Open Forum: Day of mourning

Nov. 7, 2012 marked a milestone in my life. On this day, I awoke to the confirming news that I had lost my country! Sad as that sounds, it is unfortunately true. I had suspected that the symptoms were there and had hoped I was wrong. I had hoped that these past four years, in particular, would prove to my country a need for change. It proved otherwise.

My maternal grandfather came from England as a child, would self-educate, read law, and die as the Commissioner of Labor of Massachusetts. His family was Salvation Army, and he and his wife would raise four sons and three daughters (one of which was my mom) — while my paternal grandparents, who came from France via Quebec, were Roman Catholic and raised four sons and one daughter (one of their sons was my dad).

They had one thing in common; both families believed in God and His word, and that marriage was to be “one man and one woman for life.” They believed that hard work and raising a family were not options, and that government didn’t owe them anything. They owed the government.

They, that is, my mom and dad were born in 1910 — 102 years ago — and in 1934 I arrived. I followed their example and married one woman who will be my wife for 60 years in May of 2013, and we have three daughters and two sons. All without exception believe in God and His word and His way.

I give this information to put into perspective how I feel about the election that took place this week. I could be labeled a poor loser, but losing an election is something I have experienced many times over the years. On Wednesday, I lost a country.

I saw it coming and had hoped for a miracle. It did not happen. I saw over these past 50 years the gradual loss of values, the increase in divorce, the increase of living together unmarried, the acceptance of homosexuality, the increase of governmental participation in non-governmental areas of our lives, the increase of schools failing our children — schools that prohibit prayer in class but offer condoms.

AII these were symptoms of a far greater illness — the failure of a country to honor God Almighty. Could it last? Would God permit it? Would God withdraw from such a country?

Well, we have finally reached the 50 percent plus one, and as a country have turned against every value God has placed here for us, and God has withdrawn. I will not be affected by this, being a senior and close to departure time. I feel extremely sorry for my five children and my 24 grandchildren who will be the residents of this Sodom and Gomorrah-type country with a European flavor.

They will only have as a hope, the 50 percent less one of Americans who still love and obey God. That minority will continue to pray as they hope, and I pray that their prayers will be answered. While I remain here, I will add my prayers to theirs. In the interim, you will forgive me as I mourn the country that I knew over these past almost 80 years.

There is just one other thing that I feel must be said, and that is that the failure, as I see it, is in no small way the fault of our religious communities. In 2008, as in 2012, you will find that a significant number of Christians and Jews voted for President Obama and his values, this in spite of his positions on same-sex marriage, abortion, homosexuality, and governmental interference in religious institutions. This, not to mention Israel, which God has said “those who love it shall prosper.”

When more than 50 percent of Jews and Christians vote against God’s values in favor of Obama’s, the result should not be a surprise. With another four years of uninterrupted secularizing of society, we can expect the destroying of marriages, an increase in abortion, and, in time, a completely secular society with no memory of God whatsoever!

I pray I am wrong, but I fear I am right.

L.H. Milotte Jr. is a resident of Stephens City.