POLITICAL DEBATES

I’m up early again today. My sleep habits took a sudden change about a month ago and I am usually awake by 6:30. However, it was 5:30 today. I’m wide-awake. I might be nervous. But if I am, I feel nothing more the normal sleepiness. I am having an MRI this morning and an EEG this afternoon. They are looking at my brain today. I think they are checking to see if I have one.

I can’t listen to any of the Republican debates. This is not different than most years. I basically hate political debate. Let me explain. 1) I don’t want to hear their promises. They may be sincere and genuinely want to put a car in every garage but they don’t have the power. I have never understood why we Americans assign so much power to one person. Supposedly our government is based upon a balance of power theory. It that is true it would seem the president needs a bunch of others to agree with what he promises. Their own party doesn’t always agree and if the opposite party has the power in one house or the other — well, the president is basically screwed. So, why brother to promise? If just one said they were interested in attempting, or would try. But it doesn’t matter because the president will be blamed if the whole government doesn’t do what he promised. We seem as messed up as the politicians.

Two, we are fundamentally selfish, a trait we share with politicians. Add greed to the mix. We are not looking for a government that will serve the better good of the country; we want one that will give my state and me what we want. Not surprising. I am no different. I am dependent upon the government at this stage of life. I guess that makes me an employee. In my possibly warped point of view, I put piles of money into an account they promised me would be there and be returned to me with interest when I could no longer work. They broke their promise when the robbed Peter to pay Paul and never paid Peter back. Now they keep threatening to make me pay for their stupidity I do not want to listen to their dreams for us. I already consider anyone suspect who would want to be president. Where’s my faith, in the toilet.

Three, I hate, absolutely hate the tearing apart of one another. We seemed shocked by their sinful life. Heehee, haha, hoohoo! That’s me rolling on the floor in gales of laughter. We no longer need God’s judgment on another’s life; we want to hold them up to public ridicule for doing what sinful human beings do. We accuse them of a lack of family values because they are divorced. Being married does not guarantee a family values perspective. God may hate divorce, but we humans have embarrassed it from the beginning. That’s why Moses permitted it.

We seem shocked they have affairs. But we see it, hear it and know it is all around us. Politicians are a reflection of us. They are just like us in all our sinful manifestations. We backbite, gossip, blame, criticize, accuse and demand perfection of everyone but ourselves. I call that a belief in a doctrine of perfection — for others. We are quick to blame others for the woes of the world. In the political sense they are to blame and we put them there. We are willing to over look their sins if they secure for us what we want. What if their choices do not benefit the greater good? When they threaten to take away protection (military, police, fore, etc.) and education it feels like a parent taking about food and clothes while keeping cable TV and the Internet. Stupid. Feel the children first and if there is extra, get the extras.

I love my father, but he was generous to fault to others. After he passed away, mom asked me to write charities to stop the requests for money. I ended up writing dozens of groups he supported while mom got little side jobs to buy the kids clothes. There is a parallel in the actions of government.

I know government is necessary, but I don’t have to listen to them argue with one another about their weaknesses, frailties and failures. I just have no interest. If I want to listen to that kind of talk all I need to do is walk over to the other building and get into an argument with someone, anyone actually.