Ramon Arias | June 2, 2014
On May 13, 2014, in the Republican primary of West Virginia, 17 year old Saira Blair ousted state Delegate Larry Kump who was seeking a third term. The vote of 872-728 gave her the victory. She will soon be graduating from High School and will not be eligible to vote until July.
Are the people of West Virginia out of their minds? What were those who voted for her thinking? Well, let’s see, Blair was upfront with her principles and her platform was very clear. Her campaign flyer said:
“I’m Pro-Life. I’m Pro-Family. Pro-2nd Amendment. I’m Pro-Business. I’m Pro-Jobs. I’m Pro-West Virginia. These are my personal and political beliefs!
One of the reasons that I’m running for the 59th Delegate seat is to show young people that we shouldn’t wait until we are 40, 50, or 60 to realize that conservative principles are the pathway to prosperity and success.
I am living proof that you can get a good education in West Virginia but you cannot get a good paying job. I want to change that and I can do the job!”
Do you think the GOP establishment welcomes her victory? Think again, it seems they only want “Republicans” who do not take their convictions seriously and compromise their principles so they can be easily pliable and easily molded; a go-along to get-along mindset. In other words, they want Republicans in name only. Now that she is poised to go against the opposition, are the Democrats going to attack her? Will they have mercy because of her age and gender? They must remember, she is a woman and they proclaim to be the champions of women’s rights. You bet Blair will be attacked by RINO’s and Democrats, a double whammy, just look at her principles. Her grasp of how to solve the State’s financial crisis may surprise many.
For now, it is clear why Saira Blair, was motivated to get into politics to take a big step in her State’s political life. She feels the pain and need to change so many things that are wrong and the ineffectiveness or unwillingness of most politicians to turn West Virginia away from the path of destruction.
Judging from her values, it is obvious she was born into practicing Christianity and conservative politics; her father is State Senator Craig Blair, who has taught and guided her to be involved in youth politics as being more important then worrying and consuming every waking moment with the senior prom. Blair has merits of her own through volunteering at: organizations such as Horses with Hearts, Relay for Life, Adopt-a-Highway, Martinsburg’s Hispanic Heritage Festival, American Red Cross Blood Drives, Toys for Tots, the Backpack Program, the Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival Kiwanis’ Pancake Breakfast and a Veteran’s Administration Holiday Volunteer. Each one requires selfless giving and sacrifice to improve the life of others.
There is no area of the American culture that is not a challenge. The rise of the secular culture has brought the worship of immorality and praised the evangelist of decadence, who is riding high and mighty. Those opened to that mindset think they are unstoppable and indestructible because, after all, these are the characteristics of a modern world. Added to that, they have billions of dollars to control the mainstream media, public schools, the arts and entertainment, education, science, government at all levels, churches as well as many areas of human development and yes, even politics. Wrongfully, many “Christians” sit on the sidelines and reject their God-given responsibility to be the hope of every aspect of social culture and think that God will not require them to produce the fruit of His Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 25). Not only are they misguided but are great contributors and willingly hand over the tools to the ungodly, who at present have the upper hand, to trample all over them (Matthew 5:13-16).
Then along comes a courageous young Christian girl with solid convictions and determination to make the difference, ready for battle and steps up to the challenge. She knows the gravity of the problems and offers to solve them and asks for the people in her county to give her a vote of confidence. I hope and pray many professing Christians and conservatives wake up and get behind her convictions.
What are most 17 years olds thinking and doing with their lives? The behavior of the young in our culture is very telling of where their minds and desires are. Parents, it is not enough to say: “we are loosing our children and young people to a godless culture”. We adults, as well as young people, should take notice of young Saira and know there is hope for the future of our children, our youth and the nation as long as parents become proactive in understanding the reality we all face in this present decadent culture and determine to change it with the biblical worldview. Saira is a living testimony that not all of our youngsters have been dumbed down by education, made ineffective by the church and poisoned by the culture of perversion. Parents can make a positive and lasting influence in their lives.
Saira Blair does not have an easy task ahead of her. If she wins the November election, she will need all the counsel from the God of the Bible to remain faithful to her convictions and courageously withstand the attacks that will surely come against her character. She also needs to be able to resist the temptation that comes with political power and prestige. She will need to draw closer to God with the assurance that when she does, He will draw closer to her (James 4:8). Saira can rest assured that the God of the Bible will keep His part of the bargain with her:
“Yet the righteous holds to his way, and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger,” (Job 17:9).
“But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works,” (Psalm 73:28).
The Bible and history are filled with examples of children and young people who have made a positive difference against all adversity and enormous odds against them. Do not waste their minds and God-given talents for God’s purpose in their lives. History also tells us that parents are the ones who are to produce children to become great servants for the good of humanity, or, the opposite is true, they will become mere consumers and promoters of depravity and tyrants.
We can all get involved in our communities to spiritually and intellectually fight against the forces of destruction entrenched in all areas of society. You and your family must get involved, do not shrink from any challenge and do not even listen to the defeatist or fatalistic voices of “well-meaning” Christians, listen to the Voice of God as it is revealed in His Word. Become a serious student of history and learn with your family how true Christians of all ages make the difference in all areas of life. If you do not have children of your own, involve yourself with children and youth groups to teach and motivate them into becoming all God wants them to be.
Saira Blair, thank you for being such a breath of fresh air in a polluted atmosphere. May you become God’s handmaiden greater than the Bible heroine Deborah (Judges 4-5), and may your commitment inspire young and old alike to fight back to conquer the culture of darkness.