Why do such difficult, conflicting thoughts have to all come at the same time? I’m giving up politics ~ I’m giving up even thinking about it because I don’t know what I think, and neither do I want to be the inspiration for other posts which hold me up as the example of ”a Christian who would support the evil death-dealing Barack Obama”, however kindly. [Nobody's being mean to me, but I feel like I have set myself up as a "bad example"]. I feel very cowardly and wobbly this morning, and a big part of me wishes she had never posted ‘that’ post a few days ago. The other little part of me, which is braver, I am doing my best to sit on until she shuts up and stops squirming. I’ve not felt quite so torn and traitorous in a long time… 
So right now, I’m reading very few blogs and keeping my head down, and I’m going to concentrate on other things, and focus on stuff where I know what I am talking about, like making cupcakes and posting cute pictures.
So, signing off confused and miserable, and going away to sort this out between me and God, and decide just where I am with regards to stuff-in-general in all this confusing messiness we call life…
ps: It’s not that I don’t hear you, or won’t accept another opinion, but my head needs some space. I admit my naïvité, I started this ball rolling here after all, but I’m stopping it now and I will exercise my right to delete!
pps: I did the cowardly thing and made ‘that’ entry private, for my own peace of mind. [The thing about your own blog is that on it, you are King! 
]
Posted by Libbie on November 10, 2008 at 10:52 am
Honey, I’m forever being held up as an example of horrible things. People make casually scornful comments about ‘people who believe such and such’, and it’s very often something I believe. It hurts quite a bit, but you learn to get a pretty thick skin. Just be honest about why you believe something.
If you hold that belief in all good conscience, weighing up all the options and viewpoints, then don’t be bowed by disapproval. I bring it back to what I would say were Christ in front of me visually. If I can still say it and hold to it without the least blush of shame, then I do, regardless of whether others agree with me or not.
Posted by Lucy on November 10, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Dearest AR, I kind of think I may be part of what is upsetting you. If I am I am very sorry. I would not want to hurt you. As Libbie says we must speak/write what we believe to be the truth when we believe the truth needs to b spoken. The murder of unborn children is not something I can be silent about, but I do not think of you as complicit in it. You have just come to a different conclusion about the best way forward. I love you. L x
Posted by AutumnRose on November 10, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Thanks, Lucy and Libbie ~ I love you both too!
Please don’t feel you need to be silent. I started a ball rolling and now I’m careering down a hill and trying to stop, to reflect, to think. My fault. This is very head-scrunching for me and I need to stop and concentrate on other things, and there will be no more on this topic for a while. But that doesn’t mean I’m avoiding it, or not listening, or running away…I just need it to be me & God for a while on this one. Maybe I shouldn’t have blogged it! I thought it was a good idea at the time, but maybe not…
Arrgghh!
Posted by Gail on November 10, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Dear Autumn Rose,
You clearly outlined that while abortion is wrong, you also noted that the promotion of the Culture of Life also needs to embrace other subjects.
This also was noted on another British, Catholic blogger’s site, also quite well. I also have been amazed at the cruelty of a number of posts-while not at this site- drafted by a handful of bloggers. Hate, in any form has no place in a Christian’s life. But let me make this clear, the killing of millions of unborn children, virtually wiping out a generation, is murder and is sinful and wrong.
Politics is a tricky topic for many. It appears Mr. Obama’s election has sparked a number of emotional responses from people. A good avenue to take, and I only speak for myself is to pray and bear loving witness on the importance of life at all stages.
Posted by AutumnRose on November 10, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Thank you, Gail for your comment
You are right about emotional response!
Tbh, I have been taken aback by some of the stuff I have read…from calling Catholic Democrats “apostates” to comparing Obama to Hitler while at the same time calling him a Marxist [ok, fair enough, if a tad confused, if that's what you feel]. But what has shocked me is reading posts and comments which are *ranting* about the sanctity of life, and yet are fuelled by such hate. Surely that of itself is an anomaly. I really just don’t get it (but that must be my “little-country Catholic” mind, as someone commented!)
I deleted my other post because I am sick of horridness, truly. I am disillusioned by the attitude of some pro-lifers in a way I haven’t been since the “pro-life” murder of an abortion clinic Doctor and his driver in 1994, who was then executed himself by lethal injection. So death led to death led to death. This whole issue is seeped in hypocrisy and judgement, and I have had enough! I don’t see Christ in so much of what is flying around atm, and I am saddened, on all and every level and I don’t want anything to do with it. I don’t see how we can oppose a culture of death except by a culture of love . I want this blog to be a sanctuary, and a place of light and life, and so I won’t be touching on issues of death anymore, but focusing on Christ’s love, compassion and salvation, offered to all. For no-one is iredeemable, and we are called to love those who are ugly and twisted by sin…as we all were when we came to Christ. As some I have stumbled across still are.
Lord have mercy ~ and that is the prayer of my heart. Good Lord, have mercy on all of us or we will all perish!
AR xxx
ps: comment moderation is ON if certain words come up in comments, so I can keep an eye on what’s being said
Posted by Sharon on November 10, 2008 at 6:13 pm
AR – if you can’t “see Christ in so much of what is flying around atm” then it’s because He isn’t there. I agree with Libbie 100% when she says that if you could voice your belief with Christ there in front of you then you’re being true to your heart.
Gail – in support of your comment re Hate – “Hate” and “What Would Jesus Do?” are a contradiction in Christian terms I feel.
I sometimes feel I’m opting out by not being political but at the moment I’m glad I’m not because it simplifies my ability to remain within my faith without question or contradiction.
Faith was never meant to be this complicated or political. Just ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ and the rest will surely follow.
Gentle hugs my lovely – pax
Sharon xx
Posted by Alexandra on November 10, 2008 at 8:10 pm
You are completely right. We cannot judge the heart of another. That is for God only. What we can judge is actions and words, and even then we are called to Christian charity. Focus on Jesus and He will guide you. Forget the hatefulness, and maintain Christian courage to speak out about it. I will certainly support you in this.
Look to the Blessed Mother Teresa who instead of getting involved with politics, focused on the God’s love, and letting Jesus work through her. She was a champion for the sanctity of human life without ever considering(voicing) other political issues. We are called to love our enemies.
Politics is very messy, and it’s even more difficult to understand in the context of another socio-political culture. Our history is very different here in America compared to that of Europe – it’s a whole different ball of wax. We have a different collective conscience based on a whole different historical passage of time. What works in Europe doesn’t necessarily work here. While it may look like it’s one issue on the surface, it’s really about what that issue represents – religious conservatism, traditional family values, the survival of Judeo-Christian values over the culture of death, and the fight against intolerance of these values. Our children are being taught some very ugly things in public school. They are being groomed away from everything we hold sacred, and against our will.
Please pray for our leaders that they will open their heart to God, and not the secular world of narcissism.
Posted by Anna on November 10, 2008 at 8:25 pm
AR, for what it is worth, even though you once in a while dabble in very serious issues, the humility and sensitivity with which you treat your topics and your readers means your blog is always a little haven of peace and light!