Freedom

Last night my husband and I entertained ourselves by watching, "The Secret Lives of Bees." While we enjoyed the movie thoroughly we were sadly reminded of the cost of freedom for many African Americans who gave their lives so that we can have rights in this country. Personally, I appreciate the price they had to pay and that's why I am currently embracing my right to vote (btw, my husband and I voted weeks ago--early voting in Florida, and so we cannot be "pressured" into swaying our votes). With that being said, I would now like to address some of the comments I received about my previous post. I appreciate all the comments that stated that they found the post interesting and agreed with my point of view. However, I did receive some comments (on my blog and through my personal e-mail) that had several concerns with what I posted. First and foremost, I would like to remind everyone reading this blog that this blog is used solely for the purpose of expressing myself. You will read about my views, beliefs, ideas, pet peeves and any other issue I choose to write about. You are welcome to read my blog but if you are offended then I will make no apologies. This is my blog and I will write and say what I please. I am not afraid to exercise my freedom of speech. If you've known me for any amount of time(and really know me) then you already know; I'm real. I say what I mean and I don't sugarcoat. My true feelings are always shared; infact, phoniness drives me crazy! If you still have a problem with my blog then you have the right to not visit my blog again.
Now, here are some concerns regarding my previous post:
1) The video that I spoke of is said to be quite tasteful and should not have offended me -First, I did not say anywhere in my post that I was offended by the video nor did I oppose to its' tastefulness. The point that I was addressing with the video is that it was very misleading. While the General Superintendent insisted that he was not going to endorse any candidate, the video went on to show a series of pictures and words urging every Christian to vote pro-life. It would have been just as suggestive if the video had showed pictures of people dying during the war and then urge Christians to vote to end the war. Most Americans know where each candidate stand on the issue of pro-life and ending the war.
2) Once again I will not reconsider the motivation in the showing of the video in any church I believe that Pastors should not tell anyone or even suggest to anyone which candidate they should vote for. We all have the right to choose for ourselves and using the art of suggestion in a video to persuade members of the congregation to choose one way or the other is in my opinion tactless and wrong. I agree that instead everyone should pray and vote the way their heart leads them to. Today, I was watching a program "Faith & Politics" on CNN and they interviewed 2 different Pastors (one supporting McCain and one supporting Obama) and they were both giving valid reasons as to why Christians should vote for their ideal candidate. They each had a different perspective. The program even interviewed a Catholic woman who said that every Christian should vote for McCain and then they showed a Christian man saying that he was voting for Obama because he believes that Obama was better for the country overall. This just goes to show that there are many differing opinions out there. This is why I believe that the church and their leaders should stay out of politics and stop telling people that they will not endorse any candidate but continue to show videos, write on their blogs and facebook and myspace about their enthusiasm for a certain candidate. People don't need the pressure; they have minds of their owns. They can think and vote on their own.