Palin's certainty

When asked by the ABC anchor if she was qualified to be President, Palin responded with great certainty that she was indeed qualified. I have admired many great leaders over the years who when faced with great tasks and responsibilities were humbled and invoked the help of God. These leaders often had spent many years dealing with the complexities of the tax code, health policy, the environment, foreign policy, national defense, Social Security, and other issues, but they knew that they were not prepared to handle these issues without the help of others and the Lord.
But Palin comes from an Assemblies of God Third Wave pentecostal movement that trains spiritual warriors ready to do battle.
There is a time for war and power, but there is also a time for diplomacy, international respect and understanding, a time to listen and be sensitive to pains, beliefs, history, and desires of peoples who are quite different than us. Diplomacy is a fine and often quiet art. FDR worked hard keeping together a very diverse alliance in World War II. Nixon opened the door to China with the help of brilliant, quiet diplomacy led by Kissenger. Bush senior built a large international coilition before he went to war against Iraq. Carter and Clinton spent a lot of time studying and listening before they brought together the leaders in the Israeli mess. Obama is a brilliant man but part of his smarts is that he is ready to listen to experts and foreign peoples.

America has been the strongest when it has listened to others and worked with them. WWII and the Cold War were won by the efforts of many nations. We are the richest and strongest nation now, but soon China and India will challenge us. Russia is coming back with its oil and gas sales. The European Union has great wealth and power. We owe foreign nations hundreds of billions of dollars, perhaps trillions, in various ways. What if they start calling in these debts? We are no longer the largest manufacturing nation, our schools have fallen behind in science, math, and technology. We need to understand and work with others.

We are a land of liberty, but liberty and democracy works only when there is respect for each other. As long as we feel we can launch pre-emptive wars when we choose, no other nation or even we ourselves can feel secure. As long as we feel like we can freely invade Iraq, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, and who else tomorrow, as long as we are the world's biggest bully, we are not standing for liberty and freedom, but conformity and obedience.

We do not need spiritual warriors but peoples and leaders who exemplify the love, forgiveness, compassion, and respect our Lord exemplified.

Republicans Mock Obama

At the Republican convention, McCain said he respects Obama but his henchmen(women) showed Obama no respect as they mocked him. It reminded me of how white people used to mock Negroes in slavery and later, particularly if they seemed to get "uppity," if they were seeking to be better than a Negro should be. A Republican congressman from Georgia, Lynn Westmoreland, indeed called the Obamas uppity. It reminded me of how the Jewish leaders mocked and scoffed at Jesus as he hung on the cross.

One incident of mocking was curious. The former mayor of New York and the governor of Alaska both mocked Obama for being a community organizer in Chicago. In the large cities, poor neighborhoods are often ignored if they do not get organized. They organize to help solve their own problems, they may organize Neighborhood Watches, tutoring and after school programs for children, cleanup and perhaps heighborhood gardens, etc. As they get some self confidence, the people together can petition local, state, and federal governments and private groups for help. Community organizers play a vital role in this work, helping get better schools, police protection, and improvements to public works and streets. Obama after college, instead of continuing his education or taking a high paying job that his Ivy League education could have made possible, went to the South side of Chicago to an area with high unemployment and helped the people there to help themselves. He did not go to war and get caught and sent to a prisoner of war camp, but he did sacrifice significant career moves to go and serve the poor. It is not always true that those who are escaping poverty go back to help those who are poor too. He must have been crazy to do this, according to these good Republicans who loudly mocked and scoffed at him. These Republicans in their fancy suits and outfits are leaders in their communities, many were congressmen, senators, state officials, prominent businessmen, etc. and they scoffed at and mocked this young Black man who wanted to help others.

The scoffing attitude could easily have discouraged some young blacks or others who were poor, but dreamed of being able to run for president someday or being able to be a success someday or who wanted to be able to help the poor too. Are the good Republican leaders going to be scoffing at them to their face or behind their backs or on national television because they are "uppity" or caring.