Plea to Christians: Vote for sake of our children

Vote, and take a friend with you, for the sake of our children.

That's the plea from Dr. James Dobson of FamilyTalk radio broadcasts.

In today's Family Talk newsletter, he follows up on the request from martial arts champion, television and movie actor Chuck Norris, who with his wife, Gena, recently released a public service announcement asking Christians to vote.

They noted that there were some 30 million Christians who did not vote in the 2008 election, and Barack Obama won by 10 million, bringing into the White House his plans for open homosexuality in the U.S. armed forces, nearly unlimited abortion on demand and other policies.

Dr. Dobson, who does not advocate for or against individual candidates in this year's election as a representative of FamilyTalk, noted the situation in which the nation finds itself approaching the 2012 election.

He notes:

The nation "is … in a moral and spiritual freefall."
"Religion liberty … is under assault like never before."
"Christians are being required to pay for abortions through their health insurance."
"Twenty-one countries [in the Middle East] are in turmoil."
"Israel's very existence continues to be threatened."
"Iranian analyst Alireza Forghani boasted … [Jerusalem] will soon become a mass 'graveyard.'"

"Given the state of the world and the decline of our country, how can a single Christian stay at home on Election Day? The stakes are simply too high," Dr. Dobson wrote to constituents.

"If you're among those eligible voters who haven't determined whether you'll even bother to make your voices heard on Election Day, I want to urge you – in the strongest possible terms – to rethink your position!" he said.

"In a sense, every election is a 'crossroads,' especially when it involves the selection of national leadership. Whether directly or indirectly, our president, congressmen and senators will establish life and death policies on our behalf and our children. These decisions will have an impact long after our elected officials have left office. In the following quadrennial, for example, the next president may make at least two appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, each of them will be appointed for life. Given the unprecedented power of the court today, the selection of those justices could have a profound effect on the country for decades," he said.

He said issues even as fundamental as whether the Constitution of the United States will be protected are being decided.

"May I suggest that you not only vote on November 6th, but that you try to take one or more people to the polls with you?" he continued.

But most importantly, he said, "your trip to the polls must be preceded by a time of earnest prayer. Pray that the Lord would grant you wisdom as you prepare to cast your ballot. Pray that His will would be accomplished in the election and that the leaders of His choosing would win their respective races. And pray that those who hold positions of authority over us, both now and after the election, would hear the voice of God and seek His face as they embrace the numerous responsibilities placed upon them."

It was only a short time earlier that Chuck and Gena Norris created a public service announcement to encourage people of faith to vote in this election.

The video has gone viral, being viewed by millions. There's no doubt of its influence, even though it does not endorse a presidential candidate, because of the impact of previous statements from Norris that were endorsements.

During the 2008 election, Norris wrote of his endorsement of Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who was holding support from about 8 percent of voters, according to Rasmussen Reports, which is considered one of the most accurate tracking polls.

Within a couple of days, the time it took for the Norris column to make the rounds of the blogs and media sites, Huckabee's support rose to 10 percent. It was his first time ever in double digits, and within another day it was at 12 percent.

Huckabee's campaign also reported a surge in campaign contributions – of about $550,000 – just days after the Norris endorsement.

In the video, Gena Norris says, "President Reagan went on to say that 'You and I have a rendezvous with destiny.'"

Then there's an embedded section with Reagan stating, "We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness."

The following is the PSA:

"We know you love your family and your freedom as much as Gena and I do," Chuck Norris said in his appeal to Americans. "And it is because of that we can no longer sit quietly or stand on the sidelines and watch our country go the way of socialism or something much worse."

Gena urged Christians to register and cast their votes on Election Day to ensure "our voices will be heard."

Chuck recalled the cautionary words of great patriots on the subject of preserving liberty: "As Edmund Burke said, 'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women) to do nothing.'