I have voted in every election since becoming eligible to vote. That includes every primary and general election. When I was overseas in the Navy I made sure to have an absentee ballot so I could vote in the election. Even before becoming eligible to vote I was interested in politics and elections. I still remember watching Dwight Eisenhower being sworn into office on our black and white television and watching the national conventions as they selected the person they supported in the presidential race. At one time I owned and had read every book written by the main people involved in Watergate as I found that episode in our nation's history fascinating. I've read a number of books about various presidents to better understand what made them tick and some of the things that happened while they were in office that doesn't make it to the news. I have seen and read a lot about our nation's political system, but I have never seen anything resembling the past two years.
Many people don't like President Trump. I get that. He's unlike any president we've ever had. He says things that previous presidents would never have said publicly. He does not take criticism well and isn't able to refrain from lashing out at his critics. He has many faults. Even some of his supporters wish he would stop saying some of the things he says. I understand why many do not like him.
Never in my lifetime have I seen a political party spend every waking moment trying to drive out of office a duly elected president. Even before taking office Democrats were talking about impeaching him. They had no charges against him since he wasn't even president yet, but they were determined to force out of office the individual the American people had elected to the position. In effect, they were saying the vote of the people does not matter; they would decide who would sit in the Oval Office. They rigged the primary to ensure Clinton would win, and they were convinced she could beat Trump. When that didn't happen, despite the best efforts of most of the news media, they began to plot how to drive him from office. Two years of investigations found nothing impeachable, but that has not satisfied those determined to force him out of office. Facts don't matter. Only feelings matter in today's culture.
Forget the needs of the nation. Forget the rotting infrastructure. Forget the issues related to undocumented aliens crossing the borders in record numbers. Forget the wars that are being fought by our brave military. Forget the rampant drug use and violence sweeping across our nation. Forget serving the people who elected you to office to represent them. The only thing that matters is that they find some means, legal or illegal, to force Trump out of office. Not only have they failed to lead our nation forward, they have made fools of themselves trying to accomplish the only thing they want to do. Impeachment will never happen. Everything they are doing, the millions of taxpayer dollars they are spending in the effort, is all for political show. The Republicans control the Senate so even if the House votes for impeachment it will not happen. They know that, and if they don't they are not smart enough to be in the House. It's all childish grandstanding.
There is another election in 2020. If the Democrats seriously want Trump out of office they need to select someone who can win the 2020 election. They need someone with a vision for America who is a statesman that can convince voters his or her vision is better than the one Trump will offer. Currently, they do not have such a person. Watching the debates is like watching people trying to outdo one another in explaining why they should not be elected. It is amazing to me that a political party that produced such great leaders as John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Hubert Humphrey and others have nothing better to offer American votes than the ones currently running for the office.
It's time real leaders in the Democrat party step up, tell these wannabes to go home and nominate someone who can run a legitimate campaign against Trump. That is, if they are serious about winning the next election.
Unfortunately, I've seen similar things happen in churches. The pastor does something that some lay leaders don't like or does something that seems to threaten their position in the church and they become obsessed with getting rid of the pastor. Forget evangelism. Forget discipleship. Forget missions. Everything in the church is focused on driving out the pastor. I've seen people withhold their giving so the church would be unable to pay the pastor's salary. I've seen pastors threatened with immediate termination if they didn't resign. One church reported that they had requested additional police patrols around the parsonage because someone had threatened to burn it down. I've heard wild accusations made against pastors with no evidence to back them up. More than once I've counseled pastors they needed to leave their churches because they could not win. Some moved on to healthier churches and enjoyed good ministry there. Some left the ministry altogether, their health and nerves shot.
We have created an attack culture in our nation that does not respect the office or the person who holds it. In our entitlement-minded society we want immediate satisfaction or we go on the attack. Too many of us are convinced that we deserve to have everything our way, and if that doesn't happen we will destroy anyone who prevented us from having it. This is currently true in our nation, and it's true in many of our churches.
Our nation needs God. We need to return to biblical values in the way we treat one another and work with one another. Rather than seeking an office for personal enrichment and power we need to seek leadership positions in order to better serve others. We need people, both in government and in our churches, who are more interested in improving the lives of others than they are in personal gain. We need to pray that God will send us such leaders. We need to pray that He will grant them wisdom to lead. We need to pray for revival to sweep through our nation. We need to pray that it's not too late for either our nation or our churches.
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