What the Saddleback Church Forum really showed us…
John McCain and Barack Obama have different worldviews, wow, that is a cloudburst of new information. Huh? Am I the only one who is not surprised by this “revelation”? As a political scientist, and a seminarian, I understand and appreciate the differences between these two men. However, there is a question that was asked by Rick Warren that is an important one for the direction of America’s foreign policy for the next four years, the question of what to do about evil in the world.
When the question was asked to Barack Obama? Obama choose to answer the question by dealing with the fact that evil does exist but cautioned that the cure may be as bad (or worse) than the problem. Fiscal conservatives point to the fact that liberal social programs such as welfare cause more problems than they solve. Any student of American foreign policy in the Middle East since the 1950s can show that our current problems with Iran, Iraq and Al Qaeda comes directly from our containment policy of the former Soviet Union (including our support of the Shah of Iran, Saddam Hussein, and the mujahideen in Afghanistan).
John McCain answered the question as an U.S. vs. them proposition. Evil is defined as the enemy of freedom and, of course, the enemy of the United States. To speak in such glowing terms of God and country when you happen to be at a forum in a church and discussing the reality of good and evil; it is often best to put a human face to complicated concepts that are easily digested by the media, the people in the audience and the folks watching at home.
The point of this column is the following: how do we define the scope of our national interest over the next four years? The purview of government is not to define good and evil – Thank God – but the role of government is how and where to use our strategic resources to ensure the safety of American citizens. We accomplish this goal by utilizing different tools when dealing with other countries. One view would have us defeating evil as the government sees fit; the other view would have us confronting evil while not forgetting that unforeseen consequences sometimes occur because of good intentions that are applied unilaterally.
The voters do have a serious choice to make in November. Continue a policy of U.S. vs. them or pursue a policy similar to Ronald Reagan and his confrontation with the Soviet Union. Reagan did not back down from the “Evil Empire” but he did negotiate with Mikhail Gorbachev…and that worked out quite well.
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7 Responses to “What the Saddleback Church Forum really showed us…”
[...] Original post by TONY CAMPBELL [...]
From What is IOZ?:
“the role of government is how and where to use our strategic resources to ensure the safety of American citizens”
It would be nice to see that become the actual goal, rather than a pretext.
For a reality check on Iran, please see
http://www.bibijon.org/iranimage/
I placed the audio of the forum at http://www.jeremiahfilms.com/released/McCain-vs…
If you go item by item, McCain's answers seem much more mature … commentary I've heard from people is “making abortion rare?” … “If it is just a lump of blood, why make it rare … not a very sincere place to be …
Thanks bibijon for the link, although the suggestion that Iran and it's people may actually have similar human qualities to us is radical!!! Also I'm not sure how patriotic it is to look at Iran from a POV that isn't based primarily on fear and paranoia. Maybe I'll need to check in with the neocon contingent and see if this is supposed to be outside my comfort zone or not.
They ate from the Tree of “The Knowledge of Good and Evil”. With this choice would bring its enlightenment and its curse. Yes……we all must die. Our history books are full of great men, great armies and a great deal of death. This “Evil” will never be quenched and there will never be peace on this little packed planet we call home. The men of power with no conscience for life are no different than predators, criminals, murderers……..in your neighborhood.
Do they accept kind words? gifts? or long talks over tea? Why should Russian, China, the Middle East be any different. Please get over yourselves…….like YOU know the answer to peace. Does Obama or McCain have the keys to peace? Nations come and go!!!! They can't stop and neither can you. America can use diplomacy off the charts or fight every nation on God's green Earth for protection. We are going to lose the reigns of power. It is inevitable.
Is America the policeman? the predator? or the “Evil”? Are we a country of multiple personalities and great conflictions? Do we not give more to the poor, the disease strickened, and the defenseless people of the world?
The regular man will never know these answers. It is best to vote your conscience. In the end of our lives……..that is truly all you have. I believe if I vote for McCain……it might possibly save one unborn child. I can go to my grave with that knowledge.
So before your damn a preacher………Just remember you are speck in the middle of spacial infinite, your opinion on politics will be forgotten, and in two generations it will be as if you never existed. Make peace with the Sci-Fi version.