The One And Only Time I Will Talk About Politics

Ok, let's all take a deep breath and a step back for just a minute. I think that we will be a little healthier if we do that. Now let's think about this question: Is it a good system to have in place when our leaders have to spend their time and money fighting each other and bringing half of our country down in order to be a leader? 


I have never been very interested in politics. Growing up I always thought I would rather be ignorant and allow others that seemed smarter and wiser to duke it out in the politics arena. There was so much I didn't know about how our country was run and what was important to our country that I would rather just live my day-to-day life and ignore it. But now as an adult I think I would have to live under a rock to not see what was going on in our country (and yet, some people seem to be able to pull that off). My husband and I watch the news, The Daily Show, and the Colbert Report. We have facebook accounts and twitter accounts. We read articles online. I have friends that are working in politics. So now I will step up onto my soapbox just for a moment to talk about something that I didn't care about until recently. Just stick with me for a moment, this actually does apply to all of us. 


I want to offer a different point of view first. There's this planet called earth. On a little section of the planet there are a lot of people that are really passionate about their ideas and the ideas of the rest of the people that live in this little section. They have set up their own government, and they are so proud of their section. Now if you listened to some of their conversations, you would hear things like this, "Can you believe how ridiculous all the Democrats are for doing this?" "The Republicans are stupid as usual." "I don't want to live on this planet anymore." (Wait, you don't want to live on this planet because there is someone in this little section of earth that disagrees with you? There are actually other sections on this planet. I've been to a few of them, and they are pretty cool too.)


Anyway, whether you are Republican or Democrat, I think there is something wrong with the fact that our country is divided down the middle and sometimes it seems like the purpose of each side is to show how wrong and stupid and horrible the other half of the country is. For one, we talk about not stereotyping people and segregating them, but then we say things like "all Republicans are stupid" or "all Democrats are wrong". It is a wonderful thing to be in a country that expresses different views and opinions, but it is scary that we aren't able to have a really intelligent conversation about them without labeling each other. It reminds me of the Dr. Seuss book about Sneetches that have stars on their bellies and Sneetches that don't and McMonkey McBean is able to take advantage of them financially because they care so much about being in different groups. All they needed to do was take a step back and realize that loving each other is more important than what group they are in. Can our country be in a good place when to be in politics means taking one side and tearing the other side down? Can we truly have a good country when our articles and ads are all negative toward others? The other night I saw a negative ad on tv that was complaining about the other person having negative ads. What??


Yes, sometimes when we care about someone we have to let them know what they are doing wrong that can hurt them or others. Yes, it is very important to have an opinion and believe in something. But what bothers me most is that somehow we have divided ourselves into two groups. Everyone is different; we all have different passions, different strengths and weaknesses, different ideas and opinions and hobbies. God has the biggest box of crayons ever and He used all of them in making us unique. So why are we in two groups, each trying to bring half the country down? Can we have a conversation without stating that someone is an idiot? And why are we idiots just because we stated our beliefs? I thought that was one reason that we were proud of our country in the first place, because we could tell others our beliefs. I think our conversations as a nation are too negative, focusing on how wrong the other side is, instead of actually trying to do something. 


"A house divided cannot stand" is a statement by Abraham Lincoln, quoting Jesus. In light of that, isn't it creepy how divided we are? I'm just waiting for the day when our country and political system can no longer stand, and it is probably closer than we think. We need to breathe deeply, and figure out how to have a system that loves instead of hates. 


Alright, there was my rant. I will step off of my soapbox for now. And by the way, I love you. Jesus does too, and He was not a "Republican" or a "Democrat". He spent time speaking the truth in love to everyone, regardless of their careers or opinions or sins.