Politics & Religion

I've seen a lot of disparaging remarks from both sides of the political platform, and it's really started to wear at my soul! I've seen remarks wishing the President would die of Covid-19, or that at least that he would get really sick, when the news came out that he contracted the virus. I saw posts in social media celebrating the fact that this man was sick, and people posting endless memes mocking the man! It bothered me a lot, but the more I thought about it, I realized I was being a hypocrite.

I was in the Army for 11 years, and I was very happy when, while still serving, I discovered Osama Bin Laden had been captured and killed. I was also happy when Saddam Hussein was captured and later found hanging. I celebrated, rejoiced, and savored the moments, because to me these men were the epitome of pure evil, and a big part of the reason I joined the Army. So, as I pondered the reasons people might be posting such hateful remarks about our President, it dawned on me that maybe they think of him the way I thought of them.

There is a critical difference here though, that I really need to point out. As a Christian, I realize all these years later, that celebrating the death of anyone not saved is atrocious. (Yes, I was a Christian when these men died, but not as far in my walk as I am now.) There is also a huge difference between these two men and our President. Two of them intentionally killed people, including their own countrymen. The other, regardless of what your political stance is, has not intentionally killed anyone. There may be arguments about if he could have done more to prevent deaths due to the outbreak, but there was never any plan that he put in place to purposely kill anyone in our country. There are plenty of politicians on both sides of the aisle that I don't necessarily like, but I would not wish death or illness on them.

The division in our country over politics has spiraled out of control! There have been times in the past when it's been bad, but I don't know if I've ever seen it this bad! What news sources can we really trust, to give us complete, unbiased information? Everyone has a spin to make their side sound like the only right side. Remember when debates didn't turn into shouting matches? When they were more about quick, educated, and witty responses? Remember when the media used to uncover the truth and reveal it to America, instead of looking only for facts that back their side of the story? Remember when you could disagree with someone's political views, and still get along, without calling each other names, or unfriending on social media?

I'm blessed to live in a part of America that so far has been getting along pretty well during these trying times. Yes, there are far more Trump signs in yards than there are Biden, but nobody's ripping Biden signs out of yards, nobody is rioting in the streets, and, so far, I've been able to have civil discussions with people that don't agree with my political or religious views. I know the wise old saying tells us we should never discuss politics or religion if we want to have peaceful conversation, but I think the only way we're going to achieve peace now is through an open discussion. Our country was founded on freedom, and we should all feel free to disagree. I don't have to like your views, and you don't have to like mine. In the end, we're all Americans, so we should agree to disagree peacefully, and remain united in that, lest we fail and fall divided.