Dr. Fred Eichelman: The Virginia Vote Has Become a Christian Issue

I recently had the joy of holding our first great grand child, a beautiful baby girl. Then there came a kind of sadness. Something not felt when I held children or grandchildren in the past. It was concern about the world this beautiful child must grow up in. A nation threatened by going socialist, an education system that has fallen apart and a growing secular society. It means a greater responsibility for Christian parents, grand parents, great grand parents and other patriots. We have work ahead of us and that is what is boiling in my mind to make me write this.

I also have been reading a great deal the works of theologian David Jeremiah and he asks a great question. Can you be a Christian and a Socialist at the same time? Of course despite Joe Biden supporters who think so, you cannot. Socialism abhors belief in God and Christian principles. Our nation under the Biden administration goes more socialist every day and any one who says so is being branded as a terrorist by Progressive Democrats. Just now the Department of Justice labeled moms who were not in favor of mandates and the Critical Race Theory being taught as terrorists. It is as though all common sense has been thrown out the window. As a Christian I know that what is most needed is prayer, but coupled with that is political action. Sadly too many Christians do not vote and the next few election periods are most critical. 

While many have their eyes on 2022 because of the national elections knowing our only salvation being Republicans taking back the House and Senate, for us in Virginia this is the most vital time. November 2 we will be voting for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and 130 seats in the Virginia General Assembly. It is make or break time in our state as we have been slowly going under the last eight years. The past four, under a Democrat Governor who is of the same ilk as the governors of other Socialist leaning Blue States, have seen freedoms eroded that once made Virginia great.

This is especially true of education, a field I gave my life to as a teacher for forty years. I even served in education association positions of leadership back when the thought of being a part of a Democrat style Labor Union was unthinkable. Today it is vital that Virginians support and vote for

Glenn Youngkin is running for governor. His opponent Terry McAuliffe served a lack luster term as governor in the past and Democrats picked him out of desperation. Other top Democrat office holders were found to have too much political baggage to take a chance on. Things like sexual harassment charges and racial misconduct knocked the present Lt. Governor and Attorney General, both Democrats, out or the running.

The differences are very sharp as Youngkin supports the Right to Life and opposes the rewriting of history to destroy our great heritage. A major difference was exposed during a recent debate between the two men. McAuliffe challenged the right of parents to have any say so in how their children were educated. Youngkin knowing more about the development of public schools rightly challenged this and we all need to.

Public schools in this country were founded to provide for individual needs and not to be cookie cutters making every student think alike and accept whatever dogma is presented to them. One of the founders of the American system of education was Thomas Jefferson who was very much opposed to the idea of state control of schools in which students were not allowed to learn how to think for themselves. His philosophy was “An educated American is a free American.” McAuliffe obviously never learned the history of education, something I had to study deeply to get my degrees from the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech University. This Democrat candidate would see Virginia schools become second rate and students made stooges by teacher unions that support the Democratic Party and its socialist leaning leaders.

So I urge my fellow Virginians, please support and vote for Glenn Youngkin and other Republicans to ensure that our state will once again be an example when it comes to giving our young people the best opportunities to be well educated Americans. We need a public school system where my great-grand daughter will succeed as a clear thinking patriot.