Deborah, Barak and Jael

In the story of Deborah and Barak in the book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible,  Deborah, a married woman, was a judge and prophetess; Barak was a military leader then judge. Barak hesitated to lead his army against the Canaanites. Deborah challenged him to follow God's will. With her by his side, Barak led his army against the Canaanites and conquered. The result was 40 years of peace.

Has history repeated itself?  Did President Obama achieve a great victory when Hillary Clinton was by his side as Secretary of State?  I do not know, but I see no peace.

Perhaps there is another woman to be focused on: Jael.  She drives a tent peg through the brain of the enemy general while he sleeps.  With his death, the conflict is ended.  Deborah had predicted that the general would die at the hand of a woman.

Is Elizabeth Warren the next Jael?  Will she drive a tent peg through the capitalist system that controls our nations wealth at the expense of the middle class and poor?  I hope so.

Salomon de Bray, the artist, shows Jael, with hammer and pin, next to Deborah and Barak.

Barry, Barack and Barak

On February 4, 2010, on his radio show, Glenn Beck went after the President for abandoning the first name he had been using, Barry, for the more formal Barack:

"He chose to use his name, Barack, for a reason. To identify, not with America -- you don't take the name Barack to identify with America. You take the name Barack to identify with what? Your heritage? The heritage, maybe, of your father in Kenya, who is a radical? Is -- really? Searching for something to give him any kind of meaning, just as he was searching later in life for religion."

I remember many of my male friends changing their names when they entered college.  Bobby became Bob, Billy became Bill, Jeffy became Jeff, Andy became Andrew, another Billy became Will, and another Bobby became Robert.  I am sure President Obama had a more sophisticated explanation, but I think he was simply participating in a male rite of passage that had no sinister overtones.  President Obama was simply exchanging what he viewed as a child's name for an adult's name.

Did Glenn Beck have so few friends that he never encountered these name changes?  I doubt that.  No, Mr. Beck found another way to make our President one of "them," where "they" are not like us.  That is the key he uses to feed his audience's fears.  Our instinct is to fear the unknown.  Characterize the President as an unknown, a different, make people fear him.  Glenn Beck is an expert at fear-mongering.

But is Barack that strange a name?

Not to anyone who has read the Old Testament.  In the book of Judges,  we meet Deborah, a married woman, a judge and prophetess, and Barak, a military leader.  Barak hesitated to lead his army against the Canaanites. Deborah challenged him to follow God's will. With her by his side, Barak led his army against the Canaanites and conquered.  In time, Barak became a judge, too.

I am happy to have a man named Barack (Barak) as President of the United States.  Perhaps, this Barack has been chosen by God to lead just as the Barak of Judges was chosen to lead in war and in peace.

What Happened? I'm a Clinton Delegate

Never deny that God has a sense of humor. I have been less than a happy camper about this whole political process. I have been enraged by the way Senator Clinton has been treated because she is a woman. I thought some of Barack Obama's remarks about her had a tinge of sexism. I firmly believe that her proposal for health insurance is better than Obama's. He is wrong to let healthy people opt out, so that only the sick carry the burden of health insurance. With all that and after reading the story of Deborah and Barak in the Old Testament, I decided to vote for Senator Clinton which I did last week during early voting.

Yesterday for no really good reason, I decided to go to the caucus. While my mother was alive and I was her caregiver, I never felt it worthwhile to leave her alone or to get someone to stay with her while I went to a caucus. I received a canned phone call from Senator Clinton that advised going to the precinct by 6:30pm. Off I went. I did make one concession to my failing hip: I took mother's walker with a seat. I was very glad that I did. When I reached the polling place which was an old school cafeteria, I took a seat in the rear. Soon a poll worker hustled us all out into a hallway. Thanks to the walker, I could sit down. Without it, I could not have stayed. Someone should pay attention to the needs of the handicapped. From my vantage, the disabled are not welcome in this part of the Texas political process. There were no accomodations for the elderly or handicapped.

We waited. At 7:15 pm, an election worker came to the door for volunteers to help register voters as they made their selection. More waiting, except now I was on my feet. Just when I thought I had reached my limit (my hip is very painful), we were let in. I was in the front because I had arrived so early, so I did not wait long to enter my vote. I retreated to the rear of the room and a seat on my walker. I looked at the two sets of lines: one set for Obama, one for Clinton. Clinton's lines had an end; Obama's lines stretched out the door. ( There was a short line for people who did not want either Clinton or Obama or had problems with their voting record.)

Suddenly, a large number of Clinton supporters joined the lines. I was elated until I learned that there were several hundred people waiting outside to vote. These Clinton supporters were the only ones culled from that group. A young couple joined me and found some chairs. For the first time in my life, I had the feeling I was being looked after. Oh, well, they were very nice and very young, but they, too, supported Clinton. The voting went on and on. All the Clinton supporters had voted, so their lines were converted to Obama's. Some Obama supporters were suspicious of the Clinton lines and refused to go to the new lines. They need not have worried; you have to personally write in your candidate's name. Eventually, the additional lines made a difference and the voting was complete.

More waiting. And waiting. The votes had to be counted. Oh, there was a skirmish over who would chair, but the Obama people won. Their chair did seem pretty even-handed. The secretary elected by the caucus was a Clinton supporter. The votes were counted and recounted. There were arguments over how the delegates should be divided and more arguments, but all very civil. I wanted to stay to find out the results so I waited, then waited some more. A little after nine, there was a decision. The delegates would be divided: 76% for Obama, 24% for Clinton. There were a total of 611 votes cast, a record for that precinct.

People were asked to come forward if they wished to be a delegate. We were divided by candidate. There was a mob of people for Obama, but fewer for Clinton. Clinton supporters came up one short. The leaders asked if someone there could attend and gave the date and a vague location. I raised my hand expecting others to be raised, too. I did not see any, and the young couple next to me leapt to their feet, shouting that here was the needed delegate. They both pointed to me. The next thing that I knew I was filling in my name and information. I was a Hillary Clinton delegate.

The photos are by mlovitt and not my precinct.

Uncertainty

Who will I support for President? I had been leaning toward John Edwards, but he dropped out. I cannot support any Republican because I fear who any of the Republican candidates would appoint to the Supreme Court. Realistically, I am left with Hillary or Barack. Because I live in Texas ( a Republican state), my vote will not count, so maybe I should forget about the Presidential race.

Still, there is a small chance that my vote might count in the Democratic primary, if Super Tuesday does not determine the Democratic nominee. I will have to study both candidates positions. My focus will be health care and stem cell research, but I also need a better feel for both candidates character.

I read the story of Deborah and Barak in Judges. Are we looking at a modern day parallel? My intellect says that is ridiculous; my heart says God speaks to us in mysterious ways. I will have to think and pray on this.
Choice can be so difficult.