could ron paul save my relationship with my brother?

first and foremost: go see lions for lambs.
the last movie i saw that moved me in a similar fashion was passion of the christ.

13 days ago my brother sent me a this video with a question in the subject line: "What is a just war?" And in the body of his email, "This is the kind of Christianity that has my respect."

When my brother first mentioned Ron Paul to me as a presidential candidate I told him that a man who spoke such wisdom and advocated such policies would have no chance of making it to the white house. In place of getting my hopes up concerning policy, I would rather place my money on a safe bet. Then I thought. And I said to myslef, "You know what safe bets are? They're safe. Paul Revere wasn't safe. Martin Luther King wasn't safe. Jesus wasn't safe. The safe bet is generally made in fear or out of complacency."

"Is he safe?" "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver... "Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

So I researched. Sometimes I hate researching. I reminds me of school and I hated school. I just want the information to magically appear in my head. How very American of me, no? This man seems to have every answer right. The inner revolutionary in me that years for something to fight for, the hippie that craves love and world peace, alongside the colonial british transplant that is fighting for every inch of freedom and everything that comes with the word, is touched every time I hear this man speak. If we are America and we want to be "free" in the constitutional sense of the world, to live as I feel our forefathers intended, than i feel there is no question: Ron Paul is the man for the job. So what has been my hesitation in believing in him? I mean, I have obviously made the decision to vote for him if given a chance, but what was it that always made me reserved on the issue? I mean, he's the first candidate in my entire LIFE who has sparked my interest. The first politician I've WANTED to see in office. So where does the hesitation come from? He makes me feel like the sixties never ended, or that any moment the Minute Men are going to come marching over the bunker...So what is the fear?

This video is my fear. Christianity. I'm scared because he's a Christian. All these men who have been presidents committing adultery, conspiracy, war...Christians. I mean, not that it's anything new. We humans have been judging, killing, enslaving, eradicating, opressing, debasing, and just generally ruining this planet and our futures "in the name of God" since the church began to, for lack of a better term, become homogeneous with the rest of society circa 4 AD. Pre-Constantine Christians were persecuted for their beliefs...but as Christians began to assume positions of power and political authority it seems things took a sharp turn from Jesus' teachings as it became Christians who persecute, judge, mock, and ridicule others. I know I'm guilty. I judge. But our president should be above that........right?!

No. Humans. We are all humans. In his book Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller tells how he had to realize he himself possesses the capacity to murder. Are not murderers humans? And is he not a human? Am I not a human? Humans. Presidents. I feel I have spent a decent amount of time trying to understand President Bush. I can remember saying in High School that I took comfort in knowing our president talked to God when he laid down to sleep at night. Do I think that President Bush is fighting the war "in the name of God"? No, I do not. I personally believe he is a simple man with a kind disposition who got dealt a tough lot with a tough congress operating on a government system that is almost two hundred years off track, deeply embedded in the trenches of double-standards, self-righteousness, pride, and gain. I remember what September 12th was like. I remember we as American people calling for the eradication of terrorism from this planet. My honest opinion? Maybe if we had transparent policies with a non-biased media I could form an honest, informed opinion on the matter.

How does this pertain to President Bush's faith? I guess no differently than on any other president who served as a believer. On a personal level, for the president as a man, a friend, a neighbor: I hurt for him. Especially President Bush. I would not know how to find a place in my heart and mind to handle what this man and his family must be handling. How do I feel about these men as representations of America, the home of the free and the brave? Honestly? I am ashamed. Not for him or in him as an individual, but in myself, in the church, in the ability of Christians across the globe to not just accurately PROFESS what we believe, but to BACK what we believe in KNOWLEDGE and DEED. Two areas where I feel my generation, myself strongly included in this, continue to fail. (This is the part where I reference Lions for Lambs, but you're going to go see it so I'm just going to say, you know, the part with the professor and the student where you realize you're the student and wonder what the hell you're going to do about it.)

So the video. I knew that Ron Paul is a believer. I didn't want to think about it. Another president that talks about God and prayer as nothing more than a third party to his personal activities and policy decisions. This video is full of Ron Paul articulating his faith in a way I have yet to hear another politician do. And it has sparked a hope in me as to what he believes as a Christian. And what that could mean for the presidency. And America.

And that, my friends, is scary. Because this makes him an even more dangerous bet. God has had enough poor representation in the world. But Ron Paul has been saying the same things for the past twenty years...who knows. Who knows. But I do know that for the first time in six years my brother is actually serious about spending time with me. Do I attribute that to age? His life changing? Me growing up? I doubt it. Oddly enough, I think I have this man to thank.

So here he is, the man who has sold me on his policy and the man who has me scared stiff in the hope that he really can walk the walk as he talks the talk of his faith.



PS The Just War Theory is something that has been around since Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, a structure for deciding when it is acceptable to resort to armed force and what is acceptable under that situation. If you'd like to read more, I encourage you to research it.