Election Blues

I am glad that Scripture has prayers of lament and seeking God when discouraged or in despair.  Yesterday Psalm 57 was my prayer: “O God, in you my soul takes refuge…refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.” And from Psalm 25, “Free me from my anguish; you are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” 

It’s hard being a red person in a blue world.  It’s not about politics – I’m tired of political speeches, debates, ads and emails.  No, it’s about the changes I see in a country that is very different from the one in which I grew up. 

In public school I learned about history.  Real history, things that actually happened and how they affected our nation.  In 1775 America was red with the blood of patriots who believed in freedom, a God-given right to liberty, and a representative form of government that would not seize individual property or income.  By 1783 the sovereignty of the United States of America was recognized, and the greatest experiment in government began.

In the 1830’s, my native state was red with the blood of Texans fighting for their independence.  In the 1860’s America was red with the blood of its citizens, fighting for the right of all men regardless of skin color to be free.  In the 1900’s America was red with the blood of its people fighting for freedom in other countries – WW I and II, Korea, Vietnam.  In 2001 America was red with the blood of innocent men and women as terrorists brought war to our own soil and our fight in the War on Terror began.

But today America is blue.  I saw the map on election night and began to realize how much we have changed.   Again, it’s not about Democrats or Republicans.  It’s about America, how she was founded, and where we are now headed.

We have become a nation whose majority believes that it is acceptable for our government to confiscate one person’s income without that person’s permission and give it to another in the form of welfare, Social Security to those who haven’t paid in and aren’t citizens, “free” health care services, and excessive taxes on property.  We have a president who has established government czars (“an emperor or absolute monarch”), something never before done in America, and whose use of the executive order to get around the law is historical in its excess.  Our Supreme Court has expanded the power of eminent domain, ruling that personal property can be “transferred” to another private entity for “economic development” and only the government decides what is “just compensation” (Kelo v. City of New London).

To see America heading down a path its Founders fought to avoid breaks my heart.  I have done my best to work for the principles in our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  Others have worked to bring about different principles.  I must accept that for now at least, they have prevailed.  That’s the way America works and I support the process.  Some will celebrate victory this week and in the months to come, anticipating benefits that others must provide them.  Others, like my husband and I, will begin assessing our remaining ability to make income, our property, and our stake in an American small business to decide how best to protect and preserve what we have worked so hard for.  We will also freely of our own will decide how best to help others less fortunate.  I don’t need government to make me do that.

And we will turn, as always, to our faith.  Governments come and go, but God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  I don’t understand why He allows certain circumstances, but I’ve learned He is always there for me.

I’ve been praying Psalm 23 in a new way since Tuesday night, taking it very personally.  What a comfort to know that even when my beloved country as I have always known it is walking through the valley of the shadow of death, I don’t have to fear any evil because God is with me.  

God loves all His creation, but those who come to Him through the shed blood of His son Jesus Christ get to be in relationship with Him.  That relationship, and the security of eternity in heaven it brings, gives my life meaning and purpose while I’m here on this earth.  Maybe America is still red.  Red from blood on a cross where Jesus gave up his life for our freedom - freedom to live the way God wants us to, and the liberty to love and treat others rightly no matter what color is on the election map.