My view on the current events that are happening…

I don’t have anything to add to the vitriol of what is presently happening in our country, and more specifically, our nation’s capitol.  I have heard countless folks on both sides proclaim their offended perception of the violation of what is clearly, decent and right.  They can’t both be right, can they? Well, at least to some degree, yes, but they can also be, and are both wrong.  And, there in lies much of the problem. Demanding purity of action from folks who have everything but purity of heart is always going to cause an uproar.  You will always be able to point your finger at who you are accusing, and recite examples of why you are correct in your judgment, but then, so can they. Example abound on both sides of the liberal/conservative fence.

An individual can express how offended, incensed and outraged they are at the goings on in and around Washington DC (Senate and White House).  They can express those emotional outbursts with the passion of Patrick Henry’s famous speech, “Give me liberty, or give me death.”  And…they both sound right to some degree. How can that be?  It is because they are both right, and they are both wrong.  In my opinion, we are seeing very graphic, in our face examples why no society remains strong, moral and just forever.  They all erode from within sooner or later.  Make no mistake, this has been happening for a long, long time.  Corruption in Washington is not new.  Poor character in politicians did not just start happening.  Lying, cheating, and posturing for power, position, money and sex are as old as fallen humanity. If you like who is in power and the platform they represent, then you look the other way at the abuses.  If you do not agree with a current administration and what they stand for, then you will scream, accuse and say all manner of evil against them.  Personally, this is a large part of the reason I opted out of labeling myself.  I find this kind of behavior, though predictable, reprehensible at best. I have felt myself being sucked into the machine at times, and do not like what it produces in my spirit.  It doesn’t make me better. In fact, I’m pretty sure it makes me worse as an individual who believes in God, cares about people, and tries to love like Jesus loved on a practical and daily basis.

Women have most often taken the brunt of sexual manipulation and abuse. They tend to be less aggressive sexually and certainly do not normally possess the brut strength of men.  Therefore, they have been, and remain vulnerable.  They deserve protection from this kind of behavior from society. However when it comes to position and power, their hearts can be just as dark as men’s are.  They can use what they possess to trap, manipulate and influence situations for their purposes.  Men do the same thing.  Let me say it like this….HUMAN BEINGS do these things.  And when we hear folks of both genders express how appalled they are at their “opposition,” it rings hollow to me. It is posturing.  It is another form of manipulation and power brokering.  As far as I can tell, Republicans and Democrats are equally good at this, so called, blame game.  I choose not to play.  In this broken world we live in, often times right is on the losing end.  Sometimes what is fair and decent is not achieved. There is plenty of legitimate blame to go around. Most of the time we end up with a combination of good and not so good. That reality becomes a fertile bed for the seeds of hatred, discourse and enmity to germinate and flourish.  It has in the past, and it continues to do so now.  That will not change no matter how many people scream, “this is tearing our country apart.”  That is the nature of a broken, painful, fearful heart.  Things get torn apart.   Sometimes, irreparably.

I am not passive. I possess strong feelings and beliefs that are shared by some and rejected by others.  I can live with that.  Yes, I will strive to live in a way that is consistent with what I believe and what my conscience dictates.  I will not, however, take a position of accusing, blaming, and degrading others who think differently. I try and not speak in a way that if you happen to not agree with my position, I am communicating that you are stupid and wrong.  That is not always easy, and especially when you are passionate about some issues. I do stand for some things. I want to be strong in my resolve to be a good citizen, but I also want to love like Jesus loved.  Make no mistake, he did not condone or love everything people did (the woman “caught in the act” is the perfect example), but he did not allow his purity of heart and action to become a reason for not treating people with dignity, love and respect.  If he did…guess what…he would no longer be acting out of purity or heart and action.  I will try to follow that.  Is the bar too high to achieve?  Yes, on our own it is.  However, if we allow the Spirit of Jesus to penetrate our heart, and we endeavor (by dying to ourselves and surrendering to him) to be like him from the inside out, it becomes miraculous as to how it is possible to live with one another.