Conventions and Conforming to Good Citizenship


The Republican Convention is over and my husband is slowly starting to unclench his masculine jaw.  Next week, when we start gavel to gavel coverage of the Democratic Convention, our rolls with be reversed.  I’ll be the one chewing the inside of my mouth (followed by the carpeting, the cabinetry and probably the tires on the car).  We have rules in this house that essentially turn it in to a demilitarized zone in the heat of the political battle.  No snide comments, eye rolling or long-suffering sighs when the other side is talking.  Don’t bring up a topic if you don’t want to hear the other side.  They are sensible rules for us, and, of course, we vote—even if we just cancel each other out. 

            Of course, there are times when we do vote for the same person, or issue.  I’ve only voted against one tax increase in my life, and that was for a county recreational fee for which no one could explain the need.  My husband and I do agree on lots of things.  Chief among these is caring for this nation through conformity to all of the actions of a good citizen.  Tom served in the military and did his time in Viet Nam.  We obey the law.  We support the Constitution.  We vote.  We differ in approach, not substance. 

            The reason I don’t like zealots is their irritating, smug assurance that all truth comes directly from God’s mouth to their ear—exclusive of the rest of humanity.  Wrong!  Here are a few truths that run counter to many stereotypes.

 

(1)    Many of the Godliest people I know are Democrats.  They are devout people who live their faith.  The Republican Party has no lock on believers. 

(2)    Many of the people I know who live lives that reflect the highest ideals of a Godly life are without any faith at all.  Atheists can be very good people living good, temporal lives.  I am married to one, and while I try to set a good example of Godly living, and pray for the Holy Spirit to work in his life, I would not change a single thing about how he lives his worldly life. 

(3)    The vast majority of the people in this country, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent, what-have-you, love this country and want the best for all Americans. 

(4)    Most of us see the same problems, but we differ on the best solutions, the speed necessary to reach the goal, or the division of labor. 

 

So this coming season will test, not the patriotism or humanity of Americans, but our intellectual preparedness, our philosophical outlook, and, yes, our sense of humor.  Make no mistake, I am, by virtue of who I am, how I was raised and sixty-five years of experience, all of which emphasize overcoming adversity through hard work and personal responsibility, a dyed-in-the-wool Republican.  But I am not so vain or ignorant as to think that there are not people who have lived the same kind of life who are equally ardent in their support of Democrats. 

The best example we show the world, every four years, is that we can maintain this vocal, public, heated discourse and settle it at the ballot box.  The enemy here is the occasional nut case (mentally weak and emotionally insecure) who wants to turn this into a personal vendetta.  Personally, I plan on working this election by pointing out what I like about my side, and not attacking what the other side says.  If I find that difficult to do, well, that is why God made good scotch. 

Love they neighbor, and keep the faith.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Generation of Serfs

  On October 25, 1415, Henry V of England laid some serious hurt on the French at the Battle of Agincourt at Pas-de-Calais, France.   Part of the success of this campaign was due to Henry’s use of the longbow, but part of it also goes to the creative use of military indentures.   These legal contracts required all the English captains to provide specified amounts of men, material and time to the King’s cause.             An indenture was a document, written in duplicate and then torn along a jagged line, like little teeth ( dents ), in the paper.   One portion of the contract was in possession of each party and when the required conditions and period of service were fulfilled, the parts reunited, and the debt was considered paid.   Many of the people who first came to this country from England came as indentured servants, worked off their debt and became the backbone of the country.             Today we are creating a nation not of indentured servants, someone with a carefully
Read more

Our Beautiful Constitution and its Ugly Opponents

 The Constitution is our anchor of stability in a turbulent world!   We can withstand a bad President and a petulant Congress (for the short term, at least) because our Constitution both guides and limits.   If someone asked me to provide proof of a loving God, I would simply ask them how else so many geniuses in the matter of human governance could have been clustered together in the right time and place to create both our country and the means to govern it.    Our founding fathers had the vision to devise a way to not only govern themselves, but govern a country that they could not imagine, yet believed would prevail. The constitution of the United States is like a good parent.   It has allowed us to grow up as we have grown older, with the result that the United States of America is the oldest living democracy in the world.   The miracle of this document is that it lives, breathes and moves with the times.   The three branches of our government work together while standing alone
Read more

"You Didn't Build That:" Part I

Late in the day on Friday, July 13 th , President Obama mounted the stage of Historic Firehouse Number One in Roanoke , Virginia .   The room held around 800 people but it was hot and several people fainted.   In front of a carefully screened group of supporters he gave one of the most important speeches of his reelection campaign.    It was not meant to be a major speech.   That will come in the even more carefully scripted Convention Hall in Charlotte , North Carolina this September in front of adoring media and rabid political supporters.   But this speech in Roanoke is crucial to the 2012 election because on Friday, in Virginia , President Obama went off message.   Whether through error or hubris, he abandoned his script and spoke off the cuff.   And in so doing, he showed us the man behind the curtain.   The angry but controlled, insecure yet charismatic, market fearful, socialistically inclined man that Barrack Obama really is. I am speaking, of course, of the now famou
Read more