My Place In Politics

I am a Christian. But I am not a Republican. I am not a Democrat either. In my state I was allowed to "Decline to State" a political party when I registered to vote and so I declined. But I do vote. (Most of the time. I tend to forget to turn in my ballot on the off cycle elections where we are asked to vote about land use issues pertaining to sewage treatment.)

I am free to avoid allegiances because I have no plans to seek public office. If I did, I would choose one of the major parties. I know which one but I am not telling because I would alienate half my friends.

Because that's the thing about politics in America. It is no longer a topic of discussion and debate, it is an all encompassing way of life. It taints how we watch the news. It taints how we act out our faith. It taints how we view our friends who disagree with us.

It's just sad.

This week two different things popped up on my Facebook stream that I found interesting.

First is a YouTube video with Kermit and Miss Piggy:





The second is this image of a quote by Stephen Colbert that is going around Facebook:

You can see the whole clip of Colbert's response to a Bill O'Reilly editorial here. It is an old clip but just as relevant today as it was then. 

And then today as I was reading Isaiah, I underlined this:

Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.
- Isaiah 9:16

All this to say, I don't know the answers. But I don't think any one side does either.

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I choose to write about politics today after reading a post by Nish Weiseth about why she was closing down her one blog The Outdoor Wife and starting a new one Nish Happens. The blog post, her last at The Outdoor Wife, made me think about my own blog. Nish writes about feeling boxed in on her old blog, not feeling free to write about what she wanted on any given day. She like most of us is more than her faith, more than her parenting, more than any one post. And I love her political debate tweets. They make me laugh in the sadness of it all.