What we desperately need in our country is unity, not uniformity. We have major differences, politically, religiously, and economically in our nation, and we also have many different social streams. We are not all going to believe the same, ever. Any politician who acts like we do, or ever will, is either lying to the public or fooling himself, although it makes for a nice campaign statement. We’ve always had major differences, and many of those differences just aren’t solvable.
What is solvable is how we treat each other when we disagree. If you are a Christian, you are commanded to love everybody. Other people may hate you, but as a Christian, you are not allowed to hate anyone. In fact, the Bible says in I Peter 2:17, “Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters.” This means that you must show respect to everyone, even people of different faiths, or those you totally disagree with. Romans 12:14 “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”
You can't fix problems as long as you spend all your time and energy spouting hate and laying blame. The thing I dislike most about our current American discourse is people are constantly blaming everyone else for problems rather than fixing them.
The rise of television and the internet changed the way our politicians behave. Regardless of what they say or do, they are not interested in solving your problems. They are interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of your problems and telling you who's to blame for them. It’s been an effective formula for winning elections for over 50 years.
But, this strategy drives hard wedges betweens groups of citizens, and fuels the very discourse we are suffering from because it strikes us in a very emotional place, and causes us to respond emotionally towards those we disagree with.
We must somehow return civility to our civilization in order to get along and move on, and demand that our politicians do the same. And there must be a spiritual basis to the reason for civility. If you don't have a spiritual foundation in your dealings with others, then you're always going to have the viewpoint of “We need to win. We need to win on this issue. We need to win in this election. We need to win.”
I imagine and desire a government where the politicians do not care about getting re-elected, and where the pay for their services is linked directly to real efforts towards solving real problems. The next time a politician stands up to talk about another politician, or anything other than their own beliefs and position on a topic, check your pulse and your attitude before jumping up to go yell at your neighbor. My guess is that’s exactly what he wanted you to do.
