Hillary Clinton is a Human Being

I have been described as an ultra conservative and a member of the vast right wing conspiracy.  I am a Republican, a conservative Christian and the head of an international pro-family organization.  As I type those titles and labels I do so thinking of the millions of people who would say that these things are strikes against me.  I think someone like Hillary Clinton might even be one of the people that would think that way.  I don't know.

Hillary won't be my pick for President should she be one of the candidates I have to choose from come next November.  There isn't much I agree with her on where public policy is concerned.  Like so many Americans, the very thought of her causes strong emotions and opinions to well up within me.  I have stated many times to friends that I don't like her.  The truth is that I don't know her.  So, a more honest assessment would be, I don't like what I know about her politically.

On the other hand, I have to give her credit for the things she has accomplished.  She was once the most successful lawyer in Arkansas.  She is unbelievably smart.  She was the first lady of Arkansas and of America and served tirelessly beside her husband during all of those administrations.  Hillary Clinton became a Senator and is now running for President.  No slouch accomplishes all of these things.

Ironically, when I made an appointment with Senator Hillary Clinton's office last year senior level staffers were assigned to that meeting.  When I walked in, presumably as a member of the enemy camp, I was warmly welcomed, greeted and treated the entire time.  I am sure her staff hated my position on the issues I was discussing with them, but they were consummate professionals and treated me with the utmost respect.  I have been in hundreds of offices on the Hill and not all Republican ones treat me like they did.  Whatever the reason for their demeanor, I appreciated and believed it genuine.

Regardless of her accomplishments and my opinion of her politics, however, I must unequivocally denounce the names she is being called by fellow Republicans, especially those who are followers of Christ.  I have gotten one too many emails with bumper stickers calling her a bitch.  And, I was very disappointed when Senator McCain failed to stand up for a fellow Senator, Presidential rival and woman last month when one of his supporters asked, "How do we beat the bitch?"

I am sick of politics in general, but most assuredly dirty politics.  I am tired of the name calling.  We are a country very divided when it comes to social issues, policy, the war and so many other things.  But, we are nonetheless all Americans living in the greatest country in history. 

I hope Hillary Clinton doesn't become President of the United States, but if she does then I have an obligation to respect her office, authority and to pray God's very best for her.  She is, after all, a human being, a wife and a mother.  I can imagine how her daughter must feel when she hears people calling her mom these names.  I can also imagine how non-Christians feel when they see Christians calling Hillary Clinton a bitch---turned off to Christians and Christianity and skeptical of the God we serve.

If you don't like Hillary, don't vote for her.  But, for goodness sake, have some respect.

Comments

[Norm!]

Thank you for calling on your fellow Republicans to tone-down the rhetoric against Hillary. While I understand many conservatives disagree with her politics, I don't understand why so many hate her (or what they think she represents). I can't help but think that a bias against her gender underlies the hatred.

That said, I have to disagree with your use of the "pro-family" label. I'm pro-family too and don't know anyone who is anti-family. Why not just be honest and say you're "anti-gay-marriage"?

[Anonymous]

"I don't understand why so many hate her (or what they think she represents)."

You haven't studied her record, obviously. Just scan some anti-Hillary sites, like stophillary.com and others.

[Karen K]

I really appreciate your sensibility in this post Alan. I was just thinking about Hillary this week and realizing I know so little about her. So much of politics is in soundbites. I can develop a negative reaction to various organizations or people based on media. Yet, media is so skewed. Very few of us actually take the time to do the serious research required to get past all the caricaturizing. I'm not sure many Christians even know what Hillary thinks on most issues. They just assume it must be "bad" because that is what they have heard through the grapevine.

[Randy]

great post Alan. I completely agree.

Thanks for your honest candor and integrity.

[Jack Yan]

Well said, Mr Chambers. Even if we disagree with Sen. Clinton there is no reason to debase ourselves by name-calling. We have other civilized avenues through which we can show our disapproval: in your country, at the ballot; in mine, through reasoned argument and persuasion.

[Brenna Kate]

Well-said! And I also have to give her my respect for forgiving her husband for his infidelity and reconciling their marriage.

[Brad]

Thank you for bringing a pleasant note to a very ugly political season.

Blessings

[Monica]

Amen to that! Christians have be be Christ-like in all we do and treat people with love and respect, in a way that reflects Jesus.

This doesn't mean we water down the heart of the message. It doesn't mean we don't work as change agents in our communities. It means that if we win the argument but loose peole's HEARTS for Jesus and the truth we stand on in the meanwhile, we've lost everything.

Thanks for stayin' classy in a world where it's just so easy to succomb to pettiness.

God bless you!

[Fay]

Let me add to the chorus: excellent post.

[Rich Goddard]

Great post. Let us always be aware of the message we send with our words and actions.

[Eva Lounsbury]

Good word!!

[Brian]

Alan,

I don't know how to feel about you. I am a gay man in my 30's. I do not know if being gay is a choice or if I was born that way. If it is a choice (meaning internal feelings I have) I don't remember making it. There was no day in my life where I just said "hey I think I will rock the boat and be gay" Even though I didn't want to be gay.. was raised in church had an average family life it didn't go away.

Sure I can just not have sex with other men but inside my head when I am out in public or watch tv or in my dreams I find men sexually attractive and not women.

You say you are not gay anymore. Part of me thinks you know you are and just deny it...maybe even brainwashed yourself out of it some how..or maybe you were lucky and for you it was a choice.

What if some people are born gay and others do make a choice what if we are all wrong and its both.

I am not against reading ex-gay books and will because the subject interests me and will be sure to get a few from amazon.

I wish I could be in your head to hear your thoughts and see your dreams when you sleep. To see if you are 100% for real.

I don't know if I will goto hell or not.. that will be up to God. But, if I am sent to hell I will spend the rest of my days there praying to Jesus anyway.

Thanks for your time.

Brian

[Jonathan]

She just spoke at Rick Warren's church here in SoCal. The comments as reported on the local news were most interesting. One gentleman who referred to himself as ultra-conservative said that while he couldn't vote for her, he certainly wouldn't be uncomfortable were she to be elected President. Another flat out said that after hearing her speak, he might actually vote Democrat for the first time in his life.

I am not sure why certain segments hate her so much. I don't particularly think that her image is fair. My study of her (I am studying all the candidates right now) indicates that her faith is what drives her. I don't know that I'm interested in continuing the Clinton/Bush legacy, but I don't think she'd be nearly as bad a President as some on the far right want us to believe.

Thanks for your thoughts!

j.

By the way...I'm not an HRC supporter.

[Ken]

Brian, my name is Ken. I've chosen not to be identified by my temptations but by who I am In Christ, and that is a very difficult thing for me to understand and even more difficult to explain to another person. I think it may not be possible for most of us to choose our feelings, our temptations, what or who attracts or appeals to us; it may only be possible to choose our behaviors, our actions, how we are going to live; and even that is very difficult to do. The bottom line question for me is, if my need to be connected to men and my need to be connected to God and my need to be connected thru sex are really three different needs instead of just one need or just two needs, then the sex can't meet the need to be connected to other men nonsexually, and even being connected to God cannot meet my need to be connected to other men (as brothers, if you will). Then all I can do is depend on God to live His life thru my body, and that too is difficult for me to understand or to communicate to another. But I know God is alive, I know He is real, I know that God understands from His own personal human experience in Christ what the temptation to experience same-sex-attractions and the temptation to act on them feels like, that is, God has empathy for us, I know that Christ is In me and I am In Him, and He is in heaven, and I know that God alone can help me day by day to continue to be being transformed into His image by Him doing what I cannot, which is Him living His life thru my body: not the image of man vs. male, not the image of straight vs. gay, not the image of same-sex-attracted vs. opposite-sex-attracted, but only an ongoing transformation into His image. This too is difficult to understand and more so to explain, but I've tried here as best I can. My experience shows me there is no easy "fix", there is only a permanent "fix", one that is ongoing and not yet finished...and that is the Spirit of God in me, because I finally a few years ago decided to let Him come into me, and I can only say, the spiritual coming in of God is so far superior to the physical coming in of a man that I cannot even compare the two. And I can only persevere/endure/suffer/live with Him, for I no longer can persevere/endure/suffer/live without Him. I hope this helps.

[ewe]

you were doing really well until you injected Christ into your blog. Ugh. Keep your faith out of OUR secular government or you may find yourself up against other religious fantatics of different affiliations. Get smart. I am considered extremely liberal and i am not voting for that backstabbing Clinton either.

[Nick]

Cheers Alan.

[ewe]

Brian, stay clear of these people. they are not well. They hate themselves and supress their feelings by ponfificating about what they feel is a personal judgemental god. Being gay is wonderful. Accept yourself and everything else falls into place.

[Alan Chambers]

Brian,

Please feel free to email me: [email protected].

Best,

Alan

[Devlin]

From knowing Alan's story Brian, he had extemely negative religous programming as a child about homosexuality, and it stuck. Hence his move to try and change. I think being happy with a same sex partner would be next to impossible with all the guilt. Alan has said it is not easy and questions the term exgay. He has also said he struggles with homosexual thoughts even though he is living a straight "lifesyle".

The thing is, sexuality is not a lifestyle, it is the state with which you were born. You can leave a gay lifestyle but you can't leave your head, as Alan has found.

As far as "temptation" goes, do be careful. With all this hooplah about changing ones sexuality, which is impossible, you may just get "tempted" to give it a try.

The stats are very dim for such an experiment. Most simply supress. Those that say they are "straight" though they have gay feelings are bisexual or gay. This is also why the American Psychological Association does not recognize exgay religious belief based therapies as valid. And they never will.

With severe negativity it makes sense why one would try to change, it's hard to overcome childhood programming deeply imbedded. For those who had this happen, I have great compassion. Those that overcame the programming lead happy bi and gay lives. That is as it should be, that is the way it is.

Take this cultural war all with a grain of salt, as we as humans, are of many spices.

As humans,Stepford Wives, metaphorically, we are not.

Devlin

[Devlin]

PS Could you keep your conversation on the blog Alan? I respect your writing and your views. It would be interesting to hear what words you have for Brian. Also, others may benefit.

Thx

Devlin

[ewe]

Brian. This is a no brainer. You must surround yourself with gay people who enjoy their lives and are whole within themselves. These would be gay people who accept who they are. If you need any further evidence just look at the age of these exgays. If they cannot understand themselves at this late stage in life, then they have nothing to offer someone who is just coming into their own. Being gay is wonderful if that is what you are. The moment you grasp that is the moment your life blossoms and incorporates all things creating a flow that enables you to live. People like myself comment on this blog because we see those like Alan etc. in tremendous pain but cannot allow them to redefine natural and innate elements of human sexuality. Their guilt and shame and way about dealing with it is backwards and directed at their sexuality when it should be their mental health and feelings of what really is the issue for all homosexuals. That is that we are an oppressed minority. It very well may define your life struggle but don't deny who you essentially are at your core and try to change something that there is no need to change. Good luck. I have one last thing to say. If Alan Chambers is gay, he cannot be fullfilled in a heterosexual marriage. It has been tried and failed countless times. And any rhetoric that these people give you, may i suggest you replace the word gay with straight and it will then be a glaring spectacle of how rediculous this self loathing is and the catastrophic unhappiness that can result and manifest into horribe consequences.

[ewe]

And lastly, do look at the blog of Wayne Besen. He is the nemesis of Alan Chambers. He is the opposite of Alan Chambers. He is a champion fighting this retarded view that these exgays are attempting to gain acceptance for.

[Jonathan]

I haven't been sure whether to jump in regarding Brian's post. For one thing, it's not my blog. On the other hand, my heart goes out to Brian. I've been there. For years I viewed homosexuality as nothing more than a temptation that could be overcome with counselling and prayer and a right standing with God. Eventually, it took completely deconstructing my faith and asking the hard questions, being totally honest with myself before God, to come to a point where I can stand before God and say "I don't understand some things, but I know you do all things well!" I left my sexuality to God. If he chooses to change it, woo hoo! If not, woo hoo! So far, no change.

Interestingly enough, my life now looks a lot like Alans. I'm in a committed relationship. I'm a parent to an amazing little boy...a true gift from God. I do respect Alan for the choices he's made. I understand the need to make them. I know that for me, making the same choices that Alan made caused nearly irrepairable harm. I'm glad Alan hasn't experienced the same results.

I do know that what ever we do, we've got to be willing to make Christ first and foremost. Daily pursuing holiness AND peace with all because otherwise, the scripture is quite clear...we won't see the Lord.

I wish all those who struggle peace this Christmas season!

j.

[Devlin]

Alan,

I have come to realize you are an anti-gay activist. You have also said you struggle with your gay attractions. How do you resolve this within your mind, being anti-gay yet having gay attraction?

Devlin

[Devlin]

More aptly put, how do you rationalize that?

Thanks

Devlin

[EMERALD]

Good day Sir,

I am a student who is on research on how to win arguements with a fellow scientist.,Please what are your views regards to this?

Thanks in anticipation...