Casting My Vote

So much is being said about both presidential candidates- what they have or have not supported; how they voted; where they've come from and where everyone seems to think they are going.

For some, this is an election based on the economy and how the ramifications of the declining markets and stocks have come quickly knocking on their mortgage-burdened homes.

For some, this is an election about change (I am so tired of that word- can we have a one year moratorium on that word after this election?). They feel it is best to get rid of one party and bring in another.

For others, this is an election about making history, which will be easily done for either party that wins the election.

And for others still, this is an election about all of those things and all of the other issues we are facing in this country.

For me, this is an election about the sanctity of life that must be preserved and fought for and that is why I am voting for John McCain.

This is not a post to attack where you stand on this election.

This is not a post to slander or ridicule Barack Obama and his ideas for our country. I applaud anyone who is willing to subject themselves to the rigors of a presidential election and I'll be the first to agree that he definitely has the ability to deliver a speech well and rally his supporters.

Actually, this is not even a post to toot the horn of John McCain.

This is a post to tell you why I believe in the necessity of preserving the sanctity of life. I am opposed to stem cell research and I am opposed to abortion. Barack Obama supports both of these acts and has relegated the act of abortion as a woman's "reproductive choice."

We are nothing more than savages as a nation if we allow the lives of unborn children to be ended by elective procedures. Yes, I understand that some abortions happen after the mother is a victim of a crime of rape or incest. As a woman, I can imagine nothing more devastating than having either of these things happen to me and my body. But please, please do not tell me that it is still okay to murder (yes, I said it- murder) an innocent baby under these circumstances.

There are many couples who are eagerly, if not desperately, waiting to adopt a baby into their family. We have friends at church who are in that position right now- they are waiting for a birth mother to pick them to raise the baby she is carrying.

Click here for an article written by John Piper, the pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN- both Simple Guy and I attended this church when we lived there. In this article, Pastor Piper states that the endorsement of the right to kill unborn children disqualifies a person from any position in public office. Please give it a read even if you hate the fact that it is written by a pastor.

For an overview about stem cell research and the plausible alternative to it, please go here.

I cannot, in my God-given conscience, elect someone to the highest office in our nation- a nation that was founded on Judeo-Christian values- who thinks it is okay to take the lives of those who have no voice.

I am not naive- I know that our economy is weakening and that the housing market is plummeting. I know that some of my neighbors are losing their jobs and that powerful and important companies are closing their doors. I get that.

I get the fact that we, as Americans, have bought into a lie that we deserve anything we want, regardless if we cannot afford it or not. I get that there some real greedy people running powerful companies have been brokering bad deals just so they can pad their pockets with a few more bucks because they too, believed they deserve anything we want. It's a vicious cycle, really.

I know that some people are worried sick about what will become of them when retirement comes or are in need of health coverage.

There are so many issues of which to base my vote on, but as I said, God has impressed upon me the need to vote for the person who believes in the sanctity of human life. It would be difficult for me to profess Christ if I knew I was not doing everything in my power to ensure that those who have no voice are being considered and treated with the same rights and respect we enjoy as those who got a shot of being in our mother's womb and then made it outside of the womb.