Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Change America

Okay, it was disastrous.  Half of the voters chose Barack Obama as President for a second term.  President Obama came out with a sizable lead in electoral votes over Governor Romney.  In Pennsylvania, not only did we go Blue for President, but Senator Casey (D) easily won re-election and the state row offices all went to Democrats.  Disastrous.

This morning after- I am disgusted, discouraged, and disillusioned.  I know, my Democrat friends, you are elated and that is understandable.

As is always the case, the losing party in the presidential sweepstakes immediately begins introspection and finger pointing. The media will soon develop a narrative (they do no news anymore) of how the Republican Party did everything wrong and the Democrat Party had all the right moves.  We know that is not true, and the same narrative was wrong when Bush was winning elections.

The country continues to be deeply divided.  Since the close election in 2000 brought the template of Red States and Blue States, our nation suffers from clearly different visions of what we want for our federal government.

I admit that I grow increasingly distant from the half that wants a government that cares for them and  controls me.  I grow increasingly bewildered that we ask for or accept our federal government to do things that are extra-constitutional.  I think our founders must be spinning in their graves.

There will be much written and said in the coming weeks and months as conservatives examine what went wrong and liberals gloat.  My first thought is that we have reached the tipping point and America has chosen to willfully ignore the Constitution, has renounced Capitalism, and dismissed adherence to a wholesome morality.  Harsh words. Maybe I will moderate them with time, but that is the way it looks right now.

Already I hear the genius talking heads suggest that the Republican Party must change with the times or it will be relegated to a permanent minority party (again, this is always recommended to the loser of the presidential contest).  They must reach out to minorities, particularly Latinos. They must stop the war on women and foolish talk about contraceptives.  They must stop supporting big business over the 99 percent. And so with the caricature of the the Republican Party.

So the Republican Party should change what they stand for to counter the gross misrepresentation of what they stand for?  That is how you become more relevant and a winning party? And if half (or more) of the country believes the Constitution is no longer relevant, or that what we need not defend the innocent unborn should we change?

No my friends, we do not need to moderate or change our defense of the Constitution, of Life, or of Capitalism.  We need to change America.  Too many of our fellow-citizens are ignorant of our founding principles, the utter genius of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  Too many of our citizens are adrift morally, having rejected Christianity.  (Our founders cautioned that the Republic is only suited to a moral people, and that without a religious people it would not hold together.)  How sad it is today that success is suspect or outright ridiculed and morality is mocked.

Yes, times have changed and perhaps it has passed the Republican Party by.  But we do not need to change for the times.  We need to change America, or we will lose her.