Last summer, I didn't have any interest in following anything related to politics because it was just too stressful to listen to them argue, and I didn't really like my options anyway. I decided I would not vote, and stuck to it.
But when I started a new job, in a new town, it came up in conversation with my Boss (the owner of the company) what my preference was regarding the political candidates. Being naive about the ramifications of expressing [what would be] opposing views, I said I was leaning towards the economic policy Obama had put forward (because of how well the economy was under Bill Clinton [even though I didn't want him to win], and how well it did under FDR during the Great Depression).
Immediately, I was bombarded with words like "Socialist," "Communism," "Terrorist," and "Corrupt."
Now, I try to trust people until they give me a reason not to trust them...and I had no reason to accept those words as valid, because they were negative buzzwords used to get people riled up, especially coming off the War on Terror rhetoric (that even I supported back in 2003 when it started...but grew tired of it in 2005 when it should have ended by then).
I had nothing to explain myself with every time my boss wanted to talk about politics...so I had to start watching the news to figure out what he was talking about, and form my own opinions on the talking points. And I started hearing things that I agreed with....
I'll stop there, and talk about religion, because the two do meet, conceptually...
I was raised hardcore southern baptist - so much so, to the point of believing that any other protestant doctrine would send someone to hell, if it was not Southern Baptist. That was, until my parents up-and-changed churches. I have no idea why they decided to do it, or any of the many confusing, mind-changing, life-altering shifts they made while we were growing up. But all the sudden - one didn't have to be Southern Baptist to get into heaven anymore...you could be Non-denominational, or Southern Baptist now.
"All right, I can handle that...just so long as you're Southern Baptist or just plain Christian it's ok...but anything else is hell-bound." I thought.
Then they changed to a Methodist church - one of the very churches they spoke so negatively about because it had a woman preacher.
"wtf? seriously?" my thoughts were.
After I was "forcibly relocated" to my Dad's, I went to a church my family had gone to just before moving to the country. It was familiar, and I knew it was acceptable by their standards [whatever they were, if any] so it would be ok for me.
I went there for 2 years, but started realizing I wasn't getting anything out of it, and it was more for socializing than for anything at that point. And when I moved out on my own, I reflected back on everything I'd been through, and realized one important thing:
Jesus was Jewish - not Southern Baptist, not Methodist, not Non-denominational...he was Jewish.
From then on, what church one went to was only an indication of the finer, man-made interpretations of one what one believed...called Doctrine. Doctrine doesn't save you, doctrine isn't supposed to tell you how to live - doctrine is just a common interpretation of the "rules" of the bible that everyone in your church thinks you're supposed to live by...and every church is different - and they will fight each other over the differences in those doctrines, or impose them as "The Way" that non-Christians are supposed to change their lives and live.
I disagree with that concept. I do not subscribe to a doctrine - refuse to.
My beliefs are based on what I've read in the Bible, and how I am able to apply it to my life. Parables, prophecies, and miracles - they all have a purpose, and they all have a real-life component.
Parables are simply stories to explain a greater truth, in a broader, simpler way so everyone can understand what's being said, and apply it to their life - without the speaker having to tell each individual person (whether it's applicable to them or not) how to live their life. It's to get people to think on their own.
Prophecies are warnings that the current track you're on will either bring you blessings or destruction because someone (a third-party to the issue) can see from outside the box, the direction you are heading in. It's to get people to think beyond themselves (i.e. unselfishly).
And Miracles all have physical manifestations of some unusual act. I don't have examples to use, and would rather not explain away miracles. However, their occurrence (regardless of the initiating force) don't just "happen," there is an actual physical activity that is going on to produce it.
And as I started thinking about these things, I started finding things I agreed with...
And now the two meet: The more I found that I agreed with, the less interested I was in accepting things that I knew better about - whether they were naive statements that were poorly researched, or misquotes that were taken out of context and altered for a particular purpose.
I have no problem getting my Christian views to work with logical thought. Everything in the bible has a purpose - and the basis of it all is for the reader/believer to be able to live a better life while they are here, helping others, and not themselves, because true happiness is found in selflessness.
And I have no problem voting someone into office that has the best answers (or at least proven methods) of fixing the issues that we're currently facing. Obama, McCain, Hilary - they all make no difference to me...but Obama planned to use the same concepts that FDR used during his New Deal to bring the country back from recession. If we weren't in a recession, then I'd probably have voted for McCain so we could wrap up this war stuff.
My goal in conversations I have with people about either of these two topics is not to say they are right or wrong, but to say what my opinion is that would yield a better, more productive result. If it's about religion, you don't have to stand on street corners yelling "REPENT OR DIE!!" in Fort Worth...you can explain it to people in a way that shows the benefits their lifestyle would receive if they were to follow the examples of Jesus. If it's about politics, you don't have to straight-up disagree with the other party just because it's the other party. There are good ideas on both sides, and they need to be presented in a manner (and to people) that will be willing to make the compromises necessary to get the issue solved. Every solution is going to have unforeseen consequences, but that doesn't mean the answer is completely wrong.
As a good friend told me recently, the path to happiness is found when neither person is worried about "my turn to be selfish," and is working to help the other person. This holds for every kind of relationship possible.
Those are my thoughts.
