I was saved in a Methodist church when I was seven years old. I can take you back to the very place I prayed. Then at age 14, we left the church where I was very involved in the youth group. I started high school, and life happened. I made some pretty stupid mistakes. Public ones. A few times. But even during the worst of it, I never doubted my salvation. I knew God was with me no matter what I did, and that He loved me through all the teenage angst.
Once I moved away after graduation, I began to interpret the world as I saw it without the constraints of my small town and its conservative way of life. For example, I was taught that being gay was a sin- it was wrong, "disgusting", immoral, etc. But once I got out on my own, I met quite a few gay people, and was somewhat surprised to discover that not only were they not disgusting, but they were not very different from me, except that they loved someone of the same gender. It did not take long for me to shake the "beliefs" I was taught in church and get back to the basics: that I believed in God, and my God was a God of LOVE. There was a picture going around on Facebook this week that I loved: Jesus was standing on the hill preaching to the multitudes, saying "Here's an idea. You love them like I loved you, feed them, clothe them, and shelter them, and let me deal with judging them."
With all the controversy going on with the Republican party, I wanted it to be clear where I, as a member of the younger generation, stand on these issues. The fact is, we're a lot more open-minded than generations before us. We accept that everyone is different. And a lot of us don't stand in the Right Wing or the Left Wing. I don't consider myself a Democrat nor a Republican, just as I don't consider myself any sort of Christian denomination. I base my opinions and vote solely on the candidates running for office, and whether or not I agree with what they're saying and trying to do.
I have never been a fan of Obama. I thought it was absurd that people were so hyped up because he was going to be the first colored President, as if skin color is any sort of reason to vote for the leader of our country. I don't like him because he manipulates facts to make it look like he's done more than what he actually has. For example, in his State of the Union address this year, he claimed he has created 3 million jobs since he took office, which is only partially true. What he failed to mention is that 5 million jobs were lost during that same time frame. For all you math majors out there, that is a total of -2 million jobs on Obama's watch.
So, what do we do about this mess we're in? The natural answer seems obvious- we get a new President, right? But who? Who do we nominate as worthy of taking on the role as leader of our country? The Republican party has put up four different candidates- Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich.
If I didn't hate hypocrisy so much, I might like Newt. Newt Gingrich stands on stages and podiums and claims that gays "violate the sanctity of marriage". In the same breath, he is guilty of cheating on his wife multiple times. I believe the correct term is "the pot calling the kettle black".
Ron Paul has a pretty decent economic policy, but I don't agree with his foreign policies. I feel like we'll be either attacked or at war if he were to get elected.
Then there's Santorum, who is coming out with all sorts of judgements and stances against certain rights, and he is using "God" as a reason to support his radical stances. He claims that he is a Christian, but he is passing out judgements left and right. Not only is he judging, but he wants to make his personal beliefs the law. The fact that someone could say who has the right to marry another, no matter how much they love each other, is appalling to me. Neil Patrick Harris has been with David Burtka for eight years, but they can't get married. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian can have a 10 million dollar wedding that results in a 72 day marriage and it's okay. Anyone else see a problem here?
Mitt Romney seems the lesser of the evils to me. People seem to dislike him because he's rich, but he has worked hard for the money he has. We need a President who understands how the economy works; Romney does. He was criticized for paying 15% taxes, but he also donated 15% of his income last year to charity. (Obama donated 1%) I'm not preaching Romney, but I'll vote for him over Obama any day.
So in conclusion, the Jesus I know preached love and acceptance, not hatred and judgement. Therefore, I do not believe it's the government's place to try to play God. I also believe it's time for a change- and not the false promises of "change" that Obama promised four years ago.
Vote! No matter how young you are, your opinion matters.
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