All my life I’ve heard Americans talk out of both sides of their mouths about politics. They remember the great men of history, and they talk about patriotism, and freedom, and famous presidents they never encountered with awe. They visit monuments and libraries, but they don’t know those men, they know what has been said and written and preserved, each word reflecting the opinions, thoughts, and attitudes of the author as much as the realities of the subject. Then there’s the way Americans talk about current and recent politicians. Jokes, insults, cries of how much better it could be, and all from a terribly selfish viewpoint.
My point is simple, and I’m not going to go on at too much length, just going to make it. My comparison point is going to be a Priest. Many will find this odd, coming from me, because I’m not a big fan of the Catholic Church - but bear with me. It’s exactly the kind of thing I hate in politicians that has poisoned the religious hierarchy over its centuries of existence. The word respect departed the building long ago. We have more respect for Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan than we do for any of our political leaders.
A Priest hears his calling. He devotes himself to the study, philosophy, and duties of the priesthood. He forsakes marriage, a family of his own, and offers himself in service. That is the ideal, anyway. To me, this is the type of man who would be the ideal politician. The idea that politicians are public servants is now so laughable that it’s a wonder we still use the term at all. I’m sure that politicians of the past had their personal agendas and interests, but they spoke their minds, and they were - if history can be believed at all - passionate about the country.
Politicians should be called at an early age. I think every distraction they add to their lives becomes another cloud fogging their vision. If they already have business connections, they are human - they will protect their business connections. If they have a large family, children, pets, etc. - do we want a man or woman who can set that aside and serve the country, or a man or woman who devotes themselves to family? The answer, to me, is that a man who has chosen a family, and business, to build his career on should not go into politics.
Just to clarify…I believe there have been great partnerships between men and their wives in government, and I believe some politicians whose children are grown and self-sufficient have the time and energy to devote to the country, if they are willing. It’s those who have young children, still in school, active business interests, and a lot of personal baggage that I am talking about. If they have that, and claim that they can set it aside for the country, they are either lying, or they are not sincerely devoted TO their family in the first place, or to their business - and business is a responsibility. This implies an emotional disconnect that seems - to me - to be morally dangerous.
Men go into the White House and come out gray and old. This kind of aging isn’t from the stress of leading the nation - it’s from the stress of trying to meet their family, business, social obligations while leading the nation. It’s from the conflict of doing what you’ve negotiated yourself into doing rather than what you believe, of saying one thing when you clearly mean another because it’s expected of you. It’s from not believing that they are all out to get you, but knowing it.
John McCain very obviously does not respect Barack Obama at all. He claims to, but Obama is a seated Senator in congress with a decent record. He does not deserve third grade name calling.
John McCain said “There’s no time for on-the-job-training” while telling us Sarah Palin is a quick study. How does that work, exactly? Joe Six-pack is important, yes, but I don’t want Joe Six-pack running the country. I don’t want Josephine Six-pack either.
Obama is a bit more low-key, but his attacks are just as demeaning to himself, and to the system, as McCain’s, and Senator Biden is just as consistent in his inability to back anything with specifics - or, more pointedly, with specifics that are actually true. Both sides continually spout ‘facts’ about one another’s voting records in congress. I’d like a true account of exactly how they came to the decisions they made. Who lobbied for and against the bills in question, who spoke to them personally, who did they do a favor for to gain something in return? That’s how it works, right? Illinois needs a bill passed to reform their prison system, so when the Senator from Alabama asks for support on an economic bill he’s putting forth, the Senator from Illinois “trades”. It’s like some warped version of the stock market, trading in votes - and we have no Jesus to throw the money-lenders out of the temple.
Meanwhile, Sarah Palin more and more shows her true colors. Words slip through. Stories come out and have to be squashed. She’s not just a smiling hockey mom; she’s dangerously right-wing and cripplingly conservative, and just BUSTING to let that out. If she understands where the lines of propriety are drawn when it comes to personal attacks against respected politicians, she ignores them pointedly. If she understands the separation of church and state, it’s only that she understands how appearances must be maintained.
Here’s a thought for Bible Spice, either you believe the wacko-bird things your youth and church seem to indicate - or you do not. If you do, you are compromising that faith by concealing it in your political life - if you do NOT believe it, then why does it keep popping up? Why did you have a witch hunter perform a prayer ceremony for you? Why did you claim that the earth is only 6000 years old? You do know, right, that it takes MILLIONS of years just to make the oil you claim to be such an expert on? And if all of that is just not true, and you are not a creationist who believes people speak in tongues, why can’t you just stand up in public and say you don’t believe it? You won’t say you do, or you don’t, which seems an answer in and of itself.
This election, the state of the economy, and the government in general, is our own fault. We are too selfish to give up our lives to pursue any sort of “fix.” Almost any intelligent man or woman, if they dedicated themselves to it, could become a part of a solution - could volunteer and become part of the government on some level - or support for others willing to sacrifice, but most would rather watch CSI and hope whoever bought Washington this time out fixes it so we can get back to beer commercials. America needs more men like T. Boone Pickens, still making money, but willing to share knowledge and wealth in a positive fashion.
There is no one acting in service to the country, as far as I can see, beyond the level of the soldiers fighting the war, and even the upper levels of the military start hedging their bets, worrying over the condos and yachts in their futures, and wondering if they can get in on some of that big oil money and government green if they play their cards right.
God Bless America
We are a nation of fools.
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