If you don't like it, move to Canada!

So, I don't really get the double standard that many people live comfortably with regarding our president.

When George W. Bush was in office there were people screaming for impeachment. Many people felt that he had forced our country into an un-winable war in Iraq, immediately after going into a war in Afghanistan that truly many Americans supported because they were outraged after 9-11. Additionally, many people were angry that the economy was imploding on itself, gas prices were rising, and this country seemed to be, in the eyes of many, collapsing into shambles. There were protest marches and outrage over the abuse of prisoners of war, and citizens proclaiming that they were ashamed to be Americans. Through it all, many staunch Republicans shouted back "He's still your President, you can't change that! Either suck it up, or move to Canada (France, Sweden, etc.)" Alternately, moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats were saying, "Yes, it's a mess, but we can't change the President yet, and that might not even help, so let's vote wisely in other elections and be as involved as we can in the democratic process."

Now, there is outrage at Barak Obama. People are upset that he's not wholly experienced at being a diplomat on the world stage, others are outraged at the chaos that is going on with the bailout money, and some are becoming disenchanted, feeling that all the promises he made on the campaign trail are being thrown to the wayside. Honestly, he's successfully made pretty much every party angry in some way since he took office. He still has some staunch supporters who truly believe is incapable of mistake, and he has staunch opponents who truly believe that he is incapable of doing anything right. These attitudes are typical of any administration, I think, but seem to be more extreme than usual due to the extremes that our country is facing. What strikes me as odd though, is that the people who shouted about needing to support Pres. Bush because he was President, are now just as boisterously shouting "Obama isn't my President! I'm ashamed that he was elected by this country that I love!" Really? Not even a year into this administration you have changed your tune about supporting the President as President? Really?

What frightens me most is that Christians tend to be the ones speaking out the loudest and harshest. We are the ones who are supposed to pray for our leaders, acknowledging that God has placed them in the position of power for a reason. Do we forget so easily that God created the heavens and the Earth? He knows who our President is at all times and is using that person for His glory, whether they are His or not. Does that mean that wars are for His glory? No, but what those wars cause in people's hearts could be. Does that mean the economic collapse brings glory to God? No, but people might be more willing to admit their out ineptness when they realize they have no control in their life. We need to pray for wisdom for our leaders; we wouldn't want their jobs and we wouldn't want to try to figure out this mess. We need to remember that even if we don't like our leaders, or their decisions, we still have to remember the God can use even this present age of our country to shape us into better images of Himself!

Really didn't need to see that....

There's a recurring trend on the internet that is starting to really disturb me, and I don't quite understand why it's taking off. People have started posting ultrasound pictures of their baby's genitalia. Why do people think that this is appropriate behavior? If they posted similar pictures on the internet once the child is born they would get in big trouble for child pornography. Do they think that people don't believe them when they excitedly proclaim the gender of the child after the ultrasound and thus need to provide photographic evidence?

Don't get me wrong, I like seeing the progressive ultrasound pictures as much as anyone else. It's exciting to see the baby growing; to partake in the excitement of the expectant mother to some extent. When people find out the gender they are typically very excited and like sharing the information, and as an outsider you start think of which parent the little one will look most like. The whole process of babies coming into the world is fabulous and everyone who even has contact with the parents gets a little bit of sharing in the process.

The real issue I have though with these scandalous pictures is what would you say, as an adult, if you found out that your parents had proudly posted pictures of your tender vittles on the internet for the whole world to see? Maybe I'm just a prude, but I think I would be a little embarrassed. I mean the goofy pictures my mom took of me in the bathtub are a little bad, but at least the essential parts are covered with a washcloth. She even has pictures of us nude sunbathing in the backyard, but just the butts, and I think I was about 2 years old. I don't know specifically where people are supposed to draw the line, and maybe some would say that the pics my mom took of us were scandalous, but perhaps we should provide the same amount of decency for the children waiting to be born as we would for ourselves.