We attended our son’s “Holiday Concert” the other night and an introduction by the SNL Al Roker may have been in order, “So in the spirit of diversity and fear, please welcome the [Eagles 2nd Grade Singers] with and all-inclusive Holiday medley for everyone.”  The scholars sang We Wish You a Merry Christmas wherein the words were changed to “We wish you a swingin’ holiday…” and “good tidings of a merry holiday and a happy new year.”  Could it be more obvious that there’s a songwriter somewhere that feels guilty that there’s a poor schmoe in an audience somewhere who does not celebrate Christmas and feels left out?

Interestingly, they also sang a traditional arrangement of O Come All Ye Faithful.  So the school was not afraid of Christmas songs, but perhaps afraid of too many Christmas songs.  Anyway, since the vapidity, the vacuity, and the vanity of these revisions are blatant, I’ll leave the explanation and execration up to those with more time for that.   Just remember that, even though not everyone celebrates the birth of our Lord, Jesus is for everyone.

Have you ever noticed the scent of fall? Fall has my favourite smells in all of the world. Fall has pumpkin and apple pies, camp fires, and corn. But most of all, fall has the scent of fallen leaves in the woods — best experienced in the evening when the air cools and dew begins to form. Take time to notice the scents of fall today even if, nay especially if, it means you have to go climb a tree and sit there for 2 hours in order to do it.

If you have watched the latter season of Survivor, you no doubt have some opinions of the players and their stratagems.  Early on, I was impressed with the apparently authentic friendship developing between J. T. and Stephen and theorized to my bride that having someone inside the game whom you could truly trust would likely make you a serious contender for the finals.  Early on, we both gave J. T. the odds to win.

As the game progressed, it became apparent that this relationship — that no one has seen before inside Survivor — was making these two nearly invincible.  They navigated the first half of the game flawlessly, and then after the merge successfully overcame a 6-3 deficit — a seemingly impossible feat.  Every week after that, they and Taj knew exactly the right move to make.  They successfully split the Timbira 6 and then slew them one by one, in exactly the right order.   I have never seen such a Survivor juggernaut.

J. T. and Stephen were both great players independently, but the chances of a great player making it to the finals are still not good, maybe 1 in 8 or 1 in 10.  Together, I reckon those two might make it to the finals 5 or 7 times out of 10.

I do think they fell off a little in their end game because they both started playing from a position of fear instead of strength:

• I did not think it necessary for them to dispatch Taj one council earlier than planned.
• J. T. didn’t need to worry about taking Stephen to the finals, but he did do the right thing.
• Had Stephen won final immunity, I would certainly have preferred to see him take J. T. to the finals.  Maybe, he would have done the right thing; no one can say.  In that case, you cannot say for sure whether he would have won the game or not, but based on the final vote, you have to say probably not.

In any case, the last two councils illustrated two closely related things.  First, they laid bare the ravages of greed (like they always do); second, they showed the keen eye why Survivor doesn’t quite work as a microcosm of real life.  In real life, one man becoming a millionaire does not preclude his friend from becoming a millionaire.  Indeed, that man’s success increases his friend’s chances of becoming a millionaire.  Sadly, in real life men often think they are playing Survivor.

Would a Liberal buy fair trade certified coffee from Wal-Mart?

Once again this year, you and I shan’t be greeting anybody with a Happy Holiday(s), Holiday Greetings, or Seasons Greetings.  You know, I don’t really believe most people who have fallen into saying “Happy Holidays” really want to forget about Christmas.  Certainly there are those types.  I think, however, that a lot of people are simply afraid they’re going to offend someone by saying “Merry Christmas.”  The result has been some confusion about the fact that the celebration of Christ’s birth is the reason for our cheer during this last month of the year. Well, most folks are offended far less easily than you think.  Also, the tide may be turning back.  For example, last year Saturday Night Live mocked “Happy Holiday,” illustrating how pervasive and asinine this politically correct equivocation has become.  So we point it out too.

Every day, bless someone you meet with a “Merry Christmas.”  It is fitting and proper.  And when you get the chance, explain why the Son of God being born into our world is a great reason to be happy.

Note that in the post comparing Barack Obama’s position on abortion to Stephen Douglas’ position on slavery, I thought quoting Wikipedia was pretty weak.  So I did some more research and found an actual Douglas speech where he argued against William Seward’s position by attacking his appeal to Divine law.  I placed the quotation in the original post.

One thing that I and some friends discussed before the recent Presidential election was whether we ought to skip the Presidential box or vote for John McCain considering his wild legislative history.  Well, my conclusion was that his pro-life credentials were strong enough to have earned my vote.  Of course Sarah Palin helped me decide too.

Since the election, I have had more opportunities to ponder my pro-life stance and I realized that I didn’t even know myself how strongly I believe in this cause.  Before and after the election, I have heard a little talk about “single issue voters,” one of which I have never considered myself to be because I more or less believe in the Republican platform across the board.  Well, I got to thinking a little more about it and realized that as strongly as I believe in Conservatism, if the Democrat and Republican parties and candidates swapped their positions on Life (assuming a consistent adherence to that position), I might have to vote for the Democrat candidate even though I disagree with the rest of the Democrat platform.  Be advised that I don’t think that scenario is even possible because the belief in a right to life comes straight from the Conservative worldview, a key part of which is the belief in a “higher moral authority.”

Now, regarding that “higher moral authority,” consider the irony of an African-American being elected to this office while holding the most liberal of pro-abortion positions.  Why is it ironic?  First, let us state that infanticide (before or after birth) is as nefarious as slavery — or more so if based on the numbers of human beings affected in the United States. Next, let us compare two familiar Presidential races, Obama vs. McCain and Douglas (and others) vs. Lincoln.

In 2008:

• McCain had a strong pro-life record.
• Obama claimed to oppose abortion personally but had a strong pro-abortion voting record.

In 1860:

• Lincoln was the nominee of the Republican party, expressly formed to oppose slavery.
• Douglas’ personal position on slavery is unknown, but as a matter of policy he thought the question should be decided democratically.

Do you see the parallels?  I think the similarity between Obama and Douglas can be illustrated best by Obama and Douglas themselves:

From barackobama.com (You can read the whole speech there):

“…Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God’s will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.”

From stephenadouglas.org we have Douglas arguing against Seward’s position on Slavery and rejecting Seward’s and the Republicans’ Divine law argument (You can read the whole speech there):

“His [Seward’s] entire argument rests on the assumption that the negro and the white man were equal by Divine law, and hence that all laws and constitutions and governments in violation of the principle of negro equality are in violation of the law of God. That is the basis upon which his speech rests. He quotes the Declaration of Independence to show that the fathers of the Revolution understood that the negro was placed on an equality with the white man, by quoting the clause, ‘we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men were created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’ Sir, the doctrines of that Senator and his party is-and I had to meet it for eight years-that the Declaration of Independence intended to recognize the negro and the white man as equal under the Divine law, and hence that all the provisions of the Constitution of the United States which recognize slavery are in violation of the Divine law.”

That those statements are similar is neither coincidental nor profound.  They are similar simply because they proceed from a similar worldview and a similar concept of human rights.  I hope that this begins to illustrate the fact (I do not say opinion) that the Republican party started as, succeeded as, and hopefully continues to be the human and civil rights party.

I could add that it is doubly ironic that all Republicans are asking for today is to have the abortion question returned to the states, but that is a discussion for another day.  Instead I will conclude by saying that I have also been reminded in various ways that regardless of my agreement or disagreement with positions, policies, and character of my country’s leaders, it is my responsibility to respect and obey those leaders, and my duty to pray for my country and especially her President.  I shall continue to do so.

Mike has suggested we fast and pray leading up to election day.  This is one thing we can do to make a real difference.  Also, I was reminded today that whether or not your candidate of choice wins his race, it is your duty to make your world better, not your candidate’s duty and not the government’s duty.  So stand up and cheer or sit down and groan on November 4, but then get out there on November 5 and visit a prisoner or build a house or invite your neighbor over for dinner or tell someone the Good News about Jesus. Share whatever gift it is that God has given you and make a difference in your world.

If I have any readers who are ready to vote next Tuesday and are considering Obama for President or any other pro-abortion candidate for any other office, I gently remind you that the right to life is the right upon which all others are based, the right without which no other rights hold any meaning, and the first right affirmed by our Declaration of Independence.  If we Christians are truly concerned about justice, then there can be no compromise on the value and dignity and equal protection of every human life!

You can read about Obama’s record on abortion all over the place.  Here is a good summary: Obama’s 10 Reasons for supporting infanticide.