Is there another side to this issue?

“The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him” (Proverbs 18:17).

A friend posted the campaign video from a lady in Round Rock Texas who is running for Congress.  He said, “She’s got my vote just from the video.” So I clicked it open to see what MJ Hegan was saying.

According to the video, MJ Hegan, an attractive brunette perhaps in her late 30s, served three terms flying helicopters for the Air Force in Afghanistan.  During the last assignment, her helicopter was shot down and she was injured.  Doctors refused to let her fly again.  That’s when she found that the military, which had been so welcoming to her, now closed the door on further assignments.  When she worked to get Congress to address this, she found Washington’s doors closed.  Politicians refused to talk to her, she says, because she was not a contributor.  Her own congressman refused to meet with her. And that’s why she decided to run against him.  She is beating the pavement and knocking on doors determined to unseat the incumbent and take his place.

The video was sharp and witty and clever.  With nothing further to go on, it’s easy to see how someone viewing it could want to stand up for this lady.

But wait just a minute.

Is there another side to her story?  All we have is what she said.  Is that the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?  Or has she left out a piece or two of critical information?

What are MJ Hegan’s politics?  She’s running as a Democrat. So, does this mean she is a liberal in her politics and pro-abortion?  Does she align herself with Nancy Pelosi and Senator Schumer and Hillary?

Seats in government are not rewards for heroes, as much as we may appreciate what they have accomplished.  Seats in government are not awards for those who have been mistreated by the powers that be and run over by harsh laws, as much as we may sympathize with them.

A seat in government is an opportunity to do good for a nation, to make laws that are just and equitable and fair.  To be elected to Congress is to have an opportunity to rule well.

I’m remembering that when Sarah Palin came on the scene as the governor of Alaska, she created a firestorm of enthusiasm.  People were falling all over themselves in their adoration for this beautiful lady.  The first time I saw her on television–Senator John McCain had just named her his running partner for the White House–I was stunned.  “He chose Miss America?” I said out loud.  And then…

And then, the glow began to come off her.  Turns out she fudged on the facts in her convention message, played fast and loose with claims she made, and had no track record to speak out that would qualify her for election to high office.

Another point of view?

Is there another side to this story? is always a good question to ask.

A pastor friend was dismissed from his church for no reason that I could see. The church was in a declining neighborhood and my observation was that the leaders were into denial. They “just knew” if they had the right pastor, things would be like they were forty years back.  So, the pastor now has that on his record that he was terminated.  And more than once, as he has dealt with search committees, they have heard only the side of the disgruntled church members but not asked the pastor for his side.  In so doing, someone is missing out on having a wonderful man for their pastor.

Another pastor I know was the subject of an intense study by a church mediator, brought in to settle differences with leadership.  The mediator promised his final report would contain  recommendations to the church but would say nothing personal about the pastor.  Instead, at least half his final report was devoted to discussing how and why the pastor had failed the church.  To the pastor’s consternation, much of it was erroneous.  But this being the mediator’s final report, when he passed it out to the leadership, it may as well have been carved in stone.  The pastor left and then had a difficult time relocating to another pastorate.  Search committees would read the mediator’s report–as they well should have–and then move along to other candidates.  No one ever asked the pastor for his side.

Granted, not every issue has two sides.  Abortion has only one side, for my money.  This is a human being in the womb, and nothing about the mother’s welfare or wishes should condemn it to death.

Capital punishment–again, “for my money”–has only one side.  There is no reason to execute criminals.  The deterrent factor has been proved again and again not to work.

Assisted suicide. Euthanasia.  The list goes on.

I’m thinking this article needs to end here. And that there are no two sides to that!  Thanks for your patience.

 

 

3 thoughts on “Is there another side to this issue?

  1. I will say that another word for “congressman” is “representative.” While they cannot meet everyone face to face, our representatives have a duty to hear our concerns. I think that a Republican representative would be doing himself a favor to at least make a phone call to a veteran since that’s one of the supposed Republican issues.

    I live in a district “safe” for Republicans. Whoever wins the primary will win in November. I had an issue that was important to me, and I went to my own congressman’s website to see how to make contact. In order to get there, I had to list my name, address, and zip code. I had never used those last four digits, but when I tried to send it without those last four digits, his office rejected even my request for contact. It seems that some people in my zip code are not in his actual district, so he refused to even consider hearing me until he was certain that I was in his district.

    Every two years, he campaigns on pro-life, school prayer, fiscal conservatism, etc etc. I have realized that he knows all the “buzz words” that Republicans like to hear. Actually, he retired, rather well off, an election ago, and his successor is now enjoying the comfort of his position.

    In the Old Testament, the Lord often used someone ungodly like the Philistines, the Amalekites, the Babylonians, or the Assyrians to “get His point across” to them.

    I doubt seriously that one Democratic rookie in the House is going to turn the tide of abortion. I do think that a sudden rush of votes for the other side might be an excellent “wake up call” for a candidate who is so sure of his own re-election that he even refuses to communicate with his constituent.

    In my own district, I never voted for my “representative” again. He usually was unopposed by a Democrat, so I had to vote for a Libertarian. In those rare years he was opposed by a Democrat, I voted for that Democrat because I thought he might just be an Amalekite sent by God to “remind” my congressman Who put him there.

    I am also pro-life like you, both on abortion and capital punishment. But sometimes, a Philistine will make someone wake up and re-consider.

    This woman may not be a Philistine, but I would probably vote for her just to get the ear of my congressman “representative” who has been inside the Beltway too long.

  2. I think in the case you reference, someone who has been wronged by a policy would be expected to fix it and other bad ones when he/she gets to Congress. This whole story and the Metoo movement indicates a severe problem of one group of people not listening to the concerns of another. The frustration over being ignored is boiling over. Hence the vote for her is one for the underdog and a rebuke of the incumbent who decided to ignore her.

    • Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton and all those that began our contemporary American way of life were heroes because they were governed by a power that “mistreated” them and was “harsh” when enforcing laws. Rather than accepting status quo, like MJ, they decided they would step up and try to beat them at their own game. I’m not sure what your goal was but your article supports her cause. She is acting with true American values.

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