I. Hate. Politics.

It's getting to that time of year again. Here goes for another personal confession -- I absolutely, totally, with all that I am, H-A-T-E politics. (Seriously, no exaggeration there!)  I hate getting on Facebook and seeing all of the "commentaries".  I despise the commercials where one candidate bashes another. I hate hearing other people talk about politics because they wind up talking horrible about someone. I loathe the debates that turn in to screaming matches. I can't stand the back-stabbing, the mud-slinging, the lies, the arguing. I seriously hate it all.

When I was venting about this to my laid-back husband, he just shrugged his shoulders and said, "It works." Ugh! You know, THAT'S the very problem! It shouldn't work! Are we numb-brained enough that we can't just take the facts and then figure out what we want from there? We have to have these emotional, attacking arguments to convince us who's right and who's wrong? Maybe I'm incredibly naive, maybe I'm intellectually lacking, but I think I've got enough brains and common sense to realize who I want representing me in political office without all of the horrible rhetorical that comes from BOTH sides.

And it just continues to get worse. Well, that might not be totally true. I have a feeling that it's always been this awful -- even back in the days of our Founding Fathers. From what I understand, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had their personal differences. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas weren't the best of buddies. Ever read about the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr? It all stemmed from the smearing in a political campaign. This political nastiness has been going on since the beginning of America unfortunately.

To me, the answer simple. A candidate tells what he believes and how he'd vote. Leave the other candidate out of it. He runs his campaign and leaves the other guy to his. How hard can that be? And, as for me, I'll vote for the man/woman who I believe has the same convictions that I have -- and we'll live happily ever after. Ok, that's where my naivete comes in. We won't live happily ever after because life happens to step in. But we CAN live without tearing other people apart, can't we?

I can't help but think that God is grieved by the way we conduct ourselves. When Jesus walked this earth, I don't see any record of His slamming Herod, Pilate, or the Roman government. And honestly, the Roman Empire wasn't high on the list of moral excellence, but the Bible tells us that God is the one Who establishes the government. He wasn't surprised by what was going on. He had that government in place for His reasons and His purposes. Jesus knew that and wasn't screaming about its shortcomings. No one knew better than He that there were some serious issues -- not only in government, but in the hearts of all men. Jesus didn't turn a blind eye to what was going on. He didn't ignore the issues. But He also didn't belittle those who believed differently than He did. In actuality, He DIED for those people, just as He did for me.

I realize there will be people who won't particularly like this post. Sorry about that! Just my soapbox for the day ...