2012 Election Results: I'm Just Saying...



You most likely woke up this morning feeling one of two ways:

  • Some of you feel dismayed and discouraged over the election results
  • Others of you feel triumphant and hopeful over the very same results
I actually have mixed feelings about the election. I'm happy that an African American man not only pulled off the election one time, but twice. Last night's election proved that Barack Obama's clinching of the country's top seat back in 2008 wasn't a fluke. For an African American woman that has studied our country's sordid past in the area of race, this fact makes me smile.

On the other hand, the election results around the country reveal some disturbing trends that give me pause...

I. The states of  Washington and Colorado legalized the sale and recreational use of marijuana for people over 21. 

For years, marijuana has had the reputation of being a harmless drug that many claim has desirable health benefits. However, according to a recent Yale study, marijuana can often be a "gateway drug" that leads users to try other, more harmful drugs later in life. Quite frankly, I don't want my children smoking marijuana to celebrate their 21st birthdays. 

II. My home state of Maryland and the state of Maine both voted to legalize gay marriage. 

I'm not going to beat the dead horse that evangelical christians are beating all over the country today, but I must note that the Bible clearly speaks of marriage as being between a man and a woman. The conclusion: our country has begun to silence God's voice on issues like these. We have become amazingly wise in our own eyes.

III. Oklahoma voted to wipe out affirmative action programs in state government. 

Voters in Oklahoma have decided that affirmative action programs are no longer needed in their state government's hiring practices. Now on the one hand, I see their point. We've witnessed an African American man being elected to our federal government's highest office -- twice. On the other hand, I know a lot of minority men and a lot of women of various races that could use a little help getting their foot in the door. Also, I worry that other state governments, corporations and universities will soon follow suit, eradicating programs that give minorities and women a fighting chance.

What discourages me today are the trends I'm seeing. The United States is rapidly moving the way of its mother country -- Europe. We are abandoning Judea-Christian beliefs and practices. We are abandoning the Word of God. We are abandoning the very ideologies that our country was founded upon.

And yet I am hopeful for our country. I believe in the U.S.A. And I believe in the God that still has the whole world in His hands.

This past Monday, my prayer group began our time with the following scripture, which, on the eve of election day, proved prophetic:
"Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made." Psalm 145:13
God is faithful. He is loving. He's got this. He's got us.

Every president has been confined to office terms, but God's dominion endures forever. And ever and ever and ever...

Love,

Carla





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