Political Workplace

For a while now...ever since I was asked who I'd vote for back in August by my boss, politics has played a considerable part in random conversational opportunities to speak on the latest negative news about one candidate or the other. Unfortunately, this is the nature of politics these days.

Another unfortunate reality these days is that people love to wrap up religion in politics. The majority of people I am around are Christians...Conservative Christians. Sadly, these "Conservative Christians" are giving themselves a bad name (which I have been seeing for a long time now) simply by the statements and beliefs they hold, and try to share with others.

As I grew up, in a Southern Baptist Church, I too held the belief that anyone who doesn't believe like I did was wrong...and thus, all of their decisions and beliefs were inherently wrong. I viewed the world this way until I turned about 23-25.

It wasn't until that time that I moved out of the household of any parental figures and on my own, that I started making my own decisions and thinking for myself...a time when my actions had direct and heavily impacting consequences to my own survival. As I started to encounter new things I was previously sheltered from, and new kinds of people I was protected from interacting with, my views changed away from those that were instilled in me growing up.

For example, when I was a kid, I was taught Islam, Muslim, Wiccans, Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormon people were evil and shouldn't even be talked to, unless trying to convert them to Christianity as I knew it. That all Democrats were obviously non-Christians. That Gay people are demon possessed, and should be condemned until converted to Christianity and straightness.

Depending on your background, Reader, you may identify with this; consider it valid, but extreme; or be abhorred by the statements.

But that is not how I see things now...

It was said to me that "people fear that which they do not understand." I see that in a lot of the really Conservative people's beliefs...regardless of religion. People fear technology because they don't understand it...people fear the future because they can't fathom it...they fear progress because they don't understand the implications of it. So........ go understand it!

Religions - people believe various things based on what they were taught when they were growing up. They either inherited their parents' beliefs, or formed their own due to their environment. People that are Islamic, Muslim, whatever, believe what they do for the same reason that those around me believe in Jesus. They believe their religion is the answer for how to properly live and end their life. And that's what they have chosen to do...that's fine. But that doesn't mean that I have chosen to do the same...and doesn't mean that they can force me to either. So for the people holding up signs and yelling "Repent because you're going to BURN IN HELL" on the street corner in Sundance Square, downtown Fort Worth, at people who are out enjoying their Friday evening with their loved ones...why don't you go live your life in a manner that would bring awe and wonderment to those around you? Why don't you cause people to ask you why you believe what you do, because of how much better it is than what they currently believe?

I am extremely against shoving my religious point of view down someone's throat because I think it is right or better. The reasons for my beliefs are no more valid than the reasons for their beliefs. And if you think your beliefs are, then why? Because Jesus said so? Because you have a Bible that says so? Because Brother Bob at Westside Baptist Church said so? Because you just get a certain feeling that comes over you when you read the scriptures from the Bible and while praying?.......So do they. Live it out, and let them come ask. Jesus didn't hold up signs and shout at people on the streets...they CAME to Him and ASKED Him how they could follow Him.


Politics - I grew up Republican. My favorite color as a kid was Red...It was bright, exciting, and (unknown until a couple years ago) was the color I saw as a Synestete that related to my views on religion and politics. As I got older though, red started to relate to stress and control as well...and I became a fan of blue. It's cooler, calmer, and less BAM! in your face. Much like my *views* on religion politics.

Over the years, I have noticed that Republicans tend to equate to Conservative Christians. They tend to try and tie up their "believe like I believe, because what you believe is wrong" ideology into their message. "Terrorists, Evil, War, Mass Destruction, Taxes, Socialism, Gay Marriages, Flag Burning, Abortion" are all part of the rhetoric that gets spewed out from Republican conventions. And to be quite honest with you - Gay people shouldn't get a "Marriage" title, Abortions shouldn't happen, and I am cool with war...let's go get the evil people out of the way, and blow them up. Let's relocate all the Israelites for a minute, and turn the middle east into the biggest piece of glass in the world...and move them back.

ON THE OTHER HAND, Democrats tend to equate to humanists..."Environmentalists, Animal Rights, Gay Rights, Pro-Choice, Taxes, Middle Class" are all part of the rhetoric that gets spewed out from Democratic conventions. And to be quite honest with you - Gay people should have rights as humans, Animals should have rights (though not equal to humans) to protect them reasonably, the environment should be taken into consideration....but not to the extent of impeding progress. We have oil in Alaska and around every shoreline and coast in America. We need to be able to get it instead of having to borrow more money from China to pay OPEC because someone wants to save the spotted owl, or keep the coastline pretty.

Hopefully you can see that I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. I'm a thinker.

What bothers me the most is that people who are Republican and Christian use those same Street Corner Soapbox tactics and try to vote a person into office that is as close to Jesus as possible, and then tell you that the other party is pure evil. It's those same people that love their Guns, hate abortion (yet love war...ironic?), and want a Theocracy instead of a Democracy. Little do they realize that if Jesus was President, a lot of the things they enjoy (like good Action Movies, their Alcoholic privileges, all the personal freedoms they enjoy) publicly or privately will be gone. Jesus is a pretty cut-throat guy when it comes to following the rules.

HOWEVER...Jesus does not share the social interactions that a lot of Conservative Christians share. I don't recall Jesus shunning people, or standing on the street corners yelling that someone was going to hell because they were gay, a prostitute, or otherwise a sinner. Jesus was a socialist, to say that his operation was on a civilized, social level. He was tolerant that different kinds of people existed, and ministered to them in their own way...the way they needed to hear it. Paul did the same thing - "...To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law...I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." [1 Cor. 9:19-23] He didn't try to make people into clones of himself; he taught people how to live for God while being themselves.

Jesus is a cool dude...So is Paul. But I would not vote for either of them for President. Religion should not be a factor in voting for President. If you want religion to be a factor in government, use it when voting for the Senators and House of Reps. They're the ones that make the laws you have to live by, not the President.

I have taken on the perspective that one should vote for the President based on what we as a country, and/or I feel that I, need right now to make it through the next 4 years. Religion plays a very small role in that...my perspective is the same as a statement mentioned in the Democratic National Convention by Obama: "We may not agree on the topic of abortion, but we can agree on the reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies." You and I may not agree on how the consequence gets handled...but let's not worry about that - let's worry about the cause.

I may not agree with how the government handles the fallout from this growing economic crisis...but we do agree that something needs to be done to stop it, and prevent it in the future.
I may not agree with how the government handles the war on terror...but we do agree that we need to fight it, win it, and finish it.
I may not agree with how the economy gets handled...but we do agree that it needs to be fixed and something is inherently broken.

I may not agree with you on which candidate can handle the situation we have found ourselves in as a nation...but we do agree that we need to fix it, and regain the status, and relationships that America used to hold with our neighbors on the his planet. And to do that, everyone needs to vote - for someone, anyone...whoever fits your perspective on the issues best.

On the way to work...

Well, the TRE was late to Union Station this morning - as is the norm these days, so much so, that if it was on time, it'd be early. It was raining, this distracted me, as I was more interested in trying to stay as dry as possible than anything else. So I got on the next train that pulled in. Everything was fine, as I passed through all the downtown stations, and then LBJ/Central station, though something looked a little different, but we hit all the stops I'm used to - this was just the first time I had ridden the train in the rain though. Well, about 2-3 more stops, I noticed that the train was pretty much empty, and thought it was just because not many people took it because of the rain.

I looked up, and noticed the blue sign's reflection in the window - the train label, and noticed it said Downtown Garland thought .oO( that's weird...they spelled "Downtown" as "DWNTN"...huh...).

A few minutes later I looked out the window and saw a "One Stop Shop" corner store that I hadn't seen before, and thought that was a little strange too - but attributed it to my normal routine of sleeping/being preoccupied by my podcasts I listen to on the way to work.

I also noticed that the train wasn't blowing its horn as frequently as it normally does and thought we might have had a new driver that didn't care...but that when it did, it was loud and sounded a little different. So at the next stop I looked out the window to see what Station it was...The station sign said "Downtown Garland". It all clicked...

"Oh shit."

I got off and looked up at the clock: 7:30am.

"Oh shit. Shit! Shit! Shit!"

I contemplated getting on the southbound train to go back to Dallas to meet the red-line (as I ended up on the blue-line) and then riding the red-line back up to Plano. Or to call my coworker that lives a little bit away, and see if she could come get me.

She was able, and that saved me an extra hour of commute time, and I only got to work about 10 minutes later than I normally would have due to the late train.