Wednesday, November 5, 2008

History in the Making...

Well, it's over. And I am so glad. I was so tired of the arguing between the candidates and supporters and opponents of all the propositions. I read an article in the San Francisco Examiner this morning that I rather enjoyed. He was speaking for politics in San Francisco, but I think it can be applied to the country as a whole. At one point he says, "Our elections have little to do with the betterment of [our country] and mostly to do with the continuous pursuit of power." I wish I could believe that our politicians truly have our best interest at heart.

I'm glad Proposition 8 passed. I wish it meant there would be an end to the contention surrounding it, but unfortunately I see a long fight on the road ahead. There were so many arguments for and opposed and I was really torn about what I believed. But it all boiled down to what the Prophet and Apostles taught - marriage is sacred and is ordained by God between a man and a woman. For me, it was as simple as that. That is what it boiled down to. Many people may have used other reasons for supporting their decision and I'll admit, I did to at one point. You can read about that in a previous post. But after I wrote that post I came across an article refuting those reasons, pointing out the falsehoods used to twist them around to make them support their cause and I had to decide what my decision would be and why. It was simple. Marriage is sacred and ordained by God between a man and a woman. It may not be an argument that can be supported by documentation or published works other than the scriptures. But since when has faith meant that you have to have proof to believe in something. Faith is having hope and believing in things that are not seen. If there was tangible proof it wouldn't be faith, it would be knowledge. I have faith in God and in our prophet and apostles that they have directed us in the way that God would have us go.

I'm rambling. I want to add before I end this entry that regardless of how we all voted, this is a historic moment. A black man will be President of the United States. Think of all the blood, sweat and tears that have built up to this moment. I know many people who honestly did not think this was something that would happen in their lifetime. Is this the vision that Martin Luther King Jr. had? I wonder if the slaves who helped build the White House and the Capital Building had any idea that some day this country would have a black president. There are some out there that may not think this is that big of deal. But I have always loved history. In junior high and high school the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement were a couple of the most interesting topics to me. They touched my heart and moved my soul. I remember visiting the Lincoln Memorial a few years ago on one of my business trips to Washington, DC and being reminded of those feelings as I revisited those history lessons. I feel blessed to have experienced this moment in history.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the thing that has me so excited is that I believe Obama was running "for the betterment of the country." Maybe I'm wrong and time will tell, but considering his history and career, I think that is his goal. It gives me hope.

Sherry Ashford said...

Very well said.

Nataluscious said...

I love what you said in regards to faith and that even if its just the scriptures that we have as an answer, that's good enough. Sometimes I'm guilty of looking outside the scriptures to determine my truth, but that paragraph was a good reminder as to why that is shortsighted. So thank you. :) I will save that to read whenever I need that reminder.