I shall use the excuse which has been popular over the last decade or so, “it’s all Bush’s fault.”
In August of 2000 we moved to Thomasville, GA. It was our first major move as a family and I forgot to register to vote. I distinctly remember listening to conversations where George W. was touted as being a must have for our country. I didn’t necessarily disagree but I was a little afraid to tell my family and friends that I would be unable to vote for him. He certainly is who I would have voted for in that election. Bill O’Reilly was hitting the big time and I thought he would lead us, conservatives, into the Promised Land along with George Bush and his administration. Then the headaches started: the O’Reilly headaches that is. Somehow what he was saying just didn’t seem to ring as clear as it had before and I realized that behind his grandstanding he was really about Bill O’Reilly.
Fast forward to September 2004 and our family was once again on the move. This time we moved to the panhandle of Florida just 2 weeks after Hurricane Ivan swept through the region. Bush was once again up for election and my vote was needed. It didn’t happen. If you have ever lived somewhere following a devastating thing such as a hurricane then you will understand why I did not vote this time. Once again Bush won without my vote and in the evenings I switched from O’Reilly to the new guy leading the conservative charge on TV, Sean Hannity.
Hannity didn’t keep my attention very long and it was during this time that a conversation that I had several years before with my oldest brother came to my mind. Essentially we discussed the truth of the Rush on the radio and the Rush in real life and the fact that the Rush on the radio didn’t necessarily believe or adhere to what he espoused on the radio. That’s when it really set in – these guys are frauds. Actually they are not frauds because eventually it is revealed that they have two different standards, personal and TV/radio personality. Look at their cycle; they usually are very popular for about 6-8 years, sometimes longer if there isn’t a new kid to carry the torch and sometimes a little shorter if they are bypassed by a louder, more conservative, conservative.
Sadly though, we follow them as if they are idealist when in truth they are entertainers. The saddest part is that professing, Bible-reading, church attending, Christians are the ones driving these guys and their “success.” The truth of this was never more obvious to me than it was when Scott Brown was elected as Senator of Massachusetts earlier this year. When I read and listened to what Bible-believing (?) people were saying about this guy I just had to check him out to see if he was as good as they said. I didn’t go far before I realized that it was an absolute sham. Scott Brown may be a conservative and he may stand for some of the same things that I stand for but had he been a Democrat the same people who extolled his virtues would have hung him over his past.
I have said all of that to say this: if you profess to be a believer and have any interest in politics, or if you just are a believer, or just have an interest in politics I would encourage you to read a post by Dr. Russell Moore, vice-president of Southern Seminary, and his view of Glenn Beck’s latest freedom rally.
http://www.russellmoore.com/2010/08/29/god-the-gospel-and-glenn-beck/
Seek Understanding 