“It’s time,” read the cover for the most recent edition of The Economist. I had lately been enjoying their online articles and decided to try out a print subscription (as I prefer reading print to computer screen). The first installment arrived with an endorsement of Obama. I read it and reread it and still couldn’t find adequate warrant for why they endorsed him. So, I submitted the following as a comment on their article. I’ll be canceling my print subscription and reading the magazine online again. (more…)
Obama once wrote: “I am new enough on the national political scene that I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views” (The Audacity of Hope, 11). In the following video, Simon Critchley discusses Obama’s opacity and his ability to be seen by the projections of people’s personal hopes.
I suspect that nestled somewhere in the psycho-political reality of Obama’s opacity is the impetus of his appeal to those who otherwise are not radical leftists. This appeal often is unconscious because it is projected. This enables people consciously to diminish the significance of his Marxist leanings (Dreams from My Father, 100), his associations with unrepentant domestic terrorists, his distinctly socialist policies, and his two-decade long imbibing of Rev. Wright’s toxic preaching. The nefarious significance of Obama’s criticisms of the United States Constitution, his desire to “fundamentally change America,” his messianic voice regarding “the world,” his evil promise to sign “The Freedom of Choice Act,” simply fall on deaf ears by being immediately transformed into, or subsumed by, a sense of hope. Yet, some of Obama’s supporters already have noted that if he loses, “there will be blood in the streets.” Nice. Now we are to endure threat?
From: “Robert Gagnon”
Date: November 3, 2008 7:24:55 PM GMT
To:
Subject: Obama’s Coming War on Historic Christianity over Homosexual Practice and Abortion
Dear friends,
As you know, I write a lot about Scripture’s male-female requirement for marriage. The outcome of this election is likely to have a significant long-term effect over whether I and others will be able to continue doing so without civil penalty. Indeed, it will impact you in profound ways, on this issue and on the abortion issue. Your vote is your own and I would not presume to tell you who to vote for. I ask only that you consider the concerns raised in my article “Obama’s Coming War on Historic Christianity over Homosexual Practice and Abortion” to see why. I have attached a pdf file or you can go to my website at http://robgagnon.net/ArticlesOnline.htm
It is quite suggestive that Obama could provide a decent showing in the debates, exhibit eloquence, be a rising star, far outspend McCain in television ads and other campaign promotions, and yet only eek out a minor lead in the polls. And polls that propose an even greater lead have been shown to be dubious in that they polled more Democrats than Republicans.
Below is the first of 29 segments of the moving documentary, In the Face of Evil: Reagan’s War in Word and Deed. Each of the segments should be watched. Expect there to be tears, smiles, anger, concern, and encouragement. Above all, take to hear the lessons we may learn and bring to bear on our decisions during this election season (see http://www.kevinbywater.com/weblog/?p=173). Examine your heart and see who would be the better choice for our freedom and the freedom of others. We cannot now afford to be ignorant of our history if we seek to secure our future.
Steve Turner, in his book, Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts (p. 22), writes,
The Christian artist will often be an irritant, disturbing the anthropocentric view of the world that fallen nature naturally gravitates toward. Just as people think they have removed God from all consideration of a particular question, the Christian annoyingly puts him back on the agenda in some way. And when God is back on the agenda, people are forced to deal with him, even if only to try to marginalize him again.
Artists as persistent prophets. Yes, may it be so; but may it be more.
