My wife and I had the opportunity the other night to meet Congressman Tom Graves, 9th District, Georgia (our U.S. Representative) at a local gathering of AIPAC - the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Those of you who know me know that I am not very involved in politics, except to participate in the voting process, at the local, State and Federal level. This level of involvement does not seem very involved to me, rather the bare minimal level of involvement of a citizen of this great nation; to others it may be more involved than they will ever be, but that is not the subject of this blog entry.
The purpose of this blog entry is to express a certain level of excitement and hope that we currently have leaders in Congress like Tom Graves that recognize the importance of our relationship with Israel. It is not about evangelical Christians and messianic Jews that believe Jesus is coming back through the eastern gate into Jerusalem or the Bible prophecy that says the Jews must rebuild the temple before Jesus' return as the reason for our relationship with Israel. It is about the practical aspect that both Israel and the United States are governments established of and by people, under God, that pursue life, liberty, and happiness for people, not only of their respective nations, but for all mankind. This can only be said of a few peoples and nations in this world, and this is why the relationship between the United States of America and Israel is vital. There are many other reasons to maintain this relationship, not the least of which is maintaining our air superiority in the middle east by having free access to air bases in Israel, but these all stem from the primary link between the peoples of Israel and the United States.
A quick note regarding Tom Graves: Even though we only had half an hour or so to talk with Congressman Graves, it became quite obvious to me that he is a man of conviction, purpose and intelligence. It was refreshing to me to see a Congressman that did not appear to fit into my conception of a politician - only out there to reap the benefits of congressional office (e.g. the salary, the pension, and the perks) at the expense of the people. On the contrary, it made me want to support him, even though that thought itself makes me a little wary because one of my negative conceptions of politicians is that they have the innate ability to understand quickly their audience, and then say and act in a way that garners support, even though it is nothing but an act. But my judgment that he was not acting but was being real will prove out over my skepticism in this case I am sure.
