Welp, I know who I'm voting for.

I just got settled into school, (and already have tons of stories to tell) but I honestly don't want to waste a good, healthy blog on wildcat news. So you'll just have to ask me in person.

However, there was another big event going on this week--a bit bigger than my college escapade. The Democratic National Convention ended on Thursday with Barack Obama's acceptance speech.

Amazing.

I have been watching the DNC with a careful eye because I know that it's political. And when I mean it's political (because you already knew THAT) I mean that people are crafty with their words, careful to make you feel all the ethos, pathos, and logos of whoever's speaking at the moment.

Prior to Thursday night, I was a bit wary of declaring my party (in this election, not just in general). I just knew that I wasn't ready to declare that my beliefs rest solely on one party's claims. And, I still feel that way.

But, here's the thing: I have been doing my research. I wasn't just taken in by Obama's (truly profound) speech, I started realizing that there are more issues out there that I need to take into consideration.

Yes, I agree that abortion is wrong. Killing babies is never good (hmm unless you believe it will lower crime). I have a problem with the government making the decision on a decision like that JUST because I know that in desperate times, some women will go great lengths to get an abortion. Clothes hangers. Risky drugs.

Now they're not only harming their fetus, but themselves.

But I also believe that war is wrong. War can't be just. I'm sorry, Austin Jett, it can't be. Like the hospital manager in Iraq, as quoted by Shane Claiborne, said, "Violence is for those who have lost their imagination. Has your country lost its imagination?"

I don't believe anyone is beyond redemption. Not even terrorists. (Paul was a terrorist, and he wrote half the New Testament!)

I believe we need to carry each other's burdens, financially even. I know we have a tendency to think that since we're in America, that means everyone else has equal opportunity to strike rich. But it's not true--it cannot be true.

I mean, after reading books like Savage Inequalities, which explored poor school systems, I can't possibly think that someone from a school in East St. Louis possibly has the same chance at "success" as white suburban me.

So what do we do? We help the low income folks. We provide some healthcare, nothing wrong with that. I know that it's easy to think that once someone's been handed a freebie they will always be begging for more. Maybe that's true. But what did Jesus say about the least of these? Jesus was homeless, wouldn't we give him healthcare?*



Now, I hate when people try to convince me I'm wrong in my beliefs (about anything), so I won't try to tell you to vote Obama/Biden '08. Seriously. I just want you to examine more issues than just the one you hear about the most (abortion).

Either way, as a moral person, you can't honestly believe one party is faultless. The question I've got to ask myself is what issues concern me the most right now.



*Don't leave me nasty comments for that. I KNOW there's more dynamics in helping the homeless than just giving them handouts. But sometimes I believe those handouts (money, food, blankets, etc.) could do WAY more good than trying to make someone go through some program to get them out of their financial woes. Why? Because with a handout there's love. Or, there can be love if you show it. Programs don't show love in the same way.







Lauren