Inauguration Day Thoughts

Neither my wife nor I supported Sen. Barack Obama in his pursuit of the presidential office.  We were supporters of the other guy (well, Romney at first).  But now that Sen. Obama is hours away from his inauguration, it behooves us to stand in support of him–not necessarily for his positions, but for the symbol that he has become.  The sight of an African American man ascending the most exalted office in this land of the free is a welcome vision.  At last, we who are Americans and allies of America can be proud and thankful of the fact that a segment of the country that has often found itself so haunted by the phantoms of a cruel and discriminatory past can stand tall and proud of their country at last.  They need not fear to call this country their own.  The election of Barack Hussein Obama is evidence to the world that the United States of America works hard to overcome its moral failings, and that it is still a land where justice throbs in the heart of many.  This, in the parlance of Christian theological talk, is common grace at work.  The rise of Sen. Obama to the office of president should stop the wagging lips of America’s critics and show that this nation is not as wretched or far gone as they think it is.  The U.S.A. still remains, in many respects, a model civilization.  A sort of city on a hill.

I have also found some of the conservative responses to Sen. Obama’s election encouraging and civilized. Consider these by Dennis Prager, David Horowitz, Mona Charen, and Ralph Peters for a start.  None of these people voted for Obama (at least not to my knowledge).  Yet they have responded with great civility and perhaps even a tinge of optimism.  We who call ourselves conservatives should not be sore losers.  We can lose with grace.  We can accept defeat with charity.  Especially if we believe that it is the Lord God himself who exalts and pulls down leaders.

So I wish–no, I pray–that Pres. Obama will succeed in his vocation as the leader of the world’s premier free nation.  The almighty God has called the governments of nations to pursue justice, punish evil, and preserve liberty.  My prayer is that Pres. Obama would do just these things.  I would most likely continue to disagree with him (assuming that he persists in them and that I continue not to see eye-to-eye with them).  However, I would strive to disagree  fairly.  After all, the ninth commandment also applies to the way we speak of our leaders.  What I do not want is a situation where anti-Obamaites can tell pro-Obamaites, ”I told you so.”  The wellbeing of our beloved country is too precious for that sort of partisanship. 

So may the Lord God guide this new leader in paths of wisdom and righteousness.  And may Pres. Obama continue to preserve the great American traditions of courage, justice, liberty, innovation, and generosity.

That Basic Thesis

There is nothing more appropriate on the birthday of this nation to remember the basic thesis on which it was founded: 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” (For rest of the text, read here)

I hope that all Americans will continue to be thankful to the Lord God for the rights they enjoy; and along with that, to pursue them for one another wherever they are denied.  May the United States of America continue to be the emblem and champion of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Happy Fourth everyone.

Asinine

Recently, the Straits Times, the Singaporean Newspaper, published a forum article in which an American praised Singaporean hospitality.  You can find that article here.  What I found amazing were the comments that followed the article.  Consider this one: “Welcome to Singapore and glad you like the experience. Hope you can go back to your country and tell US customs to be more polite.. I’ve been to US several time and they are rude and treated everyone as though we are criminals…just because we are not ang mo [caucasian]?”  Now, here, we have a typical, controlling assumption that many people outside the U.S. have: that racism is still dominant in the U.S., or that racism is always the deciding factor in how Americans treat people.  Why?  Why do people continue to live under such pathetic assumptions and allow themselves to be stirred up into resentment like that?  Take a look at this other comment.  The writer is addressing another commentator who has said that she has not experienced any rude immigration officers: “You have not experienced a rude immigration officer in the US? I find this incredulous!  I have encountered rude, racist, smirking & condescending immigration officers in the US (probably because I am Asian), & I have travelled there on numerous occasions for both work & leisure.  Are you sure you are not looking at White Americans through rose-tinted glasses?”  Now, the writer of this previous post almost always seems to have something negative to say about westerners in general (I’ve seen other postings he has made for other articles and the white guy is typically always the bad guy).  Just as he wonders if the person to whom he is responding sees through rose-tinted glasses, I wonder if he sees everything through jaundiced lenses!  My point is this: it’s all in the interpretation.  How do you interpret what you come across?  Do you allow other factors to inform your interpretation?  Yes, racism is always a possible factor.  But so are others.  Perhaps immigration officers are exhausted.  Perhaps they are tired with dealing with long lines of people who cannot understand what is asked of them (that’ll be frustrating, just try it some time).  Perhaps they are just blunt and forthright (a quality which Asians tend to equate, too quickly, with rudeness).  There are so many factors to consider.  Please, for the sake of sanity and peace, don’t jump to conclusions so quickly. 

Now, speaking for myself, most of my experiences with U.S. immigration officers have been okay.  I would not say that the immigration officers I’ve come across are friendly.  I think that there may even have even been some rude ones.  But for the most part, I would consider them to be forthright and efficient.  Not necessarily rude, but simply forthright and efficient.  And I think they treat everyone–including Americans–in this way.  They are, after all, immigration officers, not hotel staff.  Of course, I wish they would smile more.  But then again, there may be a reason not to.  What I would not do is jump to the conclusion that rudeness or lack of friendliness is always due to racism.       

Being Careful About “World Opinion”

As a Scripture-reading and -believing Christian, I am cautious whenever people say things like, “The world hates America” or “America’s image in the world is declining.”  I do not deny that there are justifiable reasons for the reality behind such slogans.  I am sure that there is some degree of truth behind every charge of America’s arrogance, or “going-it-alone,” or “isolationism.”  However, I also believe that too much weight should not be placed on so-called “world opinion” precisely because the world is also the same world that crucified Jesus (cf. Jn 15:18-19; 17:9), the same world that is under condemnation by God.  In saying this, I am not in the least suggesting that America is the kingdom of God.  It is not and never will be.  Indeed, insofar as America is outside Christ, it too is a part of the world as well.  However, my point is this: if the world cannot be fully trusted to judge matters of righteousness, if the world is under the power of the evil one, why should we place our full confidence on world opinion when it comes to any one member of the world community–in this case, America?  This is why I find it disturbing whenever people harp on “world opinion” as a case against America’s foreign policies.  The world does not know everything.  The individuals that make up the world are not always well informed.  While people complain that Americans do not know enough about the world, the opposite argument can be made that people from other countries make too many assumptions about America without really understanding this country.  More importantly, the world–as a collective comprising people outside of Christ–is in darkness and cannot be relied upon to make moral judgments that reflect the whole counsel of God.  This certainly calls us to be more careful before jumping on any bandwagon endorsed by the “world.”    

A Word on What I’m Doing On This Blog Thus Far

This blog is subtitled “Thinking Christianly About the United States of America and Its Civilization.”  I realize that the “Christian” part of this blog has not yet manifested itself quite so clearly.  Well, apart from the fact that I have not yet had the time to bring the Christian worldview into the discussion, I include the quotes I do because they are the ones I tend to think are compatible with a Christian worldview (though not all without qualification!) and also because they are good things to be thinking about that can go into forming a Christian opinion on the particular topic.  So bear with me and take the time to think through them yourselves.  Ask the following questions: (1) is what the author is saying true?  (2) to what degree is what the author has said compatible with the word of God? 

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day in America. On this day, Americans remember the sacrifices made by their brave men and women in the armed forces. Even though I am not American, I will still make it a point to remember the sacrifices these men and women have made, not only for the country but for our fragile world. Today, there are some people who would think that America’s military is one of the most hated institutions. They are called “imperialists,” “aggressors,” and sometimes even “terrorists” (!!!) I think that these names are sheer nonsense. They represent not some sophisticated level of moral reasoning but rather, a lack of moral clarity and intellectual honesty. I believe that the U.S. armed forces is one of the most noble, just, compassionate, and therefore, heroic armies in the world. As the sword of the American government, the U.S. armed forces (army, navy, marines, and air force) represent the muscle of the core ideals of the great American civilization: Justice, freedom, compassion, and human rights (core values which, I might add, have their roots in the Judeo-Christian religious tradition). After all, which army in the world is so cautious about applying torture to its enemy combatants? Which army in the world cares to protect the innocent non-combatant on the ground by producing precision-guided bombs? Which army in the world is a more welcome sight by the enemy combatants themselves? Is it not the US armed forces (and subsequently, all those armed forces in the world that hold to those American values)? And it is for these reasons that the US army, navy, air force, and marines are one of the most trusted armed forces in the world.

Now, all this is not to say that there is no corruption or sin or injustice within the world of the military. Like any military in the world, the US armed forces—like the civilization it represents—has its fair share of cowardice, self-centeredness, perversion, lack of discipline, martial injustice, and murderers. However—and please hear me on this one—the crucial point to note is that these people are considered aberrations by the military community itself. They do not represent the ideals or the policies of the American government. This is crucial to note precisely because there are those who presume to use a wretched case like the Abu Ghraib scandal and extrapolate from it a grand overriding principle by which to condemn the whole US armed forces. This is poor and unjust reasoning. Strangely enough, many of the same people who use this reasoning will not use it when it comes to the Islamic terrorists. They will be careful to say that the terrorists do not represent the whole of Islam, which, of course, I agree. However, to then turn around and say that the deeds of bad soldiers represent the policy of the US armed forces and government is a move that is extremely unfair and unjust. We need to simply acknowledge, as good Christians thinking biblically, that the US armed forces is a mixed-bag. There are soldiers that represent the best in morality and there are soldiers that do not. However, the policy of the US armed forces as a whole is good. What does the US armed forces stand for? It stands for the protection and, if need be, the advancement of justice, freedom, compassion, and human rights (look here , here , and here). As a Christian, I cannot argue with these. These values are universal.

So what is a Christian, especially a non-American Christian, to do on this Memorial Day and the rest of the days of the year? He or she should pray for the US armed forces. Give thanks to the Lord for them. Pray that they will maintain their core values. Pray that the individual soldiers, whether or not they are Christian, will believe in those core values and protect those values in their own lives. Pray that the Lord will use the military chaplains to proclaim the Gospel boldly and so arrest the moral decay that so often festers within the ranks of the armed forces. Pray that the forces of chaos represented by the terrorists and their sponsoring states will be broken by the combined efforts of the American armed forces and their allies. Pray that the Lord would have mercy on those men and women in combat and cause them to actively pursue the good of those they seek to protect and liberate.