Politics Again

It's always occurred to me that wherever two are gathered, there is politics. Often a sore subject for myriad reasons, politics is always with us. Like the poor, you say? Well it depends on how one reads that text, the phenomenon itself representing an aspect of politics. Politics of the word; how to interpret; how to restate; how to "bend it, shape it, any way you want it."

People may say, "Keep your politics to yourself. Write to your senator; don't talk to me." That works until the social security check does not arrive. Until the veteran's benefits run out. Until the Medicare check fails to arrive. Until that college loan is denied. Until the mortgage is foreclosed upon. Politics affects the way the world rolls. And THAT affects every person in every country at every hour of every day. And there's nothing to be done about that.

It would behoove us to look at the huge picture more often than not. To look at the facts as closely as they can be gleaned and reported to us. To vary our news sources. Whoa, that's a big one. For we're as devoted to our news sources as we are to our religious sects or our NBA teams. . . which can often become confused, as can our political-party affiliations with our fondness for labels. Pepsi or Coca-Cola; Ford or Chevrolet; Elvis or the Beatles. And on and on and on.

Politics has become nasty this year--calls for the president's demise. How sad is that? I couldn't abide even hearing Bush's voice. . . but I wish the fellow well. So the current vicious calls for vengeance (which is supposed to belong to God, isn't it?) baffle and disturb me.

We knew, all of us, that these Mid-term elections would be quite the tussle. We knew people would throw epithets and hurl insults, start rumors, sling mud and wrestle one another's ideas to the ground.

(What startled me was when three of the present senator's "crowd control" workers wrestled a protester to the ground.) One threw her to the concrete, another slammed her head on a curb and one of them stomped on her head, giving her a concussion--tiny little thing, brave as can be--and the bodyguards were like linebackers. That is just not right. In fact that is hard even to think about. The girl didn't even hurl insults or curse words, did she? Did she deserve even to be escorted out in a gentlemanly fashion? I don't think so.

I got this news from Reuters (which has displeased me greatly of late), NPR and CNN. . . later I read some additional reporting from Huffington, Keith Olbermann, MoveOn and other shared links via Facebook. I didn't watch or read FOX because I never have and never will--I know their agenda and don't agree with it; this is America and that is that. I must respect the source of my news, or why read it at all?

I know we're all different. That some adhere to their party as viciously as they adhere to their church's tenets. And it's clear that some people despise the opposite party on principle. Really, some haven't been out of the country or even listened to the stories of people of other ideologies very carefully at all. There are millions of traditions out there. Some function well; others struggle even to keep clean water. The political party in power can make great headway using its resources, or it can just bow to the money every time.

But we're talking about the very diverse United States. The place were Mickey Mouse was born. The place where Coca-Cola and Pepsi were invented (for better or worse). Where jazz came from. We're all over the place, and it's always meant to be that way. Try driving down the highway without running into some sign of diversity. Can't be done.

We have two parties for a reason. Tell you what: I'll help make mine the best advised and most scrutinized, cleanest and hardest working damned party on earth. . . and all I would ask of members of the other parties is to stop and think: is vilifying the opposition getting the job done? I mean really?

If we're snide and mean enough, does that signify the mark of great nations? If we attack the woman holding the sign, what does that mean? How close to criminals are we willing to get, in order to have our own way?

We can't get anywhere, or conserve our safety without a good automobile and a balanced driver. But we're skidding into oncoming traffic this very minute.