Not the Devil

 

 

"As much as I disagree with the President, I also do not believe he is the Devil..."

I am a "Johnny come lately" in getting involved in politics more than just an observer. This year, for the first time, I am a delegate. To say it has been an eye-opening experience, would be a gross understatement. I have learned quite a bit, and take this civic duty seriously. I have tried to learn as much as I can about each candidate running in the district in which I live. Some I know, some I have met, and some I have only heard of.

That being said, in the past week or two I have been barraged by phone calls, e-mails and snail mail. Some better than others. I have seen the good, the bad, and the underbelly of politics. I try very hard to not judge a book by the cover - I am trying to find out what each candidate stands for. I can make a lot of time to learn about different positions - I have very little time for mud wrestling.

In my faith, I have learned that all of us have value. There are none of us walking around who are a "waste of skin". It hurts me to hear someone on national radio say that about a person in politics he disagrees with. There were things President Bush did that I disagreed with. However, there were other things he did that I agreed with. When I mentioned that on Facebook, one of my conservative "friends" sent me a note saying "we needed to part ways". He de-friended me for that one comment.

I have said this before, and it bears repeating. To run for public office is a huge undertaking. The higher the office, the more time, money and personal sacrifice is required. As an American, I salute the vast majority, regardless of party, that make that decision. There are a select few that run for the wrong reason - but the majority do it because they care.

I have talked until I am blue in the face about the multitude of policy disagreements I have with the President and the far left wing of his party. As much as I want them voted out of office, I do not believe them to be evil nor a "waste of skin". They are opponents, not enemies. After the endorsing convention this weekend, the victors will go forward to the next contest and hopefully, the ones who did not win will support them. At the end of the day, we are all suppose to be on the same team.

Some complain that politics has gotten very dirty. George Will often chuckles at that statement, because as a historian, he knows it has been dirty for many years. As much as I love passion, I also know there needs to be a boundary for it. Lets hope that on Sunday when we all go to church we will not have regrets on how we treated each other the week before.