Bare with me, the main concern of this article is political (though it may not seem so at first)

Every now and again I wonder how I went from being an altar boy full of faith to the disenfranchised pseudo-Christian I am today. I hesitate to call myself a full-fledged Christian because I don’t think I am now where I was 20 years ago with regard to believing who the church has told me Jesus is/was and just how things have gone, biblically speaking, over the last several millennia. But understand this: I do regularly attend church because I want gain greater knowledge of the issue of faith and spirituality, regardless of the ultimate conclusions I draw.

Moments ago I ceased pondering how I got where I am in my faith  as I was reminded of just what drove me from the Catholic church and into my current state of perpetual spiritual tumult. As I turned down the lights, turned up the Schubert, prepared to sip on some coffee, and settled down to catch-up on the days reading I came across this article about a Catholic priest who is punishing any of his parishioners who voted for Barak Obama. Reverend Jay Scott Newman believes that anyone who voted Democrat this election cycle “placed themselves under divine judgment because of his stance on abortion and shouldn’t receive Holy Communion until they’ve done penance.” Let’s try to extend this logic a bit, shall we?

So if you vote for someone who is pro-choice, regardless of what other issues are on the table and whether or not those issues also touch on the sanctity of life you are a sinner because you have, by proxy, supported abortion. Does this also mean that I support abortion because I donated money to The University of Pennsylvania Hospital? They perform abortions there so, regardless of what else my money could possibly be used for, I must support abortion under this line of reasoning, right Reverend Newman? It couldn’t be that I saw the larger potential for good in other areas of the hospital’s work, could it?

I am no longer Catholic because the majority of the priests that I encountered had this same mindset, as did many other parishioners. Everything is black and white with these people. While I believe that you have to stay strong on your articles of faith I do not believe that you should have the threat of hell hung over your head for something that has absolutely no biblical bases. And what of the separation of church and state, Reverand?

Catholics (and all other believers,  regardless of denomination) need to realize that they are allowed to practice their faith because this country was founded on the idea of religious freedom for all, not for a select few. As such, if you are an American and not Christian, you have to wonder why Christians should be allowed to legislate their morality and impose it on you. Barack Obama recognizes this conundrum, maintains that abortion is a terrible thing and seems very much against it in his personal life, but stays true to our country by defending the right to medical procedures you deem necessary and inline with your belief system, tragic as the exercising of that right might be.

P.S. – I feel anyone who still uses frames as a means of page layout places themselves under divine judgment and, as such, Reverend Newman ought to be very afraid for his soul.

I go back and forth with regard to letting myself get excited about the coming Obama years. My disaffected, jaded, child of grunge side wants nothing to do with backing a politician let alone rallying around one. After all, Barack Obama is not the second coming of Christ. For that matter, there is a chance he won’t even live up to the expectations of those who cast him as the next JFK. But there is another part of me that wants to be excited. Going through life as a total pessimist indicates that you have, for the most part, resigned yourself to the idea that there is no hope at the macro level. Tonight I will allow myself to take on the role of Obama enthusiast, if only for the remainder of this piece, just to see what it feels like.

I want to start by addressing the people who have flocked to the Internet with the call “alright, Obama, we got you in the White House now get to work”.  If you are saying this than you missed the point of his candidacy completely. The majority of his domestic plan revolves around bridging the divide that has grown between the reds and the blues over the last eight years while at the same time getting people excited about working hard to strengthen America. His plan has never been about him flying in to save the day. His plan has been about mobilizing every American to do their part to return this country to glory. That means if times call for some temporary belt tightening, you don’t complain. I especially don’t want to hear it from you so called Christians who prattle on about the evils of spreading the wealth. Your book tells you to do just that and, lest you be labeled hypocrites, you can’t selectively choose to live by the Good Word. It also means that when he talks about getting people involved in service, and not just involved but excited about service, the plan calls for you to step up and serve your country by serving your neighbors.

As much as I hate to admin it, Phil Gramm was not completely off the mark when he said that we have become a nation of whiners. There are people who, while they are struggling to pay the bills from month to month, still live quite comfortably and enjoy their Starbucks coffee every morning. Trust me, if nowhere else, these people are everywhere in academia. It wouldn’t hurt to roll up your sleeves here or forgo your morning latte there; it might even do you some good. So where am I going with this?

If the citizens of the United States of American want change, and they have voted for change, and they need change, and if they truly believe that “yes, we can” than it is time to stop looking outward for it and look inward. Someone like Barak Obama can serve as an inspiration and as a leader, but nothing is ever going to happen if you assume that he and the rest of the government are going to do all the work. If you want change, go out and create change. This has been the message of the Obama campaign from day one and, unless I am off the mark, it will be the message for the next four-to-eight years. If you want to make it happen than get excited, follow the president elects lead, get out, and do something.