Religion and Politics…a good mix? And some other thoughts.
i originally started off this rant as a response to a comment left by another poster, but then it slowly evolved (oops…evolved OR intelligently designed…gotta be fair and balanced!) into a much longer rant about the state of politics.
when it comes to politics and choosing a president for these United States, i’m sort of curious about why religion should enter into the discussion at all, actually.
wasn’t escaping religious persecution one of the reasons we came to this country in the first place and fought so hard to keep it free?
listen, i’m all for religion. as i’ve said before, i most certainly believe in a higher power, whatever name you choose to assign to that power…God, Budha, Mohammed…whatever your choice…and i fully support our rights to worship as we all see fit.
what i want to understand is how did it happen that a candidate’s religious views are now considered when they run for a political office? listen, i’m not saying that i’d vote for someone who was running around with a pentagram tattooed on their forehead, quoting verses from the satanic bible or anything, but it just seems to me that this is a decision that needs to be made with as little influence from religion as possible, especially since we can’t all even seem to agree on THAT. how many different churches are thre in this country? how many different ideologies and belief systems? so as complex an issue as religion is, does it seem like a good idea to mix it in with the excessively complex political process?
i mean, at this point, because the candidates know how important religion and religious views are to the voters, they’ll say and do almost anything to make everyone believe that they are the most God-fearing, Bible-toting, scripture-quoting candidate out there…how much of that do you really think is sincere? most of these people will say or do whatever it takes to get your vote, and that includes trying to come across in a very Christian-like manner, even though i think that is probably the most un-Christian-like thing someone can do.
do any of you actually think GW is a good Christian?? i can point you to a few select videos of the man that don’t exactly present him in a very favorable Christian light.
maybe i’m actually giving us all too much credit here. since when do we actually LISTEN to and PROCESS what these candidates are actually talking about? they come out, spout off a bunch of talking points to make us all feel warm and fuzzy, and then the media decides who the candidates will be, forces them down everyone’s throat, causes the process of “choosing” a candidate to become tainted, and we usually end up standing in line in November to vote for the lesser of 2 idiots.
people who have a real message and real experience and vision are largely ignored in favor of the more “polished” candidates…it is sad how those 2 qualities hardly ever seem to come together to form the “perfect candidate”…charismatic AND qualified. wouldn’t THAT be something?
i mean, truth be told, candidates like Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul are probably 2 guys who would really make a difference in this country and do some good things, but they are being ignored and buried under a pile of Obama, Clinton, and McCain and Huckabee (honestly…can you imagine a President Huckabee??) 🙂 for that matter, what about John Edwards? the man came in SECOND in Iowa, but the media largely ignored that in favor of basically handing the whole election to Obama, even going so far as to speculate that Clinton was considering dropping OUT of the race.
the truth is, most of these candidates lost touch with reality and us “normal foke” long, long ago…sadly, the days of real candidates and real change have probably passed us by…no more Kennedys (J or R), or FDR, or for that matter, Reagan or Clinton…the OC – Original Clinton…not this one.
i am so disillusioned about politics at this point that i wonder why i even bother to worry anymore…you need look no farther than how the candidates are chosen to see how flawed the system is. basically, our presidential candidates are decided FOR us here in Kentucky, before we ever get a chance to be heard. if they want to hold primaries, shouldn’t they all be held nationally AT THE SAME TIME?? seriously doubt that the average person in New Hampshire has the same issues and problems as the average person living in Kentucky, so why should they have so much influence in choosing who we’ll end up voting for on down the road?
so, i say vote for who you really like in the primaries. don’t let the media sway you into voting for someone simply because they think that person will eventually end up being the party’s nominee. the primaries aren’t about Democrat vs. Republican…they are about selecting someone to represent your party. you aren’t costing your party anything by not voting for the “favorite”…you are actually speaking YOUR mind. of course, when it all shakes out, we can all line up and pull the lever for “our” candidate in November.
but until then, shouldn’t you vote for the person that YOU want? and shouldn’t that vote be based on the real issues, not what church someone attends…or whether or not they believe in evolution…or some other religious issue which will, more likely than not, have NO effect on how they run the country?