Change

This blogger largely tries to stay away from politics for the simple reason that if he directed his attention for a very long period of time there what appeared on the screen might appear to be less than charitable and certainly give him cause to frequent the confessional more often than he already does. Nevertheless, as Mr. Obama now appears to have the Democratic nomination well in hand, it seems appropriate to address one of the cornerstones of his message because it reflects an interesting phenomena in the American culture.

Change is what this relatively young man calls for. And he's not just looking for three quarters, two dimes, and a nickel. No, Obama has firmly planted his flag in the heart of the American psyche that knows deep down that something is not as it should be. Secular America hungers for a savior. And one must say secular for though a large number of her citizenry lays claim to Christianity as their religion their values definitely stray a good distance from Christ and His Church.

For one to effectively change then one needs to know exactly what one is leaving behind. That important element is something few Americans have really given much thought to. They simply believe that anything would be better than what the status quo is today. Were he to be elected, Mr. Obama would be the least experienced President of these United States ever elected to office. How willing is America to roll the dice on a candidate whose best quality is scripted oration? The fact that he has been able to lure so many speaks loudly of a nation that starves for salvation or at the very least a genuine purpose for existence.

This is a dangerous time in the nation's history. In the 1930's, an Austrian immigrant to Germany convinced enough people that the Aryan race was the master race of all mankind. He caught the masses imagination at just the right time for having been beaten and downtrodden by World War I the people of Germany were ready for wholesale change. Something, anything, would have been better than what they were experiencing. Germans were suffering from real material poverty and Hitler seemed to have a solution; though few clearly understood his final solution.

Now this is not to say that Mr. Obama is anywhere near in the same league of an Adolf Hitler. Being a smooth talker likely is as harmful as he will ever be. However, it is interesting how a desire to be lifted out of poverty moves people in a singular direction. America does not suffer a poverty of material wealth. In some ways it might be easier to understand if she did. True, the economy is stumbling, but the result of this will likely be a curbing of excess versus real pain.

No, America's destitution lies within her very soul. Unlike her European brethren countries who have suffered from their loss of Christian thought but maintained their national identity, America is quickly losing sight of who she is for her identity was founded upon the principles established by her founding fathers which included above all a belief in a loving and just Creator. Having moved out from under God, America struggles to find a core set of values that serve this one nation.

The Devil is not named George Bush. He's simply a man whose made some good decisions and some bad ones. The Messiah is not named Barack Obama. He's simply a man with a gift for public speaking. Should he win in November he, too, will have a slate of decisions to make and some will be good and some will be flawed. No president ever escapes that.

Truly it is not change that America yearns for but rather a return, or better still, a redemption. The only one who can provide that is the one who possesses the human face of God and the divine face of man...Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.