"We want a king! We want a king!"

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations. And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you...only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.

So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. he said, "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you:...he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties...he will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves....

But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, "No! But there
shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations...
I Samuel 8:4-20

Does the picture being painted in the I Samuel passage seem at all familiar? I read it and feel an enormous since of deja vu. I am not usually political and I do not desire to be so to the extent of getting into political battles with people I know or don't know, but I must confess that I am finally getting concerned about this election. I fear what we as a nation think we want.

Confessions first. I do admit that when Obama first came on the political scene at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, that I was impressed by his articulateness. The man gave a great speech, regardless of whether one agreed with what was said or not. It was understandable and passionate, and as a Communications major, I was impressed.

Shortly after we moved to Peru, living in a third world developing nation, I changed my Facebook political label from Conservative to moderate. If you were to ask me why, I'm not sure I could have really made a good case, but as I think about it now, I think it was that conservatives are seen as only caring about themselves and letting the rest of the world go to Hell in a handbasket. I knew I was still socially conservative, but I didn't want to be identified anymore with the "I'm an American and that's why I'm better than you" mindset.

This past Spring, right after the primaries, I had an interesting conversation with one of the other missionary wives. In Peru, the citizens are required to vote - and they have to do so like they did in Jesus time during the census - they have to travel to their hometown, wherever that may be. If they do not vote, they are fined - so it is government mandated voting. So the two of us were talking about the way the Peruvian system was and comparing it with the US voting system. I made the comment that I knew that voting was a right and a privilege that I didn't want to take for granted, but that I really wasn't excited about either candidate - John McCain or Barak Obama - I thought they were pretty much the same dressed in different clothes. And she said, "Voting is a privilege and a right, but so is not voting. We aren't mandated to do so. It's not like Peru. You actually have a choice to not vote." Which was brilliant I thought. It is a privilege, not a law. Chalk another one up to liberty.

(This is where I tell certain people to keep reading - or stop -whatever. Just don't complain to me about my post if you didn't read the whole thing.)

I came back to the states, still not sure if I was actually going to vote this time around - for President I might add. I was planning on voting, just possibly not in the Presidential race. But now I will and this is why:

1. The agenda put forth (accidentally on a few occasions) by the Democrats - Barak Obama and the like - is not just Socialist, but from how I am understanding things - and I could be wrong, but I think it's Marxism. And I would hazard to guess that if Barak was saying out loud, "Yeah, what I'm proposing is just Marxism", people would not be quite as glassy-eyed when they looked upon him. Vladamir Lenin had the Russian people's support to overthrow the Czar...until they were so oppressed by the Bolshevik government that they were"crying out because of the king they had chosen".

2. "Spreading the wealth is good for everyone." Before I am misunderstood, I will say up front that I am not in support of this. That said, I ask, is "the wealth" really going to make it down to the people it is supposedly intended for? Again, check the history books. When governments begin taking other peoples wealth to give to the poor, somehow, more and more people end up poor. How can this be? Unless those who are doing the "redistributing" in all their wisdom, are really redistributing to their friends and colleagues and those who helped them get where they are. ie. Cuba, China, Communist Russia, East Germany. How can we be sure that won't be what's happening? And I only ask because it appears to be what we want - for the wealth to be spread around. Fannie Mae? Freddie Mac? Hello?

3. The Dems are for "the people" unless you disagree with them, like poor Joe from Ohio who is forever been labeled "Joe the Plumber". I found this whole scenario funny at first. Joe challenges Obama on a question, Obama says what he actually thinks - which is good to know - but he let the cat out of the bag way too early - you weren't supposed to let the Marxist leanings out until AFTER you won the election, Barak. After which, when the Dems realized that their "king" had made a bit of a blunder, they sicced their thugs of reporters on this poor guy turning his life inside out. So thanks to ABC,NBC, CBS, CNN, and most of the major newspapers of the land, we now know that Joe the Plumber goes by his middle name and that he is in progress of getting his plumber's license. Thanks. But for them, and "the king", those, as well as a host of other tidbits that should not be public knowledge, were fodder for mockery of Joe and his "average" life. I thought these were the "working people" you were for Barak.

4. The Fairness Doctrine - All I can say to this is, "Are you kidding me?" What country are we living in? I thought free speech was such a protected right that even smut was allowed. You just didn't have to read it or hear it or look at it if YOU didn't want to. But no - in the name of "fairness" we can't have people disagreeing with the policies of the government. And we especially can't let that crazy Rush Limbaugh keep going on as he is. People are actually listening and we can't have that. My favorite comment comes from Laura Ingram..."They will have to pry the microphone from my cold dead hands." Again, shades of Bolshevik Russia, and Cuba, and China, etc.

So, I am a bit alarmed. Because even with the margin of error, this race should not be this close. But it is. How do we, as a nation, as a community, be for one another and genuinely helping one another without inciting envy among one another and without losing our foundations both biblically and socially? And how do we do so in ways that are winsome? How do I, as a conservative woman, and a Christian, stand up for truth with arms outstretched and open towards those who are struggling regardless of their political, religious, or social affiliation? How do I do it in such a way, that is so effective, and genuine, that it would never have to cross anybody's mind to have the government do it instead?

But another reason this race is so close is because the American people want their king. They want the suave leader who will whisper in their ear and tell them everything is going to be ok. They want the guy who looks good in a suit, doesn't sweat in front of the cameras, and inspires them with his words. They don't want to be bothered with any of the details of his past life and works and especially who his mentors were and are. They want someone to believe in - and it appears that right now, that someone is Barak Obama.

But it doesn't have to be. We have two weeks left. Is this really what we want?

But maybe it's what we need. To be given what we think we want so we can again realize what we need.

The people want their king.

I, on the other hand, will be voting for the other guy.