THE 2024 ELECTION

I haven’t written about politics since 2019, but with another national election coming soon in the USA, it’s time. Though I write with much trepidation, I’ll try to be professional. [But since I don’t get paid, professionalism is a moot point.]

Some presidential elections are such that either candidate could win and very little change would be recognized in the next four years. This one is not even close to that idealism. In fact, it’s been a long time.

My biggest concern about current elections is the dishonesty and outright lies that are stated about a candidate from the opposing party. This happens sometimes from the person running and other times from supporters, and frequently from news agencies.

The beauty of the Internet is that previous statements of politicians are recorded for posterity, and anybody is able to fact check any prior policy announcements that have been made. And in this election, we have a former President who has a successful four-year public record available for review, and a Vice President who also has several public office records for evaluation.

In light of this, there is no excuse for an uninformed electorate. Pay attention to political speeches with a grain of salt, and weigh the history of everyone running for office at every level, but especially those running for President. Listen to those who have a similar philosophy to your own, but also hear what others are saying.

Most importantly, we can pray for wisdom for ourselves and for the candidates, as well as for those already in office. God will answer that prayer and give us clarity of thought, and provide direction for our votes.

When this election is over, the United States will either correct its course, or continue on in the questionable direction it is now headed.

COPYRIGHT 2024 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON

CLIMATE CHANGE "WHAT IFS"

 

There seems to be a lot of “What if?” questions about climate change. The latest one I read was “What if all the ice caps melted?” The author went on to say that if Greenland’s ice cap and Antarctica’s ice cap both melted, then all the major coastal cities would be flooded. He then stressed the urgency of eliminating fossil fuel consumption. It’s pretty scary stuff.

Another “What if?” asks, “What if there is too much CO2 in the atmosphere?” The greenhouse effect would raise global temperatures by several degrees. The same would happen with an excess of Methane. The fear is that too much heat would ruin life as we know it. It’s pretty scary stuff.

There have been movies made about “What if?” this or that happens. What if the Atlantic current cools down and causes another ice age? What if an asteroid crashes into the earth? What if the Earth’s core stops spinning? And the scariest of all: what if aliens from another part of the Universe try to conquer and destroy humans? It’s pretty scary stuff.

I have my own set of “What if” questions.  What if the ice caps melt a bit and then freeze over again, as has happened in the past? What if a warmer atmosphere increases food production and feeds more people until it cools down again? What if fossil fuel consumption has very little negative effect on human life, but rather improves it drastically. What if there is no life in any other part of the universe and there are physical limitations of extraterrestrial travel anyway. What if there is nothing above or anywhere to be scared of? It’s not scary after all.

Finally, what if God is correct when He said Genesis 8:22 (NKJV) "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease"? Remember, Jesus said many times, “Fear not. Don’t be afraid.”

There’s no need to be scared.

            COPYRIGHT 2024 BY CARL E GUSTAFSON