Editor, The Herald:

On Wednesday, November 7 as I look back in reflection, the words of a popular Gospel hymn come to mind and they go like this, “Let the church say amen; God has spoken; let the church say amen”. I also thought about a writer to The Farmville Herald who suggested that God was deeply involved in the direction the Republican ticket was taking and he implied that the Republican ticket had the upper hand on the morals issue. He was right; God was deeply involved in the Republican (as well as) the Democratic ticket and He ruled on the way He viewed the morals issue. I was deeply touched by the claims of the writer (to The Herald) being a Christian. The Bible suggests in two Biblical passages how we can assess anything we see on the landscape-words, as well as actions. Those passages can be found in Matthew 7:16 and Matthew 7:20. Statistical-America claims a Christian population ranging between 60 and 80 million people. When you look around and witness the moral decline, you must question the validity of the statistical survey. We should not be taken aback by seemingly flawed surveys, because the political surveys of today in America seem just as flawed. The outcome of the election was a stark testimony to the fact that the projected statistical outcome of the election had deep flaws. We should be aware of the fact that God works His own will and not always man's desire. Such has determined the outcome of the election. If the flawed party has won then it will be for the reason God deemed. We must all learn to separate the person from the politics. Elections today aren't decided on the integrity of the individual but often on the size of the pocketbook supporting the candidate. If we chose our leaders today based on moral character and integrity, few would measure up. That is why some of the runners with deep political flaws fell down. If President Obama was guilty of false promises (as the supporter and others suggest) there was more than enough justification for his failure to deliver. It is obvious this supporter was unaware of the roadblocks put in place by the Republican Party to stymie the president's every effort. On the other hand, the Republican candidate had hardly taken one position he stuck by. Obviously the people assessed this flaw and spoke with the ballot. To change your mind on a prior position taken is one thing but to deny ever taking the position makes you an untruthful person. The president may have taken some positions that didn't square with the tenets of the Bible but those positions were no worse than other un-Biblical principles taken, such as lying. No Christian has the luxury of choosing which sin he wants to support. Proverbs 19:5 says, “He who speaks lies shall not escape”. Christians can't support any sin and be acceptable to God. It appears the Republican ticket thought it could win on a platform of distortions and untruths. When I reflect on this (now completed race) I recognize that the Republican ticket hid behind a banner of false credentials, lies and Christianity. Every conceivable negative was attributed to the incumbent president-on character, performance and intentions-but he still won and won the popular vote and the electoral vote decisively. He even won the GOP vice presidential contender's home state, the GOP presidential contender's home state and the state where the GOP presidential contender spends much of his leisure time. And, yes, he also won the state of Virginia for the second time. Prior to his first win, no Democratic presidential contender had won the state since 1964. Somebody in Virginia liked him also. In consideration of this outcome, can we conclude that the Republicans' pictures, presentations and promises were deeply flawed? Can we still hold the party up as representing Christian values, caring and consideration? Can we believe this party has a positive direction fashioned for the nation? Can we still believe this party (as it is presently structured) is the party of the future and for the future or must we believe that the incumbent president hood-winked (for the second time) all of those who voted for him? I will say-without any doubt-that America is smarter than that. If the vote wasn't for the incumbent president, it certainly had to be a vote against the GOP presidential contender and his running mate. Truth triumphed over bad motives. At this juncture, maybe we all need to come together and be about the business of the nation. The people all across America have spoken; let the nation say amen.

Donald L. Gandy
<br />Rice