My Kingdom for a Moderate

My two cents on politics of today:

Both sides are continuously screaming their opinion at the tops of their lungs.  Neither side even takes a short breath long enough to hear what the other side is saying.  I don’t think they care anymore.  They don’t want to know the other person’s view point.  It is like children sticking their fingers in their ears and saying “La, la, la, la, la… I can’t hear you.”

The result is that both parties are being pushed further to the Right/Left.  The farther the distance between them, the less likely they are to have to see or hear “the enemy.”

I remember a time when we weren’t enemies.  We had political differences that we could discuss civilly.  Compromises were common. 

As the country gets polarized we keep electing people farther and farther off the radical deep end on both the right and the left.  People complain that the politicians on the other side are horrible and criminal…  You know what?  If you only look for people on the crazy end of the spectrum that is what you are going to get!  Yes, people on both sides have committed horrible crimes and no one in their respective party cares.  “I actually heard someone say, “Well, yes, he is horrible.  Yes, he has done some things that were wrong.  But he is so much better than having a(insert the opposite party here) in office.”  We should be appalled at the monsters that we have elected ON BOTH SIDES.

Friends and family (on both sides) that I know are good and kind people are saying horrible things, and posting even worse propaganda.  I feel like I am trapped between the Nazis from WWII and the USSR from the Cold War Era with them both blaring their manifests loud enough that surely the people can’t hear their opponents.  Where is Indiana Jones when we need him.

The really sad thing is that when Facebook shares a memory from 2, 4. 5. Even 7 or more years ago where I am complaining about the same thing.

Mom’s pastor  from Houston is part of a group seeking Civility in Government.  It is frightening that we need such a thing.  It is even more frightening that no one hears about them.

It makes me want to scream, “MY KINGDOM FOR A MODERATE!”  any moderate… at this point I don’t care if they are Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent…  We need to elect people who are willing to talk, listen, and try to work together.  In the past few years I back the moderates and they would come in dead last.  People aren’t looking for someone who will try to understand and work together.  This last primary I couldn’t find any moderates!  Everyone wanted to prove how far off the deep end that they were.  “I’m the craziest of the crazys!  So, vote for me.”  I swear I thought some of the actual political adds were Saturday Night Live skits making fun of them

If it weren’t for my faith I would completely despair for our nation.  I pray that we will wake up.  I pray that we will remember that these are not only fellow Americans, but also our brothers and sisters in Christ.  I pray that we will find our sense of compassion and compromise again.  We need to go back to what we learned from Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers.  Being Kind is more important than being right.  Sharing and Caring are the way we should live.

Basically, we need Divine Intervention.  So, I pray, “God change our hearts!  Break our hearts of stone!  Fill us with your love again.”

As I try not to unfriend those near and dear to my heart, I also pray that I can be an example of the kind of acceptance and love that we need.  And hope that I do not become the last Moderate on earth.

Love in Christ,

An Endangered Species