Ashamed.

Posted on by adb

ashamed-wrongful-death

I am ashamed.

I am embarrassed.

On this day after our presidential election, I am not proud to be an American.

I am astonished that Donald Trump is our president elect.

This was not the outcome I expected. I fully accepted that the next president of the United States of America would be Hillary Clinton.

But the outcome of the election is not why I am ashamed.

It is not why I am embarrassed.

No, the reason I am not proud to be an American has nothing to do with the way Americans voted.

It has everything to do with the way Americans treated Americans who voted… or treated those who embraced their right not to vote.

I have never seen an uglier side of the citizens of the United States of America – regardless of political affiliation – than during this presidential election.

We “celebrate” our diversity… by vilifying other races or orientations who didn’t vote as we did. We are polarized. We hate each other because we have different values and views… all while hiding behind this facade that we’re totally cool with it.

That’s not on any presidential candidate. We don’t get to place that blame on someone else’s political stumping or campaign speech.

That’s on us. And we can’t fix it until we own it. Each and every one of us.

America, we have a problem… and it has very little to do with the outcome of this election.

It has everything to do with the citizens – you and me.

No president will fix that.

Only you can.

You want to be proud of this country?

Fix you. You’re what’s wrong.

But no one else can do that for you. Only you can.

I can’t.

I’ll be too busy working on me.

10 thoughts on “Ashamed.”

  1. I am astonished that you would vote for a candidate who supports abortion and gay marriage. In my Bible God condemns those things.

    1. Diane, I apologize if the post was confusing or misleading – it wasn’t intended to serve as an indication of who received my vote, or to show support for one candidate over another. In fact, the post wasn’t about our candidates.

      It was about our citizens. It was about you and me.

      And… as far as the Bible goes, one would not have to comb through it too meticulously to find plenty that would also condemn the president elect. Let’s not be too quick to overlook that when pulling out the Good Book to use as ammunition against HRC or those who voted for her with a clean conscience.

      For my part, however, I will focus more of my attention on what Scripture condemns in me. That in turn will lead me to a deeper and fuller appreciation of the truth that such a condemnation has been removed for me through Jesus Christ. #1thingmatters

  2. Pastor, I love your post. It goes to the heart of the matter and had nothing to do with politics but rather about our behavior as Americans. We live in a great country where we celebrate the freedoms that are granted to us yet we somehow feel that those don’t belong or apply to all. We don’t need a president to fix our problems. We need to open our hearts to our neighbors and love each other simply because our Lord and Savior asks us to do so. It Start with us first.

  3. Very well said. It is clear that we apparently are not mature enough to handle the luxury of face book because we have used it as an avenue through which we can “hate on” one another without actually being face to face. Shame on us. Jesus taught us to LOVE one another. (In fact. All the major religions teach love and respect). You don’t have to agree in order to respect each other. I’m busy working on Me. God bless you and God bless America.

  4. It is also well said in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT) If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

    You are on point regarding we must all look at ourselves in the mirror each day, confess our sins and pray we reflect Christ in our actions with each new day.

    Change begins with each one of us living out our lives completely recognizing our reliance on God’s grace and power.

    Don’t look to the left or to the right look dead center at ourselves…begin there.

  5. Thanks for sharing that passage, Debbie. You’ve got a great handle on it – daily revisiting the mirror of God’s law to show me how dependent I am on grace alone!

  6. We cannot “fix us”, only God can through the Gospel of Christ. We are unable to do anything good, useful, or helpful to anyone, much less ourselves.

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