SENTINEL WATCH November 3, 2008 Issue

TO WIN THE SOUL OF ALL NATIONS

TONY LOBL

ON NOVEMBER 4, American voters will decide whether Senator Barack Obama or Senator John McCain will become their nation's 44th president. This election is generating intense interest globally, and the results will impact all corners of the planet. Among other things, election watchers worldwide have heard supporters of both major parties exclaim passionately that the election is "a battle for the soul of America."

What defines the soul of America—or any nation? Policies adopted by a particular executive? Creative tension among the checks and balances of executive, legislative, and judiciary? Decisions made by Supreme Court judges? The hard-won Constitution and Bill of Rights undergirding all these? Or is it something even deeper than that?

If the soul of an individual or a nation can change, then there is no "north star" to be guided by, no defining character to aspire to. If, on the other hand, the soul is changeless and enduring, then there exists an ideal that calls for increased recognition and adoption as time invites and accommodates progress and growth.