Hurricanes in Haiti
With so much going on in the US, and in the world, it's easy to overlook what four major hurricanes have done to Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. Here are some brief reports from the good people of Floresta.
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Note to pastors and other Christian leaders …
If you, like me, want to go public with your support for Barack Obama's presidency, I encourage you to check out clergyforobama.org. The site makes clear you're not speaking for anyone else ... but are making your personal support public. Doing so takes courage, I know, because many Christians still believe that they only have permission to support Republicans. I decided this year I was willing to make public what I had long believed in private - that no party has a lock on people of faith who vote all their values. Of course, I respect those who see things differently, and I trust they will do the same for me.
And be sure to check out matthew25.org too, especially the "Put Away Falsehood" pages.
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3 Last Chances in 2008
There are 3 remaining opportunities in 2008 to catch my presentations on "Everything Must Change."
This weekend in Ontario, not far from Toronto ... hosted by The Meeting Place.
And November 1 in Indianapolis ... you can download the flyer here ...
Download file
And November 7-8 in Wilmington Delaware ... info here.
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Why I’m Voting for Barack Obama – and Why I Hope You Will Too … Reason 2
[This is part of an ongoing series. I am speaking as a private citizen and not as a representative of any group.]
Reason 2: Leadership Integrity
I am voting for Barack Obama because I value personal integrity in leaders. Personal integrity requires a leader to repudiate falsehood, hate hypocrisy, and pursue fidelity to justice and truth, in private and in public. A person shows a pattern of integrity through fidelity to his or her spouse, through his or her refusal to employ falsehood for personal advantage, and through his or her willingness to admit mistakes and forgo excuses or blame-shifting whenever lapses occur. It seems clear to me that Senator Obama surpasses his counterpart on all counts.
Sadly, tragically even, Senator McCain has not repudiated the proven dishonesty and deceit of the Bush-Rove-Cheney years. In fact, his campaign has been outstripping even Bush-Cheney-Rove in misleading the public with a straight face while claiming straight talk. Even fellow Republicans are finding McCain's tactics indefensible. Recalling the old saying about all being fair in love and war, McCain seems to see the world through a consummate warrior narrative (see EMC, Part 5), which leads him to love winning at all costs – including the expense of integrity, which in turn makes fidelity to “the reality-based community” quaint and only advisable when it is advantageous. Yes, all of us have lapses in integrity at times; all of us need grace. As a deeply flawed yet committed Christian, I am the first to affirm this. But when you look at personal and public patterns of integrity over many years, Barack Obama shines and John McCain stumbles badly.
But my concern is not only John McCain. I’m also terribly concerned about the party that nominated him. I don’t believe that a party that rushes to war based on a false pretenses deserves to be re-elected, no matter how loudly it claims to be for "family values" or "small-town values." Do you? Is there an integrity lapse more serious than this?
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Paul gets it right …
My friend Paul Rauschenbusch gets it right here ...
As I said in my previous posting, this election is about two very different narratives, a negative, combative one of fear, and a positive, creative one of hope. I'm voting for hope.
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