Waxing political...sort of

There's an ongoing discussion on derfleeganforum that was started by FA as an open vent-post on any and all topics of annoyance. But the part I found myself fixated on was the socio-political conversation in the thread. It really got me thinking.

First, let me explain a little habit I have. If there's a topic that I don't want to talk about, think about, or linger on in any fashion, I have discovered that (duh) something about that topic deeply disturbs or frustrates me. It usually takes me a lot longer than one might think to identify the occurance of this reaction, but when I do, I try to practice the discipline of forcing myself to ponder it until a) I figure out what it is that bothers me about it, or b) I become more comfortable with the notion and can look at it with greater objectivity.

Politics, for me, is a mine field of such ugly subjects that I would much rather avoid than deal with. For one thing, there are all sorts of moral dilemmas on which, for me personally, the jury is still out and perhaps will ultimately return a hung verdict. But I'm okay with that for the most part, because much as I'd like to know exactly what I believe on every issue, I think that it is probably bad and quite assuredly annoying to be so damned sure about everything. In fact, all of the people I've ever met, without exception that I can think of, who have their minds made up about absolutely everything are mindlessly towing a line, be it a political party or a religious denomination.

But there's this whole idea of politics in general. There's the corruption of the system, the mismanagement, the unfairness, the ineptitude, the self-serving decisions of people we've entrusted with the care of our country. And let me get something on the table right now. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT A PARTY. It pisses me off when people talk about the selfishness of the Republicans or the lack of moral fiber of the Democrats. You know what? They're all in the same festering, self-congratulating, nepotistic, power-mongering boat. So don't tell me how great your party is. It sucks. There, FA, I said it. They. All. Suck.

Whew. That was a rabbit trail. I was trying to get to the thought I had today. Right, so, I was doing my thing where I confront my distaste for politics, and I think I figured something out. You see, I have great respect for people who are out there trying to change the system. Those people are truly needed. But their passion seems foreign to me. That's not in me. It's not that I don't care, just that it seems so futile. Why do I feel this way?

It occurs to me that my Christian beliefs have re-wired my brain in many ways. I don't see the "system", in and of itself, as being changeable. At least, not to any lasting benefit. The way I see it, our social and political systems are, and always have been, a by-product of the people who compose and influence them. They're nothing more than a symptom, really, indicative of the overall health of the Body. Now don't get me wrong about the Christian thing. I don't think that this viewpoint is exclusively Christian. That's just the route I took in arriving at my conclusion. Like I said, some people have a passion for the system. My heart is for people. That's my passion.

I think I can grasp why God told early Christians to pray for their leaders in government, even though they were being persecuted by them. I mean, who needs more prayer? Good leaders or bad ones? They're there, whether you like it or not. Yeah, W was re-elected. I know a lot of people who are upset about that, and for good reason, but it's done. We need people on the walls, watching our leaders, getting outraged about injustice, and not letting anything slide. But we also need people who can exhibit compassion, who can separate anger from hate and pray that our leaders will learn wisdom, selflessness, and humility. Ideally, we need people who can do both of those at the same time.