I just got this email:
"Some have said that the stimulus hasn't saved any jobs, but here is a case where at least one job was saved.
According to an unnamed source, Oregon State University Athletic Director Bob DeCarolis was considering firing their basketball coach, Craig Robinson, after an 8-11 start (2-5 in the Pac 10 conference). When word of this reached Washington, Undersecretary of Education Martha Kanter was dispatched to Corvallis with $17 million in stimulus money for the university. The source now says that Craig Robinson's job is safe for this year.
For the record, Coach Robinson just happens to be Michelle Obama's brother."
Oh, c'mon now...
$17 million to a state land grant university out of the
Tens of Billions in the stimulus legislation? I used to clerk in ASU's grant accounting department and $17 million was just a drop in the bucket back in the mid-1980s! I bet Arizona State University and University of Arizona got a lot more stimulus money than OSU. If OSU only got $17 million then they definitely weren't bringing their "A" game. Oh, and by the way, a winning basketball program is worth a lot more money than $17 mil!
But here's the real problem I see in this message:
We don't have to paint all of our opponents
as crooks and thieves to stand against
their beliefs and policies.
We stand against them because we believe they are wrong, we believe they are misguided and we believe that their policies may cause harm to our nation. However, there is such a thing as a "worthy" opponent and we are to appropriately recognize and honor them as such. The Bible directly instructs us to:
"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy."
- Titus 3:1-5 NIV
During the Clinton administration there was such a storm of wild accusations that it ultimately served President Clinton very well. All of the wild and sensational accusations made the truly damning issues seem less important. By spreading the media's attention across so claims, many groundless, it lessened the impact of some very profound issues. I don't think many people are aware, even to this day, that the government of China materially interferred with the election of a U.S. President. That monstrous problem was swept away in our fascination with Monica's dress and "what the definition of "is" is."
If we must object to a crook or a thief, we are commanded to be gracious, dignified and very careful and be certain that all of the facts are in. In a word, we're supposed to be "fair."
“`Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
`Do not go about spreading slander among your people."
- Leviticus 19:15-16
To do otherwise cheapens us and makes us part of "the problem." And the problem is this:
President - Scandal (real or therwise)Nixon (R) - Watergate, etc.
Ford (R) - Improper Pardon of Nixon, etc.
Carter (D) - Burt Vance affair, Billy Carter, etc.
Reagan (R) - November Surprise, Iran-Contra, etc.
Bush Sr. (R) - Iran-Contra Scandal, etc.
Clinton (D) - Whitewater, Lewinski-gate, etc.
Bush Jr. (R) - "Weapons of Mass Destruction", Blackwater & Halliburton, etc.
Obama (D) - Birth Certificate, Tax problems with appointees, etc.
Every administration for the past 40 years has been relentlessly attacked with accusations of scandal. With each new administration the accusatiuons are becoming more and more frenzied. These days the accusations of scandal are starting even before the person has won the election!
Both sides are desperate to find that one, great, Watergate-like scandal that will allow them to a) remove their opponent from office or b) reduce their effectiveness while in office by damaging their credability and forcing them to commit critical resources toward fighting the accusations.
BOTH sides are doing these hatchet jobs and it is not a legitimate use of power against your opponents. My point is not that we shouldn't investigate scandals. Some of the scandals listed above appear to have addressed legitimate, serious problems. My point is that Christians are supposed operate with the standard of being serious and sober in our judgement.
Rushing to judgement and promoting false accusations is NOT a minor issue. Slander and gossip are described as characteristics of those who God has given over to a “depraved mind”:
“Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.”
- Romans 1:28-31
I'm as guilty as anyone. I cheered while we hunted down President Clinton by coming at him from every angle. “Die the Death of a Thousand Duck Pecks!” I said. Then I sat back mortified as "the loyal opposition" unleashed the same hatred and ferocity on President Bush. And as I watched them, God made it plain to me how I must have looked earlier.
“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?”
- Romans 2:1-4
Our government is designed with proper checks and balances to manage the pendulum swings in popular opinions and values. Tearing your opponent down with a long sequence of unfounded accusations is not a legitimate check or balance. In fact, it is an abuse of the power to investigate and prosecute.
The ultimate victims of unfounded accusations are the American people whose properly elected officials are not being allowed to negotiate the political process to govern.“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.”
- I Corinthians 16:13-14
