Politicking
So, I guess there’s this election thing going on and everyone seems to be all up in arms about Republicans and Democrats and, my lands, people should probably take a deep breath for a minute. I may be included in the people.
Here’s the thing, folks. You know how it all matters so much right now (and it does, it really really does) in a few short months there won’t be anything you can do to make it go one way or another. It will all be over (unless, of course, we are still counting ballots one by one and checking out chads and all) and your life may or may not be monumentally impacted by legislation that may or may not ever get anywhere in Congress, but you’re still going to be related to those people you were yelling at about taxes and ear marks. You shouldn’t be breaking up with friends over the color of their vote this fall. It just doesn’t make good sense to let the media (biased as they all are) come between decent human beings and ravage their souls over philosophical differences.
Take for instance how I think the government should stay the heck out of my wallet to allow me to put my money into charities and to individuals who need it. Some of you may think that the federal government can do this just fine. I disagree, but I get it. I understand that you don’t want poor people to starve or go without healthcare. It’s just that I used to be on the federal coffers as a military dependent and saw how brilliantly backwards the system was and how infrequently the help got where it should go, how many hoops were jumped through only to find greater obstacles of suckage standing in our way (and it wasn’t even the worst government program out there – not by a long shot).
My basic understanding of our government tells me we should keep it simple, small and heavily monitored. I want States to rule themselves well, vying for our jobs and representing us well. I want to free teachers to be able to teach students with fervor and allow their local government, but primarily the parents, to work for the children’s good.
I know that the fallen state of the world means that most of this is a pipe dream. As long as there are people, there will be corruption. As long as there are humans, there will be deceit. As long as we sit back and do nothing, evil will prevail. I just wish we could all agree on what’s evil. Let’s put our efforts there.
the tamarisk tree 
Good thoughts Kim. I think the difficulty in coming together on evil though, is that there are those who will readily declare evil when they see it, and others who are offended at just the utterance of the word. Coming together on that would be a major step, but getting to that point lies the basis for the emotional battle of it all.
As one who gets more intense than usual when discussing politics, I do admit that sometimes (especially when family is involved) it is better to agree to disagree.
And then we should turn around, get down on our knees, & thank God that we live in a country where we have the right to disagree.