To sum it all up

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Enough already

I've grown tired of myself today. So fired up trying to understand all these politic matters that I fear that I've become way too outspoken and even a little harsh sounding. Not my intention. Sorry. I just really, really wanna figure it out.

My sweet friend Jeff sent me this Derek Webb video. It sums it up pretty well. So, here we go, I'm gonna give the last word to Mr. Webb and I'll go home now, remembering tomorrow's important decisions in prayer tonight.

Love to all.

Maybe I'm doing something right...

Sorry, only in Swedish...

Hittade en webbversion av klassiska Myers-Briggs personlighetstestet. Läskigt att man tycker att man svarar helt random och ändå verkar det alltid landa ganska rätt. Även om de konsekvent tycks beskriva en som en vackrare tyå än man är...

Testa själv!

Quick! Shut your eyes! I'm gonna write an ugly word...

Ok, are you ready? Here it comes. Socialism. There. I said. it. Scary, huh?

I will get off this election topic pretty soon but there is just one more thing that I can't help but being... amused and scared about. (amused and scared, btw, seem to be the emotion of the week). It seems, when I read through blogs and media, that one of the worst things you can call Obama is socialist. Really? Anyone read anything about socialism recently? Yeah, yeah, ok, I don't want another Soviet or a North Korea, I've never voted for a party entirely dedicated to the socialistic ideas from the beginning of the last century. And I do believe that the people forming those ideas aren't too keen on the modern versions of it carried out in parts of the east either. But, seriously, the idea of sharing? Of trying to make sure that even the less fortunate get the protection they need to live a better life? The idea of us carrying our country forward together? Is that really such a scary thing? Would a little more shared responsibility hurt us? Anyhow... is a word describing those ideas the worst thing ever to call a political opponent? Funny.

I live in a country, run by a right wing government btw (even though left wing in the States is still really on the right of the right here...) , where the taxes are higher than in most other countries in the world. And guess what? I like it. Cause, if I get run over by a car on my way home today, i get all the medical care that I need, for free. And that goes for the homeless man in the street as well. No insurance needed. And if I would one day chose to have a baby, either me or my husband could stay at home with our kid for at least a year - a year and a half (and seriously, most of Swedish men are home with their babies for about six months, that's quite cool), and it's paid for. School is free. University is free. No expensive college funds and no locking you out of education cause your parents weren't rich enough. Socialism? Well, then so be it.

Poverty is heading it's way to Sweden too. The rich are becoming richer and the less fortunate are losing more and more. Gaps are getting wider. People are buying private insurances and pay money at private clinics to get out of long lines at the hospitals. Nothing I'm proud of, I'd rather have us going the other direction.

In a book called The Bible it says:

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had... There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

Dunno for sure, but it seems to me that sharing is a biblical thing. (And if you do wanna state that the particular quote is about church, not state, then I wanna state that so are the rest of the Bible too... Like the Biblical views on homosexuality... So... you can toss and turn everything around forever. And as usual... I'm thinking out loud...)

Anyhow. Socialism or not. I've read so many blogs from Christians these past couple of days, stating that increasing taxes and take more responsibility together would be ungodly. I actually, just minutes ago, received an email from someone I don't know, but who has my email address for work reasons, who pleaded to all the 2000 receivers of the mail to vote republican to make sure there wouldn't be a man with socialistic ideas running the country. (The woman also compared Obama to HItler while stating he was muslim, it was very... amusing and scary...)

Hey, folks, I know I keep on raving about how critical I am about all this... I don't know. I'm not sure who would better run the United States of America. I don't know if it makes a difference. I'm not a devoted democrat, nor do i despise republicans. There are just some of these few little details, blown out of proportions, that I'm very skeptical about. So.. I just use my own little Internet soapbox to... write about it a bit.

Good luck tomorrow, guys. We'll stay up all night and follow the results. Amused. And scared.

There she stands. Really?

He can do it with the Swedish flag too...



So, I'm so in to this election thing right now... I can't help it. It is entertaining. It is scary. It raises sooo many questions.

Most of us over here try to understand and grasp how so many Christians in America can be such hard core patriots... I mean, sure, if that is what you want then... go ahead. But, I just don't get it.

The author, and really cool person, Shane Claiborne says in his book Jesus for president that, even though it might surprise a lot of Americans, The US of A is never once mentioned in the Bible. Ha. In fact... Most countries aren't. And that is ok by most of us. Christian people around the world separate the Kingdom of God from the geographical kingdom they are living in. Why not so in America? Please, sweet US citizens explain this to me. Why is the flag so important? You treat it like it's way more than a symbol of the place you live in. You even join in with Mr Smitty in almost singing worship songs to the thing. A while back the head pastor of the Crystal Cathedral (a very strange place in itself if you wanna deal with modesty and stuff...) held a sermon pretending he WAS the flag. And a gigantic striped banner thing was lowered from the ceiling IN FRONT of the cross... Hm, don't get it. It's a piece of cloth to me. As is the Swedish flag.
And the national hymn thing. We have one too. We sing it at sports event sometimes. And at graduations. It's a pretty sweet little song, with weird lyrics. It makes me think of summer. I have no idea if our prime minister likes it or not. I couldn't care less.

Hey, what I'm saying is.... I know there are things I don't understand and I'm acting more stupid than I am here... And I know that I haven't been sending my husband or brother out in a war and I can't imagine what that must feel like. But sometimes I wish my American friends could take a little tour around the world and see how Christians in other countries deal with flag and patriotism. Cause I sincerely can't see why getting in a war for my earthly country would give me extra points in any way on my way to heaven. And I can't see why that would make me a better president. The same way I can't see why it is even a subject if the leader of my country sings a certain songs on a regular basis or not.

I might be stupid. Feel very free to explain it to me. And all of my friends stating other opinions regardless of church statements, record sales and radio plays (and possibly lifelong condemnation... :). Thank you!