Why Christians should vote for Obama

I am a politically liberal person. I am a intellectually and socially liberal person. I am a aesthetically and entertainingly liberal person. With that said, it should not come as a surprise that I have chosen to vote for Barack Obama.

For the most part, the people I spend the majority of my time with have also chosen to vote for Senator Obama. However, there are still a few hold outs. (I state this to illustrate that I do actually associate with ignorant people, by choice even.)

I grow weary of political discourse, I find that it so often becomes a circular argument which ends by everyone leaving with their original views in tact and frequently refurbished. So I will leave "generic politics" out of this. I would like to state, for the record, why as a Christian I have chosen to lend my support...and why others should too.

1. Universal healthcare. Jesus calls us to take care of the poor, the weak, the downcast, the sinner. He requested that we minister to the prisoners and take care of the widows. As I recall, there was not a stipulation of "as long as it does not raise your taxes." In fact, the way I see it, He probably wants it to come out of our pocket. If this country truly was based on Christian principles (which I will contend at another time), then the church shouldn't be the only one doling out lettuce for those 'in need.'

2. End the war. These people are our enemies, they hurt us and hate us. When Jesus told us to love our enemies, he probably didn't mean for us to kill them. "Well, they don't listen to reason," "They are just hurting themselves," you might say. In response, I would like to quote this scripture:
"And if after you go to your brother he does not change his ways, bomb him."

3. Hope, change, together we can. These phrases are often harped upon as being vague, meaningless jingles tossed about by the campaign. Even if that is true - what's the harm in talking about hope? What is the real shame in a man who is looking to bring a country together for good...even if the plan doesn't seem feasible?
You want a man who is vague - try someone who promises a future in things we can't see, touch or taste. Try following a movement based solely on "faith," then tell me that you can't behind someone who offers hope for the future.

4. Experience. Jesus likes youth. He calls us to be like children, to approach the world with eyes full of potential and wonder. He encourages us to listen to our elders so that we can learn - but not to wait until we are elders ourselves to do things. From what I can tell, Obama has surrounded himself with people full of experience - and listens to their recommendations.

These are not the only reasons I am voting. I think Obama has solid policy, sound advice, a great wife, and an awesome brain in that head of his.

Now - someone tell me what about this is wrong.

Pizza, pizza, pizza

I have always been a fan of advertising. I am the guy who watches commercials and reads billboards. In many ways, I am an ideal consumer - if 4 out of 5 doctors recommend Colgate Total over the leading brand of toothpaste, I'm in.

IMO, one of the most fascinating forms of advertisement has always involved humans acting in the place of signposts. The sandwich board, the flyer-passer-outer, and, one of my all time favorites, the Little Caesars Pizza board-boy.

Searcy, my hometown, has gone through a wide variety of pizza-board boys. From the dancing guy (who made the front page of the Daily Citizen) to the potentially-unscrupulous implementation of a quadriplegic with a sign taped to his wheelchair (who spun in circles for hours upon hours).

Last week, however, I saw the spade that trumps them all...a heavy metal air guitar playing pizza-board boy, playing a guitar-shaped (factory made) sign. The radicity of this is not in the mere fact that Ilitch Holdings, Inc. decided to mass produce the "$5" sign in the shape of a guitar...the real faculty is the man behind the (cardboard) machine.

At the NE corner of Park and Perkins a wild-haired whippersnapper wields his ax with relentless domination. Though his headphones are nearly invisible in the mop of curly locks, they are inevitably pumping power chords, which surge through the boy's body and are lavished in a flurry of windmills and high-kicks. Spectators be damned, this future-thrasher has dedicated his entirety to the task at hand...rocking out.

Due to a flat tire, I had the opportunity to watch this jamfest for a non-stop 20 minutes (through the window of the tire store on the corner). Such a spectacle should be praised not only for the commitment to the job, but for the raw force behind the commitment.

If you are driving past the board-jammer on Park and Perkins, give a little honk...though he certainly won't hear you.

Rock on Pizza Boy, rock on.