Are You an Esau?

I was thinking today about the story of Esau in the Bible. For my readers whose remembrance of Bible stories may be sketchy, Esau and Jacob were brothers, the sons of Isaac and grandsons of Abraham. Esau was a hunter, and one day he came back from a hunting trip after Jacob had made what the Bible calls "a mess of pottage," probably what we might call a hearty stew or casserole.

When Esau smelled the pottage cooking, he was so hungry that when Jacob offered to give him some in exchange for Esau's birthright, all that the law entitled him to as the oldest son of Isaac, he agreed and sold Jacob his birthright.

I don't know what the trigger was that brought this to my mind, but it reminded me of the current situation the country faces in regard to the upcoming election.

Conventional wisdom and punditry tells us that when the economy is perceived to be in bad shape, that gives the Democratic party an edge among the voters, because in what could only be a degree of blind panic they reach out for "change" as a straw, a possible panacea to their immediate want.

Leaving aside for now the ironic truth that the Democratic Party is responsible for much of what does ail the current economy and the fact that if they are elected into power their big-government, success-punishing tactics will drive the economy into a state that will make the current situation seem like an economic boom; and even supposing there would be some short-term relief after a Democrat was voted into office, let me ask you: what are you willing to give for the tasty illusion of pottage Barack Obama and the Democratic party are selling?

Freedom is our birthright as American citizens. Freedom to prosper through our own hard work and talent and ingenuity without being punished for crossing the line into too much success. Freedom to choose the kind of education our children will have. Freedom to protect ourselves and our homes and families against violence, with responsibly owned firearms. Freedom to choose our own health care.

I am not willing to sell my birthright for what really only amounts to a long-shot lottery ticket that might win me a bowl of consomme.

Are you?

For all we know, Esau didn't even feel that ravenous until the smell of that food hit his nostrils. And we have politicians telling us how bad we have it because they have to make us feel like we want what they're cooking before they tell us they're the ones that can give it to us.

Barack Obama has to fill his speeches with word pictures illustrating misery, because you have to feel like you're miserable and desperate before what he's selling looks good enough to buy.

Pollsters and pundits tell us that the economy is the most important issue in this year's election. Let me ask you: what is most people's gut reaction to people who sell out, who put money before all else that should be valued in life, be it love, family, honesty and integrity, the well-being of themselves and others, and so on?

We tend to look on those people with disgust and contempt, don't we?

But isn't that what we will be doing in the voting booth, if we let the spectre of recession and the empty promises of an empty-suit politician drive us to vote against our values and interests?

So let me ask you: are you an Esau?

I'm not.