Change
By George C. Stewart
2008

January, 2008: What is meant by Change? That seems to be one of the magic words thrown about on the national political scene today. This single word has the power to excite people—even to the point of fainting at the mere appearance of a "change-agent."

With so much excitement over "change," I thought it behooved me to check my dictionary. There I found several meanings, including: "To cause to be different, alter, abandon, and to go from one phase to another."

As I sit before my computer composing this letter there is a change taking place outside my house. It has changed from cloudy to rain. And, according to the weather report, another change is to take place this evening—from rain to freezing rain. Now that is change, but in the minds of most of us it’s not good change. Cloudy is OK. Rain is OK. Even a little snow wouldn’t be too bad. But not freezing rain.

According to the Weather Channel there will be another change in a few days—to a little sunshine and warmer. Now I consider that good change. So—isn’t it fair to say that change can be either good or bad?

Therefore, when someone—especially a politician—keeps harping on "change," I would like to ask for some specifics. For example, if this person has in mind "to cause to be different," I want to know what is going to be different, and in what way. If the same person intends to "alter" something, please let me know what he/she is going to alter. Is it the Constitution or the carpet in the Oval Office? If this candidate plans to "abandon" something, please let me know before I vote.

During the days of Old Testament Israel the people clamored for a king—they wanted "change" (1 Samuel 8:5). They wanted to change their government from God-rule to man-rule. God warned them of the consequences (1 Samuel 8:9-18). They insisted, God relented, and they paid the price. There is nothing new about people learning lessons the hard way.

My dictionary gives another definition for "change": "To exchange for or replace by another, usually of the same kind or category." Could this be the real message of those promising so much "change"?

It seems to this writer that a wise course for a voter is to ask the one promising all this "change": "Please explain "change."

November 2008: Now we get Change. The election of 2008 is over and apparently the US citizens were not concerned enough to ask what the candidate meant by "change."

Now that the "change-agent" has been elected to the highest office in our land it may be too late to ask what he means. But I would like to place before you some remaining questions in my mind.

Will Bill Ayers become the Secretary of Education? Will preacher Jeremiah Wright reemerge as the President’s "spiritual leader?" Will Tony Rezko become Secretary of Housing and Urbane Development? Will Acorn become the official Democrat party "watchdog" for overseeing the Elections Commission? Will Michelle Obama become White House Chief of Staff?

Will the new President actually do as he promised?

1. Sit down one-on-one with Iran’s president and negotiate peace?
2. End the war in Iraq in 16 months?
3. Put the coal companies out of business?
4. Alter the US Constitution to allow the government to adopt more socialized programs?
5. Nominate US Supreme Court Judges who will do more social engineering?
6. Raise taxes?
7. Give 95% of Americans a tax rebate?
8. Bring both parties together to work in harmony?

We have all heard that one should be careful what they prayer for. Maybe we should add: "Be careful who you vote for."

Our country was founded on the principles of Freedom. Make a note to check how many freedoms we lose from 2008 and 20012 or 2016.