of it, there must have been a lot of zoning out going on over the last decade or so. At least with my generation.
But not anymore. I’ve decided, for better or for worse, to remain steadily engaged in our political system even after all of the election hoopla has disipated. And I’m hoping you will too.
I’ve created an organization called Redefine Change to focus my efforts. I’m referring to it NOT as a political action committe, but rather, a Citizen Action Committee. Because I’m not really interested in becoming a political or party hack. I’m only interested in becoming a better citizen. If I can encourage a few others to do so in the process then I’ll consider that a success.
All of the content is free, but there are two fund-raising arms. The first is an annual membership which costs $17.76 per year (cute I know, but I can’t take credit for the idea. I swiped it from Ron Paul’s Rally for the Republic where tickets were sold for the same price.) As an annual member you can post comments, discuss issues with other members, receive email alerts, discounts on educational materials and any other features that come about. The second is a one-time donate feature. This is for people who want to give more than the annual membership fee. The donations are NOT tax-deductible, so don’t give unless you want to get involved.
Whether you choose to simply stay abreast of the content or become a member and get more involved, I simply hope that you will consider, with some level of seriousness, the importance of remaining steadily engaged in our political system. Who knows, if enough of us stop zoning out, we may wake up one day and realize that the better future we envision for our kids is actually a reality.
Thanks and God bless,
Brandon
PS - the “Issues Matrix” made my brain hurt for several days on end. I hope the outcome makes sense to everyone!
To my red and blue friends who are appalled I voted 3rd party, and, who were upset that my status read “I hope the GOP gets utterly owned in order to (hopefully) redirect them from their absolutely intolerable stupidity the last 8 years. And, yes, I’m still saved.”
The topic at hand was Dems supposed socialism (supposed as in unique only to them, not existing with the Republican party, etc), other destructive economic policies and abortion. (Even though two of my points are related to the economy, my response is primarily focused on abortion, since that was the main swaying factor for a McCain vote with many of my friends.)
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I think you’re missing my point.
1) The Republicans have been the source of devastating economic policies over the last 8 years.
2) The Republicans have implemented the largest socialistic projects in decades over the last 8 years, not to mention the largest nationalization of business since the Great Depression.
3) They’ve been in office 20 of the last 28 years and Roe V. Wade still stands.
If Christians want to stop abortion we should back a candidate that will actually work to stop it. Our line of thinking that voting Republican is equivalent to being anti-abortion is complete folly. Colson talks about the Republican party being the first party to latch onto Evangelicalism’s “morals” in order to get votes. They pander and pander so we can feel good about “morals” being nationalized.
Look around. That isn’t happening. My point is that if Christians want that to happen then we need to stop thinking Republican = godly and actually look at candidates, who are on the ballot, who represent what we are looking for. There were at least 2 this election, possibly 3, on the official ballot that are infinitely closer to representing Christian values than McCain/Palin ever would.
But did Christians vote for them? No. Why? Because they’ve been brainwashed to believe that voting Republican is next to godliness. It’s absolutely retarded.
And, yes, I completely, utterly, absolutely reject the assertion that by not voting McCain, I’m supporting Obama. In no way am I supporting Obama. I’m supporting another candidate who is truly anti-abortion, has expressed unequivocal support for a bill already presented in the House that outlines specific legislation for declaring fetuses at certain ages as human beings, thus making it illegal to kill them without due process of the law.
As far as I can tell, the mainstream Republican ticket’s definition of anti-abortion consists of name calling, demonizing and polarizing those who are pro-choice. This is not a path to solving the problem, it’s a recipe to continue to hang the carrot in front of Evangelicals to get votes that once cast will have no bearing on actually overturning Roe V. Wade.
(You may not agree with declaring fetuses as humans, thus making it illegal to kill them, but I argue that proposing substantive concepts that can be argued, debated and (hopefully) ultimately negotiated to both parties satisfaction is much more productive than the name calling, fear mongering and denigrating that currently exists. This is becoming of elementary school playground tactics, not presumably intelligent adults attempting to not only navigate the fact that, if left alone, an egg and a sperm cell typically divide thus becoming fetuses then infants then cute little babies, bratty two-year olds and hopefully productive, functioning adults, but also to decide when and how and who should have the power to determine when that chain gets broken. I mean seriously folks, doesn’t that burden take your breath away?! Doesn’t it get you beyond name calling and mud slinging? If it doesn’t you should be absolutely ashamed! And that goes for both pro-choice and pro-lifers.)
So, yes, I hope the GOP gets its clocked cleaned. Not just so they can get back to basic/pragmatic things of fiscal responsibility and limited government, but also, so Evangelicals can hopefully realize that there is a tremendous amount of naivety and hypocrisy in our current view of the political system, especially as it relates Republicans vs. Democrats. Not to mention the embarrassing fact that we continue to get played like the geeky, zit faced kid holding vain hopes of being accepted by the cool kids every four years.
Surprise, surprise. I’m taking flak again from both sides of the aisle for my political opinions. The most recent offense being a status update on Facebook that read “Obama ‘08! McCain ‘08! Oh wait. They’re essentially the same candidate. Nevermind.”
First, turn off Fox AND CNN.
Second, stop thinking in either/or scenarios.
Third, consider why I think both candidates are largely the same.
1) They are both for expanding the size and involvement of government, just in different domestic areas.
2) They are both for continuing to spend beyond our nations means, just on different programs.
3) They are both for spreading the wealth around, just to different demographics.
4) They are both interested in keeping our military spread very thin, just in different geographic areas.
Take the historical end result of these four policies, individually and combined, in countries like Rome, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and all of the postured differences on energy, abortion, social security, education, infrastructure, etc, etc will ultimately be quite insignificant.
So, I say get rid of Biden and Palin and just consolidate Senator McCain and Senator Obama into one super-candidate called McBama! It would unite the country as they could each spend their quarter billion dollarsRenminbis enacting each of their ground breaking plans to change Washington.
Think of the possibilities! Double the change! Double the debt! Double the fun!
In political terms of left/right I thought right was supposed to represent fiscal conservatism, limited government and diplomacy. Yet Colin Powell in citing one of his reasons for supporting Obama said the republican party has “moved more to the right than I would like to see it.”
The last time I checked, an 11 trillion dollar deficit, the Patriot Act, socialization of banks and preemptive strikes were not considered fiscal conservatism, limited government or diplomacy. How can violating right leaning principles be viewed as moving more towards the right?
That is truly one of the WORST arguments I have ever seen.
What is happening to our country???!!! The former Secretary of State cannot even accomplish the most straightforward task of publicly endorsing a Presidential candidate without presenting completely retarded evidence to support his decision????
I don’t care if you want to support Elvis for President just please, please, pretty please use your efffing brain to make sound arguments. Why can’t people see this is THE issue facing our country right now? The inability to detect, decipher and defend truthfulness. Once again, I am aghast.
Thank you Mr. Powell, I think you’ve extended my hiatus.
California Senator Mrs. Feinstein said last night “I have received 91,000 phone calls, emails and faxes, 85,000 of which have been AGAINST this bill.”
And she voted YES???????!!!!!!
Good bye democracy / republic, hello socialism / totalitarianism. What happened to “we the people” Mrs. Feinstein? You deserve to be removed from office immediately.
So, I must admit that I’m a little disheartened that the Administration is continuing to insist on attempting to pass this bill. Their hubris and disregard for the voice of the American people is discouraging to say the least.
Anyway, I’m sure you know that the Senate is voting today. Here’s the letter that I sent to my Senators today. If you’re so inclined, feel free to use any of it in writing your Senators. At the very least, I know I’ve done my part as a citizen to stand up for what I believe in. Anything beyond that is out of my control.
Thanks and have a great day,
Brandon
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Hi Senator Martinez,
Thank you for your service. My wife and I just moved to Florida in May and are really enjoying your beautiful state.
I was elated two days ago when the Congress rejected the $700 billion bailout bill. The fact that the Bush administration refused to listen to the people and insist on continuing to attempt to pass this bill is enraging and disheartening both at the same time.
I am offended that the US Senate is considering it again today.
I know you and your colleagues must be under tremendous pressure from the Administration and from Wall Street to pass this bill, but I guarantee it will not compare to the pressure you will be under from the American people, should you pass this bill. I know many of my friends, family and fellow citizens are outraged at the prospect of giving Secretary Paulson power to purchase worthless assets with our money and without any repercussion under law. This is SOCIALISM, not American!
Don’t get me wrong. I know that tough times are ahead if the bill is rejected. But passing the bill would mean EVEN TOUGHER TIMES not only for us further down the road, but also for our children and grandchildren. I am ready and willing to take shorter term pain if it means that my children will have a brighter future. PLEASE VOTE NO ON THIS BILL.
I am aware that the media, the Administration and even some Senators and Congressmen think the problem is too complex for average Americans to understand. While I am not known as a renowned economist, I find the thought that I am uninformed on the issue utterly offensive and urge you to reject that type of elitist thinking.
I have enough sense to realize that over 200 leading economists have joined forces urging the Senate to reject the bill. I have enough understanding to know that the majority of this money will go to Wall Street companies, who, quite frankly DESERVE TO GO BANKRUPT. And I am informed enough to believe in the power of FREE MARKETS and the opportunity for existing companies who have run their business properly to come in and positively capitalize on the ghastly mistakes of their competitors.
As a Republican I hope you believe in this power as well.
In closing, please consider the following two quotes, one from a Harvard professor of Economics, and, one from Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of our great country.
“Further, the current credit freeze is likely due to Wall Street’s hope of a bailout; bankers will not sell their lousy assets for 20 cents on the dollar if the government might pay 30, 50, or 80 cents.” - Harvard economist Jeffrey Minron
“Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time, and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter, I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the eternal God, I will rout you out.” - Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, 1832, to America’s central bank
PLEASE VOTE NO on today’s bill. If you do not, I will do everything in my power to remove you from office when you are up for re-election.
“Republicans, for their part, quietly hate the proposal but can’t get in the way of it this close to an election. “They think the market’s going to melt down and we’re going to get blamed,” says the disgruntled GOP staffer, “so they’re going to take their usual chicken-s___ approach and vote for it.”"
