ALOHA OBAMA

Oh well, my candidate for President did not win. Bummer! Now what?

In a previous writing (Vote for Obama???) , I spelled out a dozen or so reasons why Mr. Obama should not be our President. Unbelievably, not everyone followed my lead! In fact, less than ½ the U.S.A. did! In fact it seems that some in my own family did not follow my wise counsel….. Can you believe that?

One in the family, whom we love very much, replied in part, "Adios Bush, Aloha Obama. The whole country needs aloha spirit." (No, it wasn’t my wife…. she pretends to agree with me most of the time.) You know what, she’s right! President Bush will soon be leaving the office and Mr. Obama will soon be President Obama. Now, that may be hard to say, but we might as well get used to it.

The "Aloha" spirit… Hello and welcome President  Obama…. is just the spirit we need. Aloha also means good bye and god speed… hopefully we will feel that way when he leaves office down the road. But hey,  I  didn’t vote for him, so he’s not my president, right? WRONG! He is (or soon will be) the president of my country, therefore he’s my president (elect). Whether I agree with him or not, he will be my, the American, President, duly elected by a free people in a fair, democratic election.

"Yeah, Right" you say, "You drank the Obama Kool-Aid and now you agree with him." No, not at all. I still believe the same as before, and included in that belief system is the Judeao-Christian Bible. As mentioned before, the Bible is clear that NOTHING happens without God knowing it. Barack Obama was not elected while God was yawning or something. In fact that Bible tells me that I must respect and honor those He puts in authority over me. I’ll willingly do that. That same Bible clearly demonstrates that God created us with free will and a good mind. I believe God expects us to use both within the parameters He has made clear.

For many years I have said that the President can do very little on his own except inspire and lead. Congress and the courts have equal power and probably effect our daily lives far more than the Executive. In my lifetime I can remember ten U.S. presidents. Of those ten, Obama is only the third one who has the obvious gifts of high intelligence, public speaking, charisma, good looks, and believability coupled with such a great following in the American people. Those 3 are John Kennedy, Ronald Regan, and Barack Obama. Clinton had the chance to be included, but his overt dishonesty in little matters made him not believable in important things.

Great forward strides were made for America under Kennedy and Regan (space program, Cuban crisis, fall of Berlin Wall and Soviet Communism, etc.). Now Obama is staged for similar greatness. That greatness will depend directly on his ability and willingness to lead us as Americans… Not as conservatives or liberals; Not as Republicans or Democrats; Not as Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, or any other religious belief system, but as Americans.

While we all need to embrace him as our President, he must be the President for ALL of us. His greatest challenge early on will be in himself. He must abandon partisanship for leadership. We all want a president who can inspire and lead; who can stand up against his opponents or his own party for what is right; and who can  show the world that America is still the greatest nation on Earth. I believe Barack Obama is capable of that and truly hope and pray that he will. We all desperately want him to succeed as president for the sake of America. Success or not us up to him and those he puts in power around him.

So, as Christians, now what ? It is up to Christians to use our most powerful tool, prayer. In our selves, we are nothing, but God is all powerful. This God we serve has told us that we have not because we ask not, so ask! pray! Pray first for safety, protection and good health for Mr. Obama and his family. Second, pray for Divine wisdom for our President. (God doesn’t need instruction on what is wise, so let Him decide).  Pray that God keeps us, as Christians, humble in spirit and steadfast in faith. Remember, God resists the proud and empowers the meek. (It’s  hard, but I’m working on it.)

Now, having said all that will I set back and let come what may without complaining? Not a chance… I still believe in and will practice my right of free speech as well as the right to make a fool of myself and regularly embarrass my family and loved ones. My wife and I fully intend to live long enough and be loud enough to become a problem to our children. It’s only right… After all, we survived all of their teen age years without abandoning or killing even one of them!

DaveH.

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