Adversity and Walking the Talk

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him, our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33 21-22

I am pretty angry and sad right now. I just found out this morning that I flunked the Bar for a second time. I thought I had studied hard enough, I thought I knew the material well enough, but apparently, I do not. I remember one Professor from law school telling me that I really did not need to worry about the bar because it is a test of minimum competency. (Boy, do those words ring in my head now.)

When I was clerking up at court, there was another person I knew who had failed the bar twice. Three different people, whose opinions I respect, each said, independent of each other, “Not everyone is cut out for the law.” They were not being mean, and they each said it with a hint of sadness in their voice, because they knew this person as well.

Jesus said that even the heathen love their friends. As devastating as this blow is, as a Christian, am I not like those who have no faith if I allow myself to fall into despair? Even at the depth of his own human suffering, Christ was asking his father in heaven to forgive his persecutors, rather than wallowing in his pain and become the real victim of his tormentors.

If we are following G-d’s plan, then he can take any setbacks we encounter and use them for good. Whether we know the reason or not, if we keep the faith, then G-d, through the Holy Spirit, can bring good out of it through either the situation or us. It is only our job to keep the faith. A worker ant never sees the outside of the mound, and during this lifetime, we will never fully know the mosaic that is a seemingly chaotic existence. If we are still and know that G-d is in charge, then what more can we ask for in our lives? Fair is the place where you go get cotton candy and no one promised us an easy ride. G-d puts on us no more than we can bear. His yoke is light and if I pull the cart in the right direction, it will always lead to an eternal destination.

Therefore, I will take a deep breath, and bear witness to my faith. As a Christian, in the face of adversity, we walk the talk. I have a beautiful family, a wonderful and supportive wife, and we all have our health. I hope that I will find a job to tide us over until the next exam and we will keep our great home in the country. One thing is for sure: my kids will at least know that when a Saunders gets a kick in the teeth, he or she sets her jaw, gets back up, and gets back into the fight. Like my father always said, “Anything worth having is worth the work and if it was easy, everyone would do it.”

Balancing Agendas and Keeping the Faith.

From Rasmussen, on the top 10 key issues, Americans think Democrats do a better job of handling those issues rather than Republicans. Sixty percent of Americans know someone who has had an abortion. Of those identified as swing voters, sixty percent of those voters are pro-choice. What does this mean? Those individuals that actually elect the President are Pro-choice.

Despite these dismal numbers, the socially conservative pro-life wing of the Republican Party has made inroads, particularly regarding the primary process. Any candidate that wants to win the Iowa Caucus and South Carolina Primary, two of the earliest primary races had better be pro-life if they want to win.

How does this impact the choices of the average social conservative who wants to elect a pro-life president? It means that if we want to win the general election, and achieve anything more than a Pyrrhic primary victory, we have to swallow our bile and elect candidates who will attract swing voters and have a chance at winning the general election. Even if we are successful, and select the candidate that we think is the ideal social conservative in the primary, in the general election we will get beat like Nixon beat McGovern.

Examining recent legislative activity points indicates how weak Congress is when it confronts social issues. Every time, the GOP members in Congress willingly sell out pro-life positions in exchange for short term gains. One only has to look as far as Obamacare or the recent budget battle to see this in action. Our GOP members kept Washington open, funded Planned Parenthood and capitulated anent forcing a balanced budget for what amounts to one month of current government spending. Apparently, the House and Senate GOP members are more interested in getting along with their compatriots on the other side of the aisle than in protecting the rights of the unborn or balancing the budget and paying off the debt.

Where will our most important issues get solved? Well, we must turn to the Supreme Court since our Congress and its Milquetoast Membership so willingly reneges on the promises that sent them initially to the Capital. It is pretty much heresy to vote against a your party President's Supreme Court Nominations. That said, one must examine what kind of Supreme Court nominees a given President will select once in office.

Actions speak louder than rhetoric. If a particular candidate running for the primary nomination has traditionally been pro-life in his home state, and supported pro-life legislation, there is little reason to doubt that his or her nominations would not be pro-life, even if their election rhetoric appears for all intensive purposes to put any given social issue on the back burner.

If the social conservatives of the GOP want to remain relevant, then we must push for candidates that are electable in the general election, and ensure we remind them who was really behind the election when it comes time to make a Supreme Court nomination. That is the most effective way to return this Country back to its roots.

There is a growing and continual demographic shift ensuring a Democratic majority will into this century. Why would any reasonable and self-centered welfare recipient forgo entitlements or agree to have monthly payments reduced? They will always vote for those who ensure greater allotments. Further the election burden rests on the GOP persuading swing voters because they are naturally inclined to vote Democrat. If that means electing a candidate in the primary that at least appears to favor economic over social issues, so be it. I for one would rather take my chances on a GOP President that has traditionally been pro-life and talks centrist rather than any Democrat that traditionally has been a socialist, baby killing, coward in practice and talks as the most conservative centrist to get swing votes and blue dog Democrats. Anyone examining the current occupant of the White House can easily see the logic.