It's Over!

Well, the election's finally over, so our phone has stopped ringing and I can blog once again. I've been unable to get much of anything done in the past few weeks because all I've been doing is answering phone calls from both the Republican and Democratic parties, both of whom really believed I was on their side.

I have to admit it's been an interesting few days. No matter what the outcome, I knew that I was going to be disappointed in the election results. Neither party was offering anything that I liked.

On the conservative side, I was convinced that Sarah Palin did not have the education or experience necessary to be an effective Vice President (which is really saying something when you consider the "work" a VP is actually expected to do...). Honestly, the Republicans put forward a women who considered her family vacations to Mexico and the fact that Alaska was geographically close to part of Russia as part of her foreign affairs resume! I was in shock for months over that choice. Then, I could never shake the feeling that McCain was probably going to get us all blown up within the first year of his presidency. On an international level, we don't need a maverick, we need a diplomat.

I don't know if it's just the travels we've done during the Bush administration that's enlightened me, but it just really strikes me that most Americans really don't understand how incredibly unpopular our country has become, nor do they understand the implications of that unpopularity. These are far reaching implications which can challenge things from international adoption to the global economy to establishing a stable peace, not to mention our influence in things such as humane working conditions, world hunger and infectious disease.

I'm not kidding when I say that over 4 years ago, while in Kazakhstan, we saw a homeless man that wandered the park outside the Museum of Music and Culture in Almaty and approached Americans all with the same greeting (in perfect English), " Leeeet me OFfer my condolences on the OUTcome of yourrr presideeental elections...." The sentiment of the population there, in a country that was improving it's economy through the oil industry and America, was one of distrust at best and unchecked anger and frustration at worst.

Even the difference in attitudes of the "average" Ukrainian towards Americans from our first adoption trip over 6 years ago to our last was noticeable. Our militaristic dominance with no regard to diplomacy has just blown the minds of so many (and quite literally in some parts of the world!) and is just unfathomable to me.

Yes, there is evil in the world, but it seems to me that we've been operating under an administration that only allowed itself to see the evil in its enemy and not in itself.

But, what really strikes me as odd is how so many evangelicals can breeze past the immoral aspects of the war and jump straight to the issue of abortion and stem cell research without regard to the lives of those that have been killed or injured in a war that they have never asked for. In addition to that, to breeze past the administration sanctioned torture at Guantanamo Bay, with nary a blink or wince simply astounds me. I'm not saying that there was not just cause for some military action after 9-11, but I'm sad that the church has not stood it's ground, choosing instead, in so many instances, to follow the entire party line and buy into the "Christianity" offered by the Bush administration.

What about McCain's health care plan -- one that I'm certain would have destroyed us financially-- and it's impact on the working class as well as families facing health problems? What company or organization is possibly going to insure our family when they can just have us use the $5000 tax rebate to purchase health insurance that I'm certain (from price shopping) would cost more like $8000 for our size family. And, $8,000 if we could find an insurance company stupid enough to insure our family!

But, before I have well meaning people attack me with acidic comments.... let me continue. I voted for George Bush for both his terms, and in this election I did, indeed, vote for McCain. I did so with a sick feeling in my stomach, and no peace leading up to the election or even after I had voted. In fact, I felt shame over voting for people I knew were simply not up to the task at hand. But I also know the other truth.

Of course, Obama is not the answer. His liberal politics and disregard for the most vulnerable

lives in our country are an absolute shame. His faith that a government can provide more for it's citizens than it needs, too, is naive and potentially harmful if not kept in check.

However, he's now going to be our President. And, since I believe that God is sovereign, I chose to find the good aspects about him, because, whether or not the standard JC Penny shopping Fox-news network watching Evangelical likes him or not, there are some great points to the man.

First of all, it's obvious he's a diplomat. We are so in need of a diplomat in office! Yes, the president is the Commander-in-Chief, but we have an immense and amazing military with enough advisers to more than make up for his lack of military expertise. Even Fox News has reported on the effects already felt world wide from his election.

And, while the press has loved to throw around the term "universal healthcare" what I've heard coming directly from his mouth is not health care ala Hillary Clinton, but a more economical and fiscally responsible plan than what is becoming a majorly encumbering medicaid system.

In addition to that, while I've heard the term "socialism" thrown around by so many Republicans, including the incredibly rash and immature Glenn Beck, I fail to see how someone left leaning is a socialist, and wealth redistribution is not what I've heard come from his mouth. Lest I remind people, our current tax system is based in the idea that the wealthier pay more in taxes than the rest, thus the tax brackets. I've not heard too many Republicans refer to that as "wealth redistribution". The problem is that it's the wealthiest people and corporations that find the loop holes that allow them to avoid paying the taxes they should consider themselves morally obligated to pay!

As the mother of an Asian child, I'm ecstatic at witnessing the first ever African American in the Oval Office! A barrier has been broken, not only for black children in America, but all children of racial diversity, not to mention children born of a parent who was not an American citizen. Once again, America is leading the way in something good. As my husband pointed out to me, Great Britain has a 30 or 40 year lead on us in abolishing slavery and working against the racism of the British Empire. Despite that we have yet to see a Black or Indian British Prime Minister (or Queen!).

For this to happen so quickly after the wake of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s shows that, indeed, God has been working and healing somethings in our culture, despite our many national flaws. It gives me hope that God truly is working here, despite the fact that it can be clouded by many cultural sins.

So, rather than focus on the things that I don't agree with or can't control , or jump to wild conclusions about us becoming a socialist state, I'm choosing to celebrate what is good from this election, and trust that God is at work. Barack Obama is not a saviour -- Russia's poking at him already and his election certainly didn't make the stock market rebound -- but he is a leader and God will use him to accomplish his purposes.

Lies My Teacher Told Me

So, I finally finished the book, "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James Loewen. Overall, I found the book extremely interesting. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss the topics of hero-making and Christopher Columbus. I found both to be enlightening, and agree with Loewen's assertion that history books try to create heroes out of historical figures -- something that is detrimental to teaching children accurate history. I think it's interesting to note that the Bible is not afraid to show the "dark side" of it's historical figures, and does a superb job of telling the story of God's redemption and plan for the church, despite human failings.

The chapter on Christopher Columbus was especially enlightening. I love how Loewen annually asks his college students, "Who were the first settlers on our continent?" and they routinely get the question wrong. (Remember, the first settlers were actually the native Americans). He also points out the strong possibilities of visits to America by both Africans and Phoenicians, long before even the Vikings who proceeded Columbus. I found it interesting to note his identification of the fact that most people did, indeed, know that the earth was round, that the "discovery" of the Americas was a perspective unique to Europeans, and that Columbus was also at the root of a number of serious human rights violations.

The chapters on the treatment of the natives, slavery and racism were also fascinating. The Civil War (which was really about slavery, not preserving the Union -- ha! ha! to my 7th grade history teacher. You were totally totally wrong!!!) and Reconstruction were presented in a totally different light than my text books growing up, and most that I have perused through as a home schooler. I found especially interesting, the chapter on Abraham Lincoln and John Brown. It was inspiring to read about Lincoln's personal struggle with racism, and that he made the choice to do what was right despite his inner struggle. John Brown was painted as a fascinating individual, who, quite possibly, might be the most interesting "civilian" in American history -- yet painted as a crazy man by textbooks.

By the middle of the book, though, his bias started to show through. The main issue I found was that he insists that America is not a land of equal opportunity -- well, historically that's obvious. However, he tends to blame the system more than the individuals. Any system that supports racism and slavery is a product of the individuals that make up that system. I think personal responsibility makes up a big part of why someone "makes it" or not in this country today. I see this on a daily basis, when my daughters get out of bed, and do there work despite their disabilities. Then I drive downtown and see men begging for money on the road side because they "have no legs and can't work." Seriously, I want to stop the car and lecture those people. The missing legs ain't the reason they're not working!

Anyway, he goes to blaming "the system" far too quickly. You can't deny that people here have overcome tremendous odds, something that just can't happen in many places in the world, no matter how diligent or tenacious someone is. While I do believe racism is still an issue in this country, I think that, like disability rights, it's gone beyond the system and it's an issue of changing people's thoughts and hearts. People do move from class to class in this country -- I think of my own family where my grandfather and grandmother were not college educated people, yet raised both their children to be college-educated professionals and now, collectively, all 7 of their grandchildren are as well. I think the vast majority of the reason that people don't "make it" here has less to do with systematic injustice and more to do with personal habits, laziness and priorities, as well as thought patterns and practices that take generations to change.


However, he points out that textbooks try to portray America as a place where everyone is middle class, which is, of course, not true. But to that I would also say that while I have been personally involved with some children who are very poor and live in situations that are far from healthy, I can walk the streets of my city and not have 2 and 3 year-olds come up begging. No, everyone is not middle class. But, there is definitely more here for the impoverished than elsewhere in the world.

In addition to that, is the "American dream" that everybody should be rich, or is it that everybody should have the opportunity to provide for their family in a safe and healthy way?

At the end of the book, he had an interesting section on the use of history textbooks for the purpose of "socialization" of our students. I found this fascinating. The books are written to create nice little patriotic students who can list dates, recite all the great things America has done (and exclude the not-so-nice stuff like our involvement in the Phillipines and the Mexican-American War or some of our involvement in Haiti not long after the American Revolution). They also like to down play slavery, and bias against women and racism to produce a nice "Godly" nation that we will all love and serve. The Iraq War, especially, is ill treated -- much in the manner of the actual war itself!

After reading the book, I'm even more thankful that God has led our family to home school. I have never liked what I've seen in secular history textbooks, and most that I've seen published by Christian publishing companies err in the opposite direction. For now, we read history from "living books" (historical fiction, biographies, topical books etc) and plan to use primary sources for the upper grades. What could be a subject that prompts great thinking has really been reduced to various types of indoctrination.

"Lies My Teacher Told Me" -- I give it two thumbs up!