Religion/Culture Expert Dr. Alex McFarland Gives Americans 8 Crucial Voting Considerations, Including How Next President Will Boost—or Paralyze—Already Debilitated Economy
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—According to the 2016 “Malaise Index” from religion and culture expert Dr. Alex McFarland (www.AlexMcFarland.com), which surveys Americans on some of society’s most pressing issues, more than half (52 percent) of respondents say that their outlook for their own family’s finances is “worse” than 10 years ago.
Another 21.5 percent report that their financial views are “the same,” while just 26.5 percent say their financial outlook is “better” than a decade ago.
McFarland, a nationally known author of 17 books, including his newest, “Stand Strong America,” and radio and talk show host, says these survey responses are evidence that a crippled American economy is one of the crucial election issues to consider when voting in just three weeks.
He recently wrote an oped for LifeZette.com titled “Hillary Says, ‘Trust the Government, Not God,’” where he articulates that liberal and socialist ideologies have squashed the American dream and kept many people from thriving—or even sustaining a comfortable financial outlook.
“If someone succeeds in business, they must have used and exploited somebody else, correct?” McFarland writes. “To hear Hillary Clinton’s views on how the economy works, you’d probably come away with that conclusion. Listening to recent presidential debates, I cringe as she throws out one reductionist fallacy after another on any number of issues, but especially regarding her gross mischaracterizations about business, the lot of American workers and how the economy supposedly works.
“Hillary piously intones that, ‘We need an economy that works for everyone, not just for those at the top,’” McFarland continues in his column. “Think about that¾a jab at ‘those at the top’ from a woman whose husband is paid more per speech than most people make in a year. Faux solidarity with the ‘little guy,’ from a woman whose corrupt Clinton Foundation has amassed a quarter billion dollars in cash while she was serving as Secretary of State. Talk about conflicts of interest, duplicity in words and actions, and the making of money off the backs of the American people.”
McFarland adds that taxes, controls and regulations have oppressed American workers and businesses, and more is on the way if Clinton is elected.
“Hillary has communicated the leftist promise to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour—the net effect of which will further tether prime-of-life adults to entry-level jobs, not really creating sustainable ‘careers,’” McFarland says. “But did you catch this? Clinton also promised that companies would be required to engage in profit-sharing with employees. Even Obama, on his most socialistic, anti-free-market-economy day never hinted at that.
“The conservative message—like America, and life itself, really—is simple,” he adds. “Say your prayers, work hard, do the right thing, and play by the rules. At the end of the day, God—not government—will ‘have your back,’ and you’ll know that your own character and sweat kept the lights on and put food on the table. There’s no fall into an emotional black hole of blaming some elusive boogeyman for life’s struggles. Donald Trump, for all of his inelegant bluster, understands the liberating joy of self-reliance. Hillary, who repeats carefully scripted fiction with machine-like precision, needs the masses to need her. Such pathology is not how great nations of liberty and creativity are built. Abusive relationships and cults, maybe—but not thriving nations of prosperous people. And so, we must choose. And what a monumental choice this is.”
With the economy an important voting matter to consider, McFarland is also advising Americans about several critical questions they should ask before they head to the polls on Nov. 8.
- Remember that “the perfect is the enemy of the good.”
- God can use any presidential candidate for His purpose; all candidates are flawed. Will we allow these flaws, which we all have, to make us cast a protest vote or not vote at all?
- Will my life be better or worse under this president?
- McFarland has been gathering responses for his own “2016 Malaise Index,” an online survey that gauges Americans’ outlook on society. Hundreds of responses have been submitted at www.AlexMcFarland.com/survey. For example, when asked, “My outlook on the culture as a whole compared to 10 years ago is…,” about 96 percent report they feel “WORSE” about the culture, with the remaining reporting they feel “BETTER” or “THE SAME.”
- Will this president protect my religious freedom?
- What are the candidates’ plans for preserving the religious liberties on which the country was founded, especially as more and more freedoms are being taken away?
- How will this candidate protect life?
- Abortion, euthanasia and other life matters have historically been important issues for voters—and 2016 is no different. While the Republican platform is one of the most pro-life in the party’s history, the Democratic platform asserts that a woman has the right to abort her unborn child—a black mark on the nation since Roe v. Wade in 1973.
- Will this candidate protect our country?
- The safety and defense of the country is of paramount importance. National security and recognition of those who seek to harm America must be a priority for the next president.
- Who will this president appoint to the Supreme Court?
- Appointments to the Court have longstanding impact and is perhaps one of the most important considerations of the election. Justices appointed under the next president—whether liberal or conservative—will make long-lasting decisions for several decades.
- Will this president protect the financial resources with which God has entrusted us?
- Many people are struggling in today’s economy, and many policies could be enacted to ease the financial burden on Americans. All human beings long to have the dignity that comes with providing for their family.
- Will I feel good about the decisions this president will make?
- Overall, will I still be proud that I voted the way I did in four or eight years? And more importantly, did I carefully consider my vote in prayer?
McFarland’s newest book, “Stand Strong America,” co-authored with evangelist and apologist Jason Jimenez, addresses the idea that Americans are weary of the poor character and decisions of their leaders, who make laws that may not coincide with many Americans’ faith. The book is available at AlexMcFarland.com.
He is also the author of “The God You Thought You Knew: Exposing the 10 Biggest Myths About Christianity,” in which he dispels the myths and untruths about Christianity and replaces that with the truth of who God really is, as well as “10 Questions Every Christian Must Answer,” “10 Issues that Divide Christians,” “10 Answers for Skeptics” and the “Stand” series of devotions for teens. McFarland is an expert in the field of apologetics—the practice of defending the Christian faith in a world where faith in Christ is plummeting at alarming rates.
McFarland has spent years working with young people and takes their questions to heart. He has preached in more than 1,300 churches and has been featured at conferences such as the Billy Graham School of Evangelism, Focus on the Family’s “Big Dig” and California’s “Spirit West Coast,” sharing the platform with Chuck Colson, Eric Metaxas, Josh McDowell and others. He also serves as Director for Christian Worldview and Apologetics at the Christian Worldview Center of North Greenville University (www.ngu.edu) in Greenville, S.C.
Part evangelist, part apologist, part educator and part broadcaster, McFarland focuses on communicating the message of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. He co-hosts the daily, live radio program “Exploring the Word” on American Family Radio’s Talk Network, heard on more than 125 stations across the country, and the weekly television show “Viral Truth,” airing on the National Religious Broadcasters Network, which he co-hosts with Jason Jimenez.
For more information on Dr. Alex McFarland, visit www.AlexMcFarland.com or follow him on Facebook or on Twitter @AlexMcFarland.
To book Dr. Alex McFarland for interviews, contact Beth Harrison at 610-584-1096, ext. 104, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Deborah Hamilton at 215-815-7716 or 610-584-1096, ext. 102.