1/25/2009

Being Tested With "Unforeseen" Change?

Change We Never Imagined
By J. Matt Barber
GOPUSA

Well, the high-sheen veneer and cult-of-personality euphoria surrounding America's new oratory endowed president looks to be dissolving rather quickly. While millions had hoped for a political "messiah," it's fast becoming evident that, instead, we've stuck ourselves with an extreme leftist ideologue whose brand of "change we can believe in" is, in fact, "change we never imagined." (Sorry to burst the Barack bandwagon bubble, but I say it like I see it.)

The examples are piling up in terms of the radical pro-abortion polices he's planning to implement, the many-times-failed Marxist fiscal policies he's promised to test yet again, and -- relative to his national security goals -- the noxiously naive peacenik policies that have Mahmoud and Osama giggling themselves to sleep at night.

But on issues involving marriage, family and sexual morality, Obama's been even more brazen than some of his most ardent detractors could have expected. Literally within minutes after he took the oath of office, the official White House webpage was updated -- under the heading of "The Agenda: Civil Rights" -- to detail his wholesale "support for the LGBT (homosexual activist) community." His stated plans include the following:

- Defeating all state and federal constitutional efforts to defend the millennia-old definition of natural marriage from attacks by "gay marriage" activists.

- Repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1996. This is the only line of defense keeping all 50 states from being forced to recognize so-called "same-sex marriages" from extremely liberal states like Massachusetts and Connecticut.

- Repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy despite the fact that the vast majority of military commanders and personnel say it will dangerously disrupt unit cohesion and troop morale.

- Passing constitutionally dubious and discriminatory "hate crimes" legislation, granting homosexuals and cross-dressers exclusive rights -- denied other Americans -- based on sexual behaviors that are deviant, changeable, and widely regarded both here and around the world as immoral.

- Passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) which would force business owners (religious and otherwise) to abandon traditional values relative to sexual morality under penalty of law.

- Creating intentionally motherless and fatherless homes and sexually confusing untold thousands of children by expanding "gay adoption."

The gravity of this situation cannot be overstated. Right out of the chute, Obama has told the world that he is signing off, without exception, on every demand of the extremist homosexual and transsexual lobbies.

The radical homosexual agenda and religious/free-speech liberties cannot occupy the same space. It's a zero-sum game. When 1-2 percent of the population is granted exclusive rights based on the aforementioned deviant sexual proclivities and changeable sexual behaviors -- to the detriment of everyone else -- that's called tyranny of the minority.

Obama recently said, "I don't want to pit Red America against Blue America. I want to be President of the United States of America."

Well, Mr. President, remember that whole "actions versus words" cliche Your words ring hollow and your actions speak volumes. Every policy you promise to implement does exactly what you've denounced. Both your actions and your words very much pit Red America against Blue America.

For all the talk of "hope," "change," and "coming together," it's becoming abundantly clear that Barack Obama's administration will be the most leftist, divisive and discriminatory in recent memory. I suspect the immediate, stark and in-your-face revisions he's made to the White House website are a metaphor for what we can expect, in terms of broader policy, from his administration.

Obama said in an August 19, 2008 speech: "Change doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington." Well, radical change in the form of Barack Obama has certainly come to Washington. Not just in terms of the man's skin color -- which is historic and most encouraging -- but in terms of his exceptionally extreme and demonstrably dangerous liberal policies (not so encouraging).

So it would seem that change does in fact "come from Washington." Change more radical than our nation has ever seen. Change our founders could have never imagined.

People of faith, conservatives, and those of you with traditional values: hold on to your hats -- it's going to be a bumpy four years.

Matt Barber is an attorney concentrating in constitutional law. He serves as Director of Cultural Affairs with both Liberty Counsel and Liberty Alliance Action. Send comments to Matt at jmattbarber@comcast.net. (This information is provided for identification purposes only.)

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Man-made policies may control the actions of the body, but nothing can restrain the spirit other than free will.

Enduring the struggle for righteousness is won not primarily by the establishment of human laws, but rather by God's words being written in the hearts of people. No matter how much man-made laws there are established, yet if in the hearts of people no Words of the Lord are treasured and obeyed, jails and prison cells will only be overflowing.

Consider, for instance, abortion. No amount of anti-abortion laws will prevent a non-obedient soul from the intention to abort her baby while having an unwanted pregnancy. Similarly, no amount of pro-abortion laws will compel a God-obedient soul to commit abortion even if her pregnancy may be the result of a rape.

A new leader with his change of policies may indeed be a big test for some groups of people. How we see things is itself a test of our own convictions.

The Lord is an equal opportunity giver. Everyday is an opportunity,
so let us take each day and use it in striving to write God's Words in the hearts of people so that we may endure and sustain the struggle for righteousness till He comes again one glorious day -- patiently, even if we may be doing it just one soul at a time (though slowly it may be, but yet surely like no man-made laws can accomplish).