Seeing the intensifying vitriol aimed at President Obama on the Internet grieves me. Unfortunately, much of the loathing comes from the keyboard of Christians, who, according to Jesus, are supposed to love their neighbors — and their enemies. The Apostle Paul also admonishes Christians in Scripture to pray for their government leaders.
I lived through all this enemy camp stuff in the 1990s during Bill Clinton’s presidency, but the presence of the Web has only ratcheted up the hatemongers. I admit I’m not fond of Obama’s abortion and gay-rights policies. But for the Christian, the answer is prayer, not verbal broadsides.
I’m talking about people who intentionally spread lies, such as Obama is a Muslim or that he canceled the National Day of Prayer. Such information, repeated without bothering to check the facts, only makes Christians look ignorant.
But the visuals are worse: People who put Obama’s picture with a slash through it, a “Nobama” meter declaring that there are only 1,000 more days until the president is out of office.
Such a fomenting environment reminds me of the South in 1963. John F. Kennedy had a lot of people who hated him. He went to Dallas to try to reverse some of that. I pray all the Obama bashing isn’t giving rise to such a climate again.
I hope Christians will stop all the incivility and disrespect that has become commonplace in politics. We’re supposed to be part of the solution, not the problem.
There is a line to be drawn between being hateful and expressing ones opinion about the devastating programs that are being implemented by our "representatives" with President Obama's leading. People are fearful of what is happening to our country and they are reacting out of fear. I am conflicted about this myself. I don't think that hate serves any good purpose. It just alienates people. However, I cringe when people continue to defend a man who has single-handedly implemented programs that will most certainly bring our country to bankruptcy on one hand while alienating our Jewish alies with the other. I can understand the distaste for hateful rhetoric, but I also understand the frustration many of us feel toward our leader and our supposed representatives.
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