You are Known by the Company You Keep.

You are Known by the Company You Keep.

**********************

Obama had North Carolina wrapped up. He had a lock on the primary election Tuesday. Now, that is questionable.

Why? Obama’s pastor, or should I say, former pastor… and there are already some rumblings about his NEW pastor.

When I was a kid, one of the many things my parents drilled into me, in hopes of building a man with character, was this: “You are known by the company you keep.” It took. Lots of what my long suffering parents tried to teach me DID NOT STICK… but this one did! I was very particular about whom I chose as friends and associates as a teen and on into manhood. It kept me out of a lot of trouble I most certainly would have gotten into had those words not echoed in my mind then… and even today.

It has been the root cause of decisions I have made which have angered some people, some members of my family, and close friends. But, I am comfortable with my decisions as to associates…. and leaving the church.

Did I just say: “leaving the church?” Yes, I did!

I left a church and a denomination of which I had been a member since the late 1960’s. I loved that church and that denomination. The pastors and I were friends, fishing buddies, and such. Then came the church’s decision to turn left and drop it’s conservative interpretation of the scriptures, and even adopt so much of the political left’s philosophy, that I could not stay. Well, I could have stayed … and been miserable. And I was miserable. Finally, I made the decision to leave that church and that denomination. Friends and family were, and many remain, upset with me over that decision. But, I would do the same thing over given the same set of circumstances.

The point here is: yes, it is a difficult thing to leave a church you love if you do not agree with where that church is headed. But, a man’s character dictates that he do the right thing… and that, in my case, was to leave. It would have been wrong of me to remain in that church and try to worship. In fact it was impossible. I was, as I say, miserable.

So, why did, and why does, Obama remain a member of his church? He must agree with what is preached there. He must, else wise his character would dictate that he leave. He has not. He remains a member.

That fact has not escaped the attention of the North Carolina Democrat voters. Add to that the rather peculiar machinations of his former pastor, and current pastor, and the folks in the Tar Heel State have begun pushing away from Obama in droves.
Obama may still win the Democrat Primary tomorrow, here in NC, but the margin of victory, if indeed he does win, will be much closer than it need have been.

There is expected to be a huge turnout for the primary tomorrow. I expect there will. Obama will, as we said above, in all likelihood, win the democratic primary. Of course, McCain will win the GOP Primary. McCain will do it without my vote. This is another decision of mine, which has my family at my throat. Tough! I intend to do what I must do and be able to look at myself in the mirror the next morning as I scrape the whiskers from that well-worn old face.

It seems to me, the dye is cast in the choice of a nominee for the Democratic Party. Obama, it now appears, will take it all. The democrats are beside themselves with unbridled joy, even though Obama has about as much chance of winning the Presidency as he does of rolling a snowball clear across hell in the middle of August. So, my vote of “no confidence” in McCain should not hurt him at all in November.

Longstreet


Filed under:

conservative+politics+Obama+NC