Don't Stop...Believin'...

So, why did I make the title of this post the title of a song from a 70's and 80's rock band? Because! I've realized that life is a Journey. (Get it?!)

I know, that was cheesy.

Anyway, I actually do have a reason for this post. I don't know if you guys realize, but there is an election coming up. And, as so often happens with politics, the national dialogue has become very passionate, very heated, very polarized. That almost seems inevitable, doesn't it? I mean, there are very legitimate, very distinct differences between "positions" in this country. But, I have hope...hope that this isn't so inevitable...so, unavoidable. (Hence, the title...?)

As I have discussed and debated with friends and coworkers, family members, and random people I meet on the street, this division between positions has become more and more obvious, more and more pronounced. Don't even get me started on the talking heads that dominate the political culture on tv and radio. With very few exceptions, the distance between us is emphasized far more then that which connects us. And, the reality of this life is, that we are absolutely NOTHING without that connection between us.

Now, a little disclaimer here, I'm about to talk about religion. So, if you are one who thinks that religion and politics should remain separated, please be warned.

I'm a born-again Christian. I believe the Bible is indeed the word of God. Having read the Bible, a couple of times, I am comfortable "admitting" that there are troubling spots, passages that "seem" contradictory, that seem to...almost lend themselves to a variety of interpretations. I wouldn't have always allowed for that possibility...when I was younger, I was much more a "black and white" kind of a guy. (Just ask my family...!) However, as I've grown older, experienced more of life, read more, seen more, and grown to understand God more, I have realized that it is the gray areas that we should EMBRACE...not hide from. These gray areas are a very integral part of human existence...and, because I believe that God became human and hung around down here, I think God understands what human existence is like. I think God "gets it".

In fact, I kind of think it's part of God's plan.

Stay with me here, if you're still here at all.

If you look at the broader themes of the Old and New Testaments, there is an underlying progression that is deceptively simple, but complex, none the less. In the Old Testament, God was an angry God. Fire and brimstone, eye for an eye, laying waste to whole countries, and entire peoples. Pretty graphic; almost like a Tarrantino movie, you know? But, in the New Testament, we get this seemingly abrupt change, where Jesus talks about forgiveness, and loving your neighbor, and so on.

To me, this speaks of a bigger concept. As we humans go through our lives, it is our ultimate goal that we move beyond black and whites to much more complex ways of living our faith, our philosophy. Jesus' words were so much more then just "think good thoughts". Jesus issued a challenge that is much more difficult, and therefore much, much more meaningful then what actually happens for MOST of us. What does LOVING your neighbor mean?

I think it means that if our neighbor has a McCain-Palin sign in their front yard, I need to understand that there are probably very sincere and heartfelt reasons behind that choice. If I am truly "loving" them, I will not diminish the ideas they have by saying they are red-neck, gun-toting, hillbillies, who are dead set on taking away the rights of individuals, who are all out to bash gay people, and who probably want to make us all bow down in the same pew at church. That, to me, isn't being very loving. (It doesn't, of course, mean that I have to agree with them.)

The flipside is also true. I am, as I said, a pro-life born-again Christian, who is absolutely dying to cast my vote for Barack Obama as the next president of the United States of America. Now, unlike what was recently said on my wife's blog, I am not voting for Senator Obama because I want to kill babies. Seriously, I really don't. I have read Mr. Obama's direction on abortion, and feel like he understands the complexity of this issue.

Two things--one, did you notice I've used the word complex a lot? These issues are complex...they are not simple. They are NOT black and white; and, two, did you notice that I used the word "direction" instead of "position"? I kind of feel like that's what we should have...directions...not positions, or stances. Abortion is a horrible, awful, painful, difficult, and ugly thing. And, more often then some of us would like to admit, it is seen as necessary by those who choose it.

Our goal should not be to eliminate the ability for women to have an abortion. Our goal should be to eliminate--in as much as we can--the NEED, perceived or otherwise, for abortions. Now, who among us can't agree with that? Are you seriously going to stand (or sit) there, and tell me that you don't really care to address the needs of the women who feel pressed into this difficult spot? So, we have common ground. We ALL want to make abortions as unnecessary as possible. Now, the discussion can continue as we express how we want to go about doing this. But, we can all keep in mind that, Democrats or Republicans, Socialists or Capitalists, Evangelicals or Atheists (and everything in between), we all have a goal in common...and this makes solving our problems much, much more possible.

There are more issues that could be discussed, but I want to leave you tonight with a summing up of my point, which is that, regardless of who you are voting for, regardless of WHY you are voting for that candidate...there is ALWAYS common ground to start from in our conversations...and there is always a connection between us as humans. I think that this commonality is that we are all connected to God. Some people call it the Divine Spark, some call it the Holy Spirit, some would quote Jeremiah, the Old Testament prophet who said that before we were born, God knew us. That doesn't refer to SOME of us...it means that God hand-made ALL of us, and therefore, we all have God in us, and it is that "God-in-us" that we should ALL strive to see.

As the Sikh teacher Siri Singh Sahib said, "If you can't see God in all, you can't see God at all."

Thanks, and God bless us...ALL of us.

Tommy

PS: Oh, and JNo, although I don't think Hulsof is horrible, Jay Nixon has my vote, for two reasons: Health Care and Education; in particular his desire to expand the A+ program to include two years AFTER the two years at community college. I think he's got good ideas.