Tuesday
THE DEARTH OF REAL "LEADERSHIP"
THE DEARTH OF REAL "LEADERSHIP"
AFFECTS SO MANY AREAS OF OUR
NATIONAL AND CHRISTIAN LIFE
We begin our discussion with this very applicable
quote from Bobby Eberle writing in "The Loft" last
week. "After thorough election defeats in 2006
and 2008, Republicans are at a crossroads.
Some may see the current state of the Republican
Party, and say there is no hope. Others may see
opportunity for change, for growth, and for a
new vision. I am in the second group. The problem
we face as a party is that in order for us to move
forward, we need LEADERSHIP... real, honest to
goodness leadership. Unfortunately, the one thing
we need is the one thing we are currently lacking."
But just one moment, please: before you reject this
comment as too political, too partisan in nature -- let
us consider it from a slightly different approach. A few
years back, Congressman Mike Pence, Representative
for Indiana's 6th Congressional District, said, "I'm a
Christian, a Conservative and a Republican, in that
order." Those 3 classifications are all important to us.
So let's re-read Bobby Eberle's statement, and apply
it to Christianity, Conservatism and the Republican
party. And let's look at those classifications in the
reverse order.
First, Republican. Mr. Eberle is absolutely correct.
The Republican party is without a strong, capable
leader at this time. It has been that way -- let's face
it -- for the past 8 years.
President Bush was a decent man, with some sound
basic principles. But he lacked strong leadership
abilities, accepted and followed advice from some
erroneously biased and inept sources, and allowed
a spendthrift Congress to run wild, without exercising
presidential veto control. So the party of traditional
moral values, and conservative governing principles
foundered leaderless in the national political arena.
As Mr. Eberle stated, the one thing we need, we are
currently lacking.
The next classification, Conservative -- here, too,
we lack leadership. With no one at the controls in the
political realm, we are in danger of losing the basic
Conservative principles of small government, sound
financial responsibility, free enterprise, and the moral
values of respect for life, respect for family and the
unrestricted enjoyment of our First Amendment rights.
And the most important classification, Christian, also
finds us without a leader of the Evangelical position.
There is a theory currently being expressed to the
effect that the Evangelical cause in America is either
dead or is dying. Nothing could be further from the
truth. On a national scale, one of the recent surveys
depicting the death throes of Evangelicalism, as
published by Trinity College, indicates that 34%
of all American adults identify themselves as Born
Again or Evangelical Christians, and among American
Christians, 45% claim to be Evangelical or Born
Again believers. So when the facts are examined, it
is evident that the Evangelical cause is very much alive,
although sadly lacking in leadership at this point in time.
Certainly there is such a leader, ready to step forward
in God's time, but as yet such a one is not in view.
Reflecting on Mr. Eberle's description of the
Republicans as a party in defeat, one is reminded of a
statement by Winston Churchill after a major defeat at
the polls,"It is the duty of every English party to
accept political defeat cordially and to do their best
endeavors to secure the success or to neutralize the
evil of the principles to which we have been forced
to succumb."
That is exactly the position in which we, along
with Mike Pence, as Conservatives, Republicans and
Christians, find ourselves today. Lacking in leadership,
yes, but not lacking in our reliance on those historic
principles which have always made this nation great.
Reminder: this year's National Day of Prayer is
May 7. But no one has to wait till then to pray for our
nation.
And with respect to our present leadership, it
isn't just domestic issues that are getting fouled up.
According to historian Arthur Herman, President
Obama's first official visit from a foreign leader was a
"diplomatic disaster." The guest was British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown, and the president apparently
tried to disregard the traditional close ties with our
staunchest ally through the years. He did not hold a
joint Rose Garden press conference with Brown, the
“usual protocol” when a president and British prime
minister first meet. The president had earlier shown his
disdain for Winston Churchill, ordering that the bust of
Churchill that Prime Minister Tony Blair had presented
to the U.S. after 9/11 be returned to the British Embassy.
This has been described as "a stunning posthumous
attack on the memory of a man who was not only
the living embodiment of the Anglo-American special
relationship, but of its ideological foundations." It
should be remembered that Churchill was half-American,
as is President Obama.
But lots of us ordinary Americans respect Sir Winston,
and some of us are old enough to remember how much
our nation owes to his leadership in World War II. The
British view of our president's treatment of their prime
minister? The national newspaper, the London Daily
Telegraph said of the event: "Obama has been rudeness
personified toward Britain.”
A memorable thought from a founding father:
"The aim of every political constitution is, or ought
to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess
most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue,
the common good of the society; and in the next
place, to take the most effectual precautions for
keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold
their public trust." -- James Madison, 1788
Some Random Afterthoughts . . .
One more "Don't you just love one-liners?" From
Ann Coulter on the cost of a magazine subscription
on investments: "After Obama gets done driving down
the value of the dollar it wouldn't be enough to buy
Governor Rod Blogojevich a haircut."
First, there was "Watergate," the political scandal
in the Nixon administration. Then there was the
"Travelgate" political scandal during the Clinton
administration. Now we have "Jetgate," the political
scandal dogging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during
the Obama administration. Judicial Watch, a nonprofit
organization that exposes government corruption and
waste, has disclosed that Ms. Pelosi has been treating
the United States Air Force as her personal airline,
blocking out multiple flights, cancellations at the last
minute after planes and crew are prepped and ready,
and expressing outrage when the military aircraft aren't
available. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said,
"Not only does Speaker Pelosi issue unreasonable
requests for military travel, but her office seems
unconcerned about wasting taxpayer money with
last minute cancellations and other demands."
No comment is needed.
Just a brief note about the growth of the Christian
Church in Africa: it grew from 10 million Christians in
1900 to 360 million in 2000. It is growing still. Thank
God for those early jungle slogging missionaries who
first planted the seeds of the Gospel in Africa.
And here is an interesting contrast: Contrary to
some recent media reports suggesting that the country's
economic troubles have led to higher levels of church
attendance, a Pew Forum analysis of polls by the Pew
Research Center for the People & the Press finds that
while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost over
half its value since October 2007, there has been no
increase in weekly worship service attendance during
the same time period. Perhaps a missed opportunity
for the Church in America.
A founding father's view of lawyers in Congress:
"If the present Congress errs in too much talking,
how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people
send 150 lawyers, whose trade it is to question
everything, yield nothing, & talk by the hour? That
150 lawyers should do business together ought not
to be expected." - Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography,
1821
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