In one week, America will elect its next president, 33 US
Senators, 435 congressmen and thousands of state and local
officials. The stakes could hardly be higher. I attempt to view the
elections through the Judeo/Christian worldview upon which America
was founded and built. I additionally use the context of the
Declaration of Independence, with particular emphasis on the
following sentence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness.”
LIFE
In a free society, elections always shape these unalienable rights
and can ultimately lead to greater freedom or enslavement and
tyranny. The greatest right we hold dear is the right to life. When
both candidates were asked the question, “When does life begin?”
Sen. McCain stated, succinctly and correctly, at “conception.” Sen.
Obama responded the question was above his “pay grade.” A society
that wishes to remain free must guarantee the rights and freedoms
of its most endangered citizens.
Keep reading
The Democratic Party consistently rejects rights for the unborn.
The Republican Party, however, is committed to defending unborn
children. Obama is the most radical pro-abortion candidate to ever
run for election. He has consistently supported, and to this day
supports, partial-birth abortion, which nearly all Republicans and
many, if not most, democrats (including former President Clinton)
oppose. Christians have a moral obligation to protect life,
especially the innocent, defenseless lives of the unborn. This
matter is the defining moral issue of our time, much like slavery
was in the 1800s.
LIBERTY
We are at war. Winning the global war on terrorism is paramount to
defending the liberty of America’s citizens. The central
battlefields in the war are currently sIraq and Afghanistan.
On a personal level, one of these men will be my
commander-in-chief during my deployment to Afghanistan next year.
While good people disagree on the merits of the Iraq invasion, most
Americans view victory in Iraq as a major strategic objective to
protecting our country. The war drew foreign terrorists to Iraq
like moths to a flame and has cost the lives of many innocent
Iraqis, coalition soldiers and American soldiers and civilians.
As the war's unpopularity soared, most Democrats (including
Obama) voiced support for withdrawing from Iraq. Democratic
Majority Leader Reid stated the “war is lost.” Republicans did not
give up on our military and correctly criticized the “cut and run”
stance of their Democratic counterparts. Some republicans favored a
shift in strategy. The earliest, vocal supporter of the surge
strategy was McCain. He consistently voiced his opposition to the
status quo strategy and called for the surge in troop levels. Obama
opposed the surge and favored immediate withdrawal. McCain finally
got his wish, and the surge was implemented. Obama said the surge
exceeded his “wildest dreams.” Yet he opposed it. Violence and
terrorism has been dramatically reduced and most Iraqis are moving
closer to living normal lives. On perhaps the most fundamental
national security issue over the last 7 years, McCain chose the
right course of action. Obama, advocating withdrawal and ultimate
surrender in Iraq, got it wrong.
Both McCain and Palin have "skin in the game." Palin's son
recently arrived in Iraq as an army infantryman and McCain's son,
Jimmy, a marine, recently returned. McCain & Palin both
understand the military and are best suited and qualified to lead
it during this critical period in our nation’s history.
Our commander-in-chief must understand the military and have
their respect and loyalty. McCain has earned this respect. As a
Navy Pilot in Vietnam, he was shot down and spent 5 years (FIVE
YEARS!) of his life as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. See the video
below that outlines his story. He was repeatedly tortured. The
communists offered him early release because his dad was a very
important Naval officer (an admiral). But he refused to leave ahead
of his fellow servicemen in captivity. His decision to stay meant
more years of his life unjustly taken away from himself, his family
and his country and instead spent in a miserable prison
cell.
Obama opted not to join the military, and I have no problem with
that decision. Americans serve the nation and their communities in
a host of ways besides military service. But it is another thing
altogether to disrespect the military. Obama made headlines when he
stated that he would be willing to meet with America's biggest
enemies, (America-hating dictators Hugo Chavez and
terrorist-sponsoring Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) without preconditions.
Yet, as he campaigned for President (and Commander-in-chief), he
refused to meet with wounded American soldiers in Landstuhl,
Germany because the Pentagon said he could not take the media along
for a highly publicized campaign photo op. Obama canceled his
planned visit to the troops and instead opted to exercise and
sightsee.
Due to space/time constraints, I will avoid delving into more
detail regarding Obama’s poor judgment in selecting his mentors
(Rev. Wright) and political allies (Ayers, ACORN, etc), his
anti-gun positions, all of which will ultimately affect our
liberty. Suffice it to say that had Obama attempted to gain a top
secret clearance as a private citizen as opposed to a US Senator,
his application would almost certainly have been denied due to his
affiliation with terrorist William Ayers. Links to these topics are
provided at the end of this letter.
THE PURSUIT
The “pursuit of happiness” phrase in the Declaration has its
origins in John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government in which he
argued governments were to be established to secure the rights of
“life, liberty and the pursuit of property” for its citizens. To
the founders, Thomas Jefferson’s substitution of the word
“happiness” for property brilliantly conveyed Locke’s central
argument of the right to property and yet added something more,
namely an intangible component and a dream of pursuing the greater
good for yourself and family.
Obama’s vision for America would leave us more dependent on
government and less free. Much of the housing crisis was generated
by Democratic politicians who refused to allow reforms to Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac. In 2005, McCain called for reforms and warned
that the economy was in serious danger if reforms were not
implemented soon. Obama, the second largest recipient of
Fannie/Freddie political donations, opposed reforming these
quasi-government institutions. Enter sub-prime mortgage
meltdown.
Obama's economic plans take us down the path of socialism. He
says he only wants higher taxes for corporations and wealthy
Americans. His refusal, however, to extend the Bush tax cuts,
amounts to a tax increase for 100% of Americans. Any economist or
business major will tell you Obama's tax increases on the wealthy,
in particular, will just get passed on to consumers and employees.
When business owners and executives have to pay more taxes to the
government, they have less money to create jobs, raise salaries,
expand their business, invest, etc. Taxing the wealthy hurts all
Americans, because the tax burden is shifted to the middle and
lower classes. Obama echoed Karl Marx when he said he wants to
"spread the wealth," and that it was a “tragedy” the Supreme Court
did not do more to bring about economic justice (aka wealth
redistribution) during the civil rights era. McCain understands
government needs to strengthen and support free enterprise
capitalism and foster an environment where Americans "create
wealth" as opposed to punishing hard-working, successful Americans
by redistributing (i.e. stealing) their wealth and giving it
individuals who’ve done nothing to earn it.
PRAY, EDUCATE, VOTE
Pray for America. Your vote matters. Do your duty and educate your
family and friends. And vote. Please contact friends and family and
ask them to vote for McCain, especially those living in swing
states (Ohio, Colorado, Virginia, Florida, Missouri, New Hampshire,
New Mexico, Nevada, etc). The Americans in swing state have an
added duty to do all they can to get their friends and families to
vote.
May God Bless America,
Justin Wax
Justin has a bachelors degree in history and political
science from MTSU. He is currently an MBA student at the University
of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Disclaimer: Justin expresses his views as a private citizen
and does not speak for the US Military.
LINKS
Great videos on why America should
choose McCain
Definition of
partial-birth abortion
Obama supports partial-birth abortion
Obama voted
against the live birth abortion act.
McCain's
Heroism in Vietnam
Obama Skips Visit with Wounded Troops to Sightsee
Obama and
Democrats Responsible for Fannie/Freddie Mess
Obama and
Ayers
Obama and
Wright
Obama’s Close Ties to ACORN
Obama Wants to Eliminate Right to Carry Handguns