Ugandan Leadership

Many people were praying for a peaceful election process in Uganda --- and today we're thanking the good Lord that those prayers have been answered. (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/africa/110221/uganda-elections-victory-musenveni-now/) The country's elections included the naming of the President for the next five (5) year term. It was no surprise that Yoweri Museveni won that election. Again. As he has in the past. Again. And again. And again.

If you search the news wires this week you'll find no shortage of people crying foul when it comes to Uganda's elections process. Allegations that the opposition's polling agents were harassed or chased from the polls by the police, or that opposition-oriented voters were mistreated or discouraged ... or simply not given access are plentiful. In the run up prior to the elections, it was reported that the opposition was arrested for "insulting the President." At a minimum, there's fair cause for doubt in the integrity of Uganda's elections process.


Yoweri Museveni came to power by force. He wasn't elected. He overthrew the prior President in what has become known as the Uganda Bush War. That was a civil war (of sorts) and Museveni was the Commander of what he called the National Resistance Army. It has become the ruling political party in Uganda. In the course of his presidency, Museveni has allowed routine democratic elections every five years. But he also had the constitution changed to remove the two-term limit on political office ... so that he could be re-elected again and again.

If you visit with the local people in Uganda, for the most part there isn't any grumbling or complaining about the president. His picture hangs in most of the hotel lobbies that I've been in, and his motorcade is encountered from time to time on the highway. People don't seem to fear him. In their homes they'll quietly tell you that he's a dictator and that their government is full of corruption. This, of course, is a country that should know what a dictator is. Idi Amin seized power and ruled with an iron fist ... slaughtering more than 300,000 people who dared cross him or offend him. (He was subsequently overthrown himself, and died in exile.)

But for a visitor to Uganda, you might find yourself, as have I, scratching your head about this whole notion of dictatorship. People are free to come and go as they please. They are free to start businesses, own property, engage in free commerce and the arts. There are some laws that the rest of the world might consider archaic. (Most notably, homosexual behavior is punishable by life imprisonment.) But these laws don't seem to be particularly related to Museveni's presidency. More often than not he inherited those laws or the other politicians passed them without his participation.

The Uganda that I know is a beautiful country. Nestled in the hills on the Equator, it enjoys a very mild, temperate climate all year round. There's rarely a day when you would even desire air conditioning or heating in your home there. There are no freezing winters, scorching summers or parching draughts. Everything grows quite well there, giving the country some of the most impressive food security on earth. The people genuinely seem joyful. They are sincere, authentic, hospitable and despite hardships most of us have never seen, they've always got a smile and an optimistic attitude.

Economically, Uganda is growing. The national economy continues to expand at an impressive rate, year after year. Large deposits of oil have recently been discovered. Home ownership is growing. Employment is growing. Tourism is growing. Exports are growing. The country has been identified has the single African country that has done the best job in fighting the AIDS epidemic. It has made the best use of assistance from the U.S. in that regard too. By just about any measure, Uganda continues to become a better place to live, work, visit and do business with.

President Museveni and his wife have both identified themselves as born-again Christians. They once led a prayer service in the national sports arena (Nelson Mandela Stadium), where they called the country to repent of its collective sins and the sins of its ancestors. Janet Museveni, the first lady, has been considerably more open about declaring her faith in Jesus Christ. Once when I was visiting there, I heard the President make a speech at the wedding of a high ranking politician's daughter. In his speech, he alleged that marriages don't work without the supernatural power of God. And he encouraged the newlyweds to submit their marriage to the leadership of God.

Of course, some of the Ugandan people will quietly tell you that there's no evidence to validate the Museveni's claims that they're Christians. And as an outsider, I'd have to say I don't know for sure. Quite honestly, I don't know. I'm not there enough to really have an opinion one way or the other. But I'm reminded of Jesus' own words to His disciples when they questioned the faith of others. He basically said that if someone wasn't against Him then He would count them as being for Him. (Luke 9:50) Essentially Jesus was telling His disciples not to fret about whether someone was a true Christ follower or not. I wonder if that might not be His counsel to people today when it comes to President Museveni.

I'm glad the Ugandan elections ended peacefully. I'm sorry that some feel the elections weren't fair or unbiased. And I'm sorry that some people see Museveni as a dictator. But from the outside looking in, I have to tell you that he looks like a fairly benevolent dictator. I don't know if he rules fairly or not. But his leadership is making life better for all of the people in Uganda. That is obvious.

So for now, I'm thanking God for giving Uganda a stable government these past 25 years. It's the most stable their government has ever been since they obtained their freedom from England back in the 1960's. And I'm encouraging my Ugandan brothers and sisters to take another look at their circumstances, and see what it is that they may be thankful for themselves. Then let us pray for Mr. Museveni's leadership, asking God to draw him to Himself, to lead him with the Holy Spirit and to continue to use this man and his government to bless the wonderful people of Uganda.

Obama A Muslim?

According to a Washington Post survey, about 20% of all Americans think that President Obama is a Muslim. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/18/AR2010081806913.html) It's interesting to note that the Washington Post makes it clear up front that these Americans wrongly believe Obama is a Muslim. I guess that makes it clear that the writers at the Washington Post are clearly not in that 20 percent!

I have to admit that I'm not in that category of Americans that believe Obama is a Muslim. But then I never really thought he was a Christian either. Oh I know, he identified himself as a Christian, and had attended a supposedly Christian church for years before even running for President. But when I saw the kind of pastor he'd listened to for years, it became clear that at best he'd had a misguided teacher of what Christianity is. He'd been misled about what it means to follow Christ. So I never thought Obama was a Christian.

Now here's the thing. Those Americans that think Obama is a Muslim? What do they think they are? My guess is they'd be wrongly believing that too. Hypocrites aren't new to the modern generation. They existed in Biblical times. Through the ages there have always been lots of people who believed they were something they were not. Usually they thought of themselves as more righteous, more holy, more right ... than they actually were. And they still exist today. Scores of them.

Years ago I heard a preacher ask his audience if they were put on trial for being a Christian --- would there be enough evidence to convict them. Honestly I thought of all the people I knew who claimed to be Christians, and measured myself against them. I concluded that maybe there wouldn't be enough evidence to convict me. I was guilty as charged. Though I claimed to be a Christian. Probably at least 20% of Americans would look at me and conclude that I was a Christian. Nevertheless, would there be enough evidence to convict me? I doubted it. (Hopefully my record today is better!)

So what if 20% of Americans think Obama is a Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Jew or whatever? Would there be enough evidence to convict him of any of those things? Frankly I doubt it. Most Americans might be surprised to find themselves in the same spot too. Let's face it, people, most of us just don't live devout lives devoted to serving the one true God or any other god. I doubt seriously that Obama's record is really any better than yours or mine.

Perhaps if just 20% of Americans believed they were close enough to God for their prayers to be answered - and devoted themselves to praying for our President - then Obama would look very different to most of us. Mmmmm?

Bush Future

Okay, I've admitted in the past that I voted for George Bush - both of them - and the second one both times. I think I probably voted for the first one because he seemed to be something of an extension of Ronald Reagan, whom I generally approved of.

But then I voted for Bill Clinton - both times. He was also someone whom I generally approved of. What happened with George W. Bush (the second one) surprised me though.

When I voted for George W. Bush, it was really a vote for his character. The first time, I didn't think Al Gore had integrity. After all, he had claimed to have invented the Internet! So I chose George W. I guess I was really voting against Al Gore. The second time around, I voted for George W. Bush, again because of his character. But that time, I was more or less voting against John Kerry. I didn't like his wife. When Bush won that election, I felt as if evil had been defeated ... and so had her husband.

I wonder if any other voters in America could confess to having voted against someone instead of for someone. But that is a blog for another day. Let me continue.

The thing that surprised me about George W. Bush is that he turned out not to be who I thought he was. He had claimed to be a born-again Christian. I took him at his word. I signed up on the web site to pray for him regularly. And I did pray for him. I prayed that God would give him favor, wisdom, protection, discernment, and wise counsel as well as influence. I believed that God genuinely answered those prayers too. (Still do!)

But then it happened. I saw George W. Bush making decisions that I was pretty sure didn't line up with Scripture. They were decisions that I knew couldn't have come from the Lord. They were decisions and behaviors that didn't line up with the character and nature of God that I've come to know so intimately myself. Perhaps even more telling is the behavior of George W. Bush now that he's a past president. Most ex-leaders of the free world learn to embrace the second chapter. Quite often that turns into a class act. With George, maybe not so much.

Thomas Jefferson was quoted as having said, "Never did a prisoner, released from his chains, feel such relief as I shall on shaking off the shackles of power." He could retreat to his Monticello home and plant his University of Virginia. "I have given up newspapers in exchange for Tacitus and Thucydides," he wrote to John Adams, "and I find myself much the happier."

But it is rare the modern President who retires to his farm and his library, unless by library we mean a multimillion dollar monument to himself. These men are, as George W. put it, "type A personalities," who can't envision themselves sitting on some beach in a Hawaiian shirt. In Bush's case, he said this was, "particularly since I quit drinking."

The standard pursuits include writing books, launching foundations and going fishing. Many of them lived in poverty. George Washington returned from his presidency to find Mount Vernon in a terrible state of disrepair. He had to sell off land to make repairs, since his time away had, "despoiled my buildings but also deranged my private affairs." Truman had only a modest savings and an Army pension of 112.56 per month - and had to take out a bank loan his last couple of weeks in office. (One of his notable post-presidency endeavors was a simple road trip with his wife to see the country he had ruled!)

It wasn't until 1958 that the U.S. Congress enacted a generous pension and allowance for past presidents. That was when things began to change. In fact, since that time, becoming President of the U.S. has become one of the most financially lucrative career moves one could make. Most have lived quite comfortably forever after. They didn't have to concern themselves with making money, so they have generally concerned themselves with making (or remaking) history.

Truman now ranks as one of our top Presidents - aided by the peaceful end to the Cold War. Jimmy Carter's approval ratings as President have climbed from 34% to 64% since leaving office. Most think that has been because of his considerable humanitarian works as an ex-President.

When Herbert Hoover left the presidency, the country was in a worse shambles than it was then Bush "W" left it. He lived another 31 years and became one of the greatest champions of children the U.S. has ever known. He drove the growth of the Boys Clubs of America and the creation of UNICEF. He led a campaign to get food to millions of civilians who faced famine after Word War II. By the time he'd died, he had satisfied his critics and was regularly identified as one of the most admired men in America.

Even Bill Clinton, who has turned the presidency into the most financially lucrative act of his life, has done good with it. Despite the fact that he personally earned more than $90 million in the first five years after his presidency, he set up one of the most influential non-profit foundations the world has ever known. He's been busy doing good, championing change and challenge the world to behave itself. He uses his platform do good - and so the world overlooks (and even forgives) his gross wealth and self-centeredness.

So where does this leave us with George W. Bush? And why am I uneasy about where he is going with his ex-presidency? For starters, he didn't retire to the ranch as he had promised he would. Instead he purchased, for cash, an expensive house in a tony suburb of Dallas. He also had the government purchase the house next to it (for his security detail). Then he asked the city to put a gate at the end of the street to keep commoners from driving on his street. The city of Dallas had to put expensive police detail in the neighborhood to protect Mr. Bush. One must really wonder if he considered the ramifications of his housing choice. Did he really intend to cost the city of Dallas this much money? Did he know he would? Does he care?

Then there is the Bush library. Mind you, Reagan, Nixon, Carter and even Clinton have all built lasting, expensive monuments to their presidencies. It's become commonplace to raise money from wealthy "friends" to build the giant edifices --- and then turn them over to the National Park Service to operate (and fund) into perpetuity. Each of these libraries becomes an albatross around the necks of the American people - a financial drain on us forever. And Bush will be no exception. In fact, his library is already controversial. The land is being squabbled over. He wants a high-priced, highly fought over piece of land in a high profile area next to the prestigious SMU campus. A court fight is on and Mr. Bush is being subpoenaed to testify.

The requests for speaking engagement, his wife's book deal, the squabble over his library, the hoopla over his house - all don't make very much of the first 100 days of Bush's ex-presidency. So far, it seems that George W. Bush is mostly focused on increasing his wealth (despite that generous pension and expense account), and being a celebrity. If we thought it was disgusting that Clinton did the same thing, I would contend that Bush is worse. At least Clinton didn't try to ride around on that born-again Christian platform. He didn't try to pretend he was someone else.

Clinton turned out to be not much more of a statesman personally than Britney Spears. Despite his influential foundation, he has made his ex-presidency pretty much all about himself. And let's face it, George W. Bush looks more like a Clinton wanna be than a Truman or a Hoover. Bush could use his platform to do great and lasting good. Or he could use it for himself. So far, I am sorely disappointed to see the latter taking shape.

I pray that I am wrong. I pray that God will give Mr. Bush favor, wisdom, protection, discernment, wise counsel and influence. I still believe that God will genuinely answer those prayers too. What I'm less certain of is whether Mr. Bush actually listens to - or obeys God.

So far Bush is blaming his poor reputation on bad timing. He has lamented that, "There ought to be a rule where no one writes about your short-term until a generation of those who never voted for your or against you show up, you know what I'm saying?" It is clear that Mr. Bush is hoping that time will cast him in a better light.

Time will reveal who George Bush really is. If you want to be cast in a better light, Mr. Bush, perhaps you should get more focused on doing something that is better.