I wrote this blog for my Facebook about a week after the election, and after some positive feedback I decided to post it here for my first DailyKos diary. This is an issue I felt was extremely under-reported in the media in the weeks leading up to the election. While I did spot a Belief.net blog about the likelihood of an Obama Antichrist, the purpose of this diary is to examine why there wasn't a greater examination of the people who have treated this outrageous prophesy as fact pertaining to our president-elect and indeed have used it as the sole justification for their vote.
As Christopher Hitchens discusses in his book "God is Not Great", and Bill Maher concludes in his movie "Religulous": now is the time for people who are sick of Religion controlling the destiny of our country to begin speaking out on not only the hypocrisies, but also on the truth that Religion by it's very nature has no business in government.
The following story is true.
'Twas the night before Election day. I had just gone to a show with a girl I'd known for a little while. This was our second date and I thought things were going along quite well. I was driving her back home, and inevitably the topic of the next day's election came up. I had my concerns about my compatibility with this girl from the heart of conservative Orange County. Still, things began encouragingly for this confessed liberal.
Prop 2*, Yes. Prop 4, No. Prop 8, No. (*I recognize Prop 2 because it is a seemingly liberal position, but it wasn't one I agreed with this year. In my humble opinion this is NOT the year to be levying a tax on our agriculture. But I digress.)
Then she affixed a label upon herself that would surely have made her the most popular girl in miles - had we been having this conversation in Ohio or Florida.
She was undecided on the vote for president.
Now up until this point, I had been politely trying to change the subject. Politics and Religion were two subjects I was not anxious to inject into a second date. But here was a girl who was undecided for president! How was this possible? What could possibly be the cause?
So I asked her. Her response would forever change the way I saw this year's election.
She began by describing this year's undisputed enigma, Barack Obama.
And I quote (ok, I paraphrase - It's been a few weeks):
"So on one hand, Obama is incredible. The man is a force: a powerful speaker and leader. He is capable of so much! I truly believe that if he becomes our president, he can bring about positive things in our world that we have only dreamed about. Things like healing the rifts within our nation and bringing about a peaceful settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict. I even think he can bring about something as dramatic as WORLD PEACE. Now with McCain -"
"Now hold on a second," I interjected. "You've just listed off some powerful qualities here. I've supported Obama since I saw him speak at the DNC in 2004, but I honestly don't even believe some of the things you've said here. World Peace? In 4 years? That's outrageous. How could you possibly believe those things about him and not be overjoyed to vote for him?"
Please brace yourself for her response.
"You see, with Obama, I think he is absolutely capable of bringing about World Peace, for at least 4 years and enter our world into a sort of utopia that hasn't been imagined in thousands of years. Yet, that is exactly what is foretold in the Book of Revelations in the Bible as a precursor to the Apocalypse. Therefore, I don't want to vote for him because I think that by electing him President, I will be indirectly assisting in the end of the world!"
I stared at her in silence for about 30 seconds. I nearly drove off the road in my stupor as I waited for a punchline, the "haha just kidding!", that must come, but never did. I carefully phrased my response, because I wanted to make sure that I understood what she had just said.
"So, what you are saying is - to prevent the Apocalypse, to keep our world alive, we need to elect ourselves a president that will keep us involved in wars, no matter how pointless, at all times?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
Suddenly it all made sense.
- The Christian support gathered by Karl Rove for George Bush.
- The unfathomable and inexplicable alliance between the Christian Coalition and the Neo-Cons.
- The affinity between Christian churches and John McCain, a man not famous for his faith, instead of Obama, an extremely vocal Christian in his autobiographical books and deeds.
Now I'm sure I'm overlooking a host of other reasons for why the election was decided in the ways it was, but I would be very interested in seeing some more information on this very real point of view.
This girl was fully honest in her dilemma. Here she found herself intrigued by the prospect of the qualities one candidate, but her religion had already concocted an unimaginably horrific future for him. On the other hand, the christian religion has given an enormous advantage to the party of the status quo. The candidate advocating CHANGE can mean only one result to those deciding between their children's futures, and The End of Days.
Just 3 days later, I was enjoying a dinner and post-election discussion with some friends whose conservative opinions on these issues I greatly respect. I found myself confronted with the same line of "logic" once again.
"I will support Obama even though I didn't vote for him because he's our president," the speaker gamely admitted.
"But do you know what's interesting about Obama? He sounds almost exactly like Carpathian [the representation of the Anti-Christ] from the 'Left Behind' series of books! He was a great speaker and a unifier too!"
Now I respect those who believe a literal interpretation of the Bible. Just the other day I attended a Catholic wedding with a remarkable amount of tradition that resulted in a thick potpourri of culture that was truly beautiful to observe. But the Left Behind series is a book based upon a person's interpretation of the Bible. It's no more a prophesy than J.R.R. Tolkien foretold the arrival of a fellowship of a ring.
But again, this is a real point of view, and I'm curious just how many people voted by this criterion?
This just gives new credence to the term "Politics of Fear".
No matter your political point of view; should we really attempt to lay the blame for the end of the world on the shoulders of a man while in the same breath stating that we believe that same man will bring world peace?
Whether you believe a President Obama will accomplish this impossibility or not, world peace is NOT something that needs to be avoided. And if your God tells you so, then your God cannot be a compassionate one.