Obama criticism and the egotists

Voting under the Influence is no fan of the policies of President Obama. Further, it is right and acceptable for people to criticize the President of the United States. However, just as people on the fringe left went too far when they joked about hoping Bush would choke on another pretzel or Cheney's pacemaker would malfunction, so called Christians who "pray" for President Obama by offering a reference to Psalms 109:8 go too far. Their so called prayers are not reflective of conservatives or Christians.

Those promoting the Psalms 109:8 prayer are putting such on t shirts, baseball caps and other items. According to the Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible, Psalms 109:8 states, "May his days be few; may another seize his goods."



Indeed, the 109th Psalm of King David is about David lamenting about his enemies who lied about him and attacked him maliciously. There is an historical context to consider. Verses in it call for David's enemy's wife to become a widow and for David's enemy's children to be fatherless and left destitute. Pastors reading might cringe, but King David was basically saying, "Okay, God, you put me in this job, now help me deal with these people who are full of it and out to get me."

Those who pray for such for President Obama seem to forget the New Covenant that was created through Jesus Christ. Christ did not pray for the personal demise of Herod or the Roman Governor, men who were certainly his political foes at the time. Taking the 109th Psalm of David out of its context and ignoring the teachings of Christ that followed is misguided.

Further, it is misguided for anyone claiming to be Christian or conservative to embrace such a thing. Christian values are about compassion. Conservative political values are about protecting people by giving them freedom. The teachings of Christ and the ideas espoused by the likes of Goldwater and Reagan do not allow for such ignorant and hateful notions.

Barack Obama is the President of the United States. As such, Obama is owed respect due to the office he holds, and owed vigorous thoughtful opposition to his political policies by those who disagree. Barack Obama is also a human being. As a human being, no one who understands what being a Christian, or even just a good person, is about, would pray or wish harm to him or his family. Indeed, conservatives fight daily for people not to be harmed personally or professionally for conservative views in academia or the media.

Anyone who is so opposed to President Obama that they wish the man and his family personal harm does not know what being a Christian or a Conservative is. They are as lost as the far left activists and other extremists. Like those other extremists, the people who pray for Obama's personal demise are egotists.

For years, we have seen the actions of the left egotists. Oppose gay marriage and work in show business and people work to destroy your career and personal life, for example. Now, the right egotists are getting in on the action. Left or right, if you believe that your point of view about things should prevail to the point in which you pray, hope or work for the PERSONAL demise of your opponent and his family, then you have a problem far beyond political wins and losses.

In sum, if you want to criticize the President's political policies and acts, I am with you. If you want to poke fun at the President, I am with you. If you pray for his and his family's personal demise, I am calling you an egotistical nutcase, and demanding you refrain from calling yourself a conservative, Christian or Republican.