The Federal Marriage Amendment
A New Perspective
(By Cheryl Birdwell)

The Federal Marriage Amendment has been a wake-up call for me and many others, a shocking realization of my rights and obligations as a voter, especially as one who is a Christian.  Beyond voting and an occasional phone call or email to my senator, I have never been involved in the political process.  I’ve never realized the importance.  But I’ve always had the notion that senators were required to listen to constituents when those constituents made up the majority.

  In my mind I’ve seen staffers answering phone calls, quickly writing down callers’ names and addresses, and keeping tallies of those for and against.  Every so often they rush the tallies to the senators who are waiting, closely watching, using those numbers as their basis for voting.  I’ve assumed these things were done as a matter of procedure, an unwritten law of sorts, a matter of integrity.  I was wrong.  On Monday, July 12^th, 2004, I found out what it feels like to have my opinion counted as worthless by those elected to represent me. This experience has left me profoundly changed, especially since that opinion is based on the Word of God.

  Perhaps not since Roe vs. Wade has there been an issue with such potential for impacting our nation.   In the last 31 years we have witnessed the staggering impact of the slaughter of more than 40 million lives, all the aftermath of one court case.  The mothers of those 40 million lives have also witnessed the aftermath, the nightmares, the illnesses that won’t go away, the guilt that never leaves, the shame of knowing a life was ended out of fear or perhaps convenience.  We all know someone who’s had an abortion.  They number among those who desire children and can’t have them.  They carry emotional scars that can’t be seen or forgotten.  No one talks about it.  But we all know someone. 

  Once again we stand at the crossroads, facing a life-changing, nation-changing issue.  I wonder, are we going to stand by and do nothing…again?  Are we willing to see 40  million more lives destroyed by one court case, by one congressional ruling?  Once again, we all know someone.  And our hearts are tender toward him or her, just as they are toward those mothers who have suffered the aftermath of wrong choices.  Will we, by our indifference, contribute to the destruction?  Will we sacrifice our son or daughter, our niece or nephew, our grandchild, our friend, making it easier to live a lifestyle that destroys lives, a lifestyle that God condemns?  Will we, by our indifference, cause our children to be the victims of laws that will force them to learn about alternative lifestyles in school?  Will we sit idly by, being content in our apathy, holding our excuses in our laps. Will our excuses be enough to cover our guilt?  Will they prevent our children’s suffering?  Will they be enough to convince God? We have choices to make.

  It is God who sets up kings and kingdoms.  It is by His hand and His hand alone that you and I live in the United States of America, One Nation under God.  Is there another nation on the face of the earth founded on the principals of the God of Israel?  Is there another nation on the face of the earth as prosperous as this nation?  Is there another nation that has come to the rescue of others, sending medicine, food, money, and volunteers to help those in distress? Do we not live in the greatest nation on earth?  Do you think it chance that you and I were born here instead of in Afghanistan or Iraq?  I think not.  I KNOW not.  It was the grace and mercy of God.

  The fact that we live in the greatest nation on earth is because, and only because, our nation was founded on the principals of the God of Israel.  That’s it, pure and simple.  And yet I see our nation crumbling piece by piece.   We haven’t been able to pray in classrooms since the 60s.  It’s not allowed.  We face law suits seeking to remove Under God from our pledge, with Supreme Court judges leaving the door open for further suits.  As I’m writing this, I’m listening to news announcing yet another case where an Ohio judge has been instructed to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom.  And a young man in Marietta, Georgia had his membership revoked at theYMCA (the C stands for Christian) because he was sharing the gospel of Christ with two other young men outside the building.  And the list goes on.  Now we realize that our U.S. Senators, more than half of them, don’t care what the public wants.  They don’t value the statutes on which this nation was founded.  What will we do?

It’s time that we, as believers, choose to take an active role in the political process with which God has blessed our nation.  He has blessed us with the opportunity to take part in His process of setting in place those who honor Him.  This is something I’ve taken for granted.  Before now, I never understood how important it is.   It never occurred to me that wisdom requires me to be actively involved in the political process through which God can honor Himself.  Just as I would buy a car and change the oil regularly so that my car will run efficiently, or just as I would purchase a home and then do repairs when needed, so I must remember that the streets on which that car runs and the ground on which that home sets is part of the United States of America, One Nation Under God.  Does this nation not also deserve regular maintenance?  Is it worth less than my car or my home?  If this nation falls, will I have a car or a home?  These are questions we all need to ask ourselves.  Then they need to be answered.  There is, after all, only one answer.  So where do we begin? 

  It’s so easy to find out about candidates and their positions on important issues via  internet websites.  It’s so easy to make a phone call to a senator or a representative.  It’s so easy to make an informed vote and to influence others to do the same.  It’s so easy.  What’s more, it’s so satisfying.  Proverbs tells us to know the condition of our flocks. 

  But you’re thinking I’m just one person.  What effect can I possibly have?  Let me answer that for you.  Because of one friend, one impassioned friend, who presented me with reasonable arguments about those who’ve gone before us in the fight for women’s right to vote and civil rights, I hit the streets (somewhat reluctantly, I might add) in our town asking for support for the Federal Marriage Amendment.  This one friend began the process for me.  Her influence and persistence got me involved.  My involvement then took on a life of its own.  But she, my friend, was the trigger.  Had she never approached me with such an outrageous request, I would still be sitting, still be thinking the way I’ve always thought.  It’s not my deal.  I’m not interested in politics. 

  But all that was before I called a senator’s office and discovered they did not want to know my name or my address and seemed completely uninterested in my opinion.  That was before two friends were told that it (their opinion) didn’t matter, the senator was voting against it. That was before another friend was ridiculed and yet others said that their names were not wanted, only their zip codes.  It was with the last phone call from a friend that I was moved to action.  It was then that I realized that this is not the America I’ve always known.  

  So here I am with a new perspective, a new challenge before me.  Here I am, appealing to you to take seriously the obligation of making informed choices in voting.  I know who I’m voting for in November and I know why.  He stands for the things I believe in.