WE ALL HAVE TO TRY

How Politics is Affecting Our Lives and Why We Have to Try...

(Originally written in 2016)

Like me, you might be sick and tired of hearing about politics but I just had to write about it for the record and for my children, as a lesson to learn. Truth be told, almost no one in politics is honest lately. They may start out honest but sooner or later they all get trapped in “the system.” I mean, they shouldn’t but some of them do. 

Personally, I think that for the most part, there is zero creativity or original thought in any words spoken out of a politician’s mouth. It has either been spoken before or inspired by a previous politician or otherwise. They are ALL playing the “game.”  Both sides suck, in my humble opinion. They each have a long list of cons, (no pun intended.) Basically, the U.S. election of 2016, came down to who the country thought was the “lesser of two evils,” which is a really sad reality when it comes to the future of our children and grandchildren. The fact that most people voted for who they thought was the “least worst option,” instead of the most-qualified. 

What we as Country, and as human beings, have to worry about, is not who will sit in the White House, but how we will ALL get along! We should worry about how we will fight not only the “evil” in the world, but the hatred within our own walls. When we stop throwing stones at each other, (our neighbors, our FB friends, our co-workers, our own relatives,) then maybe, just maybe we can start to make the world a better place. People are bashing each other every time someone else has a different opinion than them. We can't even find common ground from the inside out, how is any Country going to respect us? Personally, I am not happy with “45” because I think he is not remotely qualified for an infinite number of reasons, but mainly because of his lack of diplomacy and his horrible temperament and his big mouth, but I am not going to go around and burn flags or cause public destruction, that’s just plain stupidity! But besides all that, I also think it is wrong when people start spewing hatred and racism when they don’t agree with another political opinion. You can dislike a political party but there is no need to attack someone’s skin color, heritage or any other personal attack - that is just reprehensible, especially when it comes from people who preach to be so moral and religious. That is why I dislike religion so much, because of the hypocrisy of it all. People go to church, temples, mosque, (wherever) preaching, and then turn around and can’t even show respect for their fellow man? Come on! 

As a Country, and as a human race, we are losing hope, respect, compassion and especially TOLERANCE!!! And without those, we are all lost. Although, the 2016 election brought nothing but heated debates and passionate arguments in the U.S.A. and around the world, we have to come to the realization that no matter, who is the President of the United States, we MUST STOP SPREADING HATE. The anger that is demonstrated within our own political party affiliations and in conversations in our own homes, around the kitchen table and at dinner-parties etc...is down right embarrassing. 

We have to start teaching our children more about love, empathy and tolerance and worry less about things like, if our Kindergarten-aged children will be Harvard-ready. Can they read they read by age 4, can they do Core Math? Will my child pass the S.A.T? What college will they get into?  Sure, those things may be important but we have totally lost focus on the things that are truly important in life. Sure, a child needs education but do most kids today demonstrate respect to authority and compassion for others? Do they know how to entertain themselves or play outside without being forced to do so? Do they have respect for their elders? Do they show compassion for someone less fortunate than them? Do they know their history?  Do they value their freedom?  Have we even taught them about that?

You may or may not have answered yes to these questions. The point is, as a society, we are all so caught up in the future and in “making it in this world,” that we have lost sight of the core values of family and faith now, (no matter what faith you choose.)

No one is perfect. No candidate is perfect. No family is perfect, especially in the world of blended families we live in today, and with all the technology readily available, and especially, with everyone always comparing things to the “good ol’ days.” 

Despite, the times we are living in today, it is so simple and so easy to just teach our children how to be respectful and most of all, tolerant of others. If we cannot even tolerate a different political party in our own Country, how are we suppose to teach our children to be tolerant of others who are different them or have different opinions? Education begins in the home, no matter what country you live in! You can disagree with a political party or candidate but please do not bring their race, religion or color of their skin into play. And for crying out loud, do not say they have to “bleach their skin to cleanse themselves out,” (as I read a long time ago on a FB post!) 

Ultimately, the political race of 2016 will go down in history as one of the nastiest most controversial of all time, and consequently, we should take this opportunity to teach the younger generations that they have to strive for something better in 2020. We should use this political fiasco as a teaching tool. We must never forget, that history repeats itself, if we do not learn from its lessons, whether it be in politics or in life. 

Sometimes, it is bigger than politics. Sometimes, it is not just about the candidates. Sometimes, it is about what we are teaching our children what is acceptable. It is up to us, obviously, as individuals to teach and nurture our children, but as citizens of this great Nation and inhabitants of this amazing planet, we have an obligation to do better, to be better, and to make a positive difference in the world! It starts with EACH AND EVERYONE OF US! 

When our final day in this life time is here, and our "expiration date" arrives, it will not matter whether we are Republican, Democrat, Independent, Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, JW, Christian or otherwise. We are all going to “go” because no one gets out alive and all that WILL matter is how we have loved, what we have done with our lives, and how we helped others and how we have made a positive difference in this world. All the rest is nonsense. 

At the end of the day, we all want the same things (I think:) PEACE, HEALTH, and ECONOMIC STABILITY for ourselves and our families. I guess the point of my rant, is to say, stop battling each other. Let's start easing up on the hate, and the insults because at the end of the day, we have this one Country we choose to live in and one planet and we are ruining them both. So my plea to the world, to the Country, to my friends and to all those of you reading this, is to start spreading more: LOVE, COMPASSION, RESPECT & TOLERANCE, no matter what you believe in. I will try for my children. 

We must speak up, stand up and be the change we wish to see. 

We all have to try.

#iwilltry #teachloveteachcompassion ~LR 11-10-16 

 (edited 1/5/2020)

 

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