Get an Education

The goal was simple—weed and prepare the flower beds for the winter.  It is a task I don’t mind doing as it is a solitary, quiet activity designed for an introvert—especially on a beautiful autumn day.  It was perfect . . . until the interruption.

Pulling errant grass, stubborn weeds, and flowers beyond their prime, I was well into the realm of inner peace when I saw a white pick-up truck park down the street.  An older man got out and was having a noisy conversation with someone on his cell phone.  In his hand were a lot of papers.  He looked around, spotted me on the ground, and began making his way towards me.  It wasn’t long before I could see that he was a political canvasser.  Curses, I said . . . it is an election year!

“Good morning,” I said.

“Morning,” replied the guy.

“Can I help you?”

“I was wondering if you have a few minutes to talk,” inquired the pollster.

“Who do you represent?” I asked.

“The Republicans,” answered the man with a tinge of pride in his voice and a little too much enthusiasm.

“Well, I’m a Democrat,” I quickly responded.  The truth is that I am not a Democrat, nor am I a Republican—I’m listed as an Independent when it comes to politics . . . primarily because I don’t want to get into lengthy, nasty, name-calling, finger-pointing debates over politics.  I don’t think that it is anyone’s business what my political swing might be, and I really, really cannot stand over-zealous hardliners of any persuasion who have the audacity to shatter the serene and quiet solitude of my morning.

I figured the guy would be able to take a hint that I was not in the mood for any conversations on politics and would mosey on down the road . . . but, he was a Republican.  I should have known better.

“Well, then . . . are there problems with the United States that you would like to see fixed?” asked the man.

“Plenty,” I answered, “but there are not enough hours in the day to discuss them all. I’m really not interested.”

“Just a few minutes . . .”

“Not interested.”

Angry, he turned and started walking back to his truck, but not without getting in the last word . . . “Well, I hope you get an education!” 

My response?  “You too!”  A minute later I had a whole bunch of zingers I could have said, but “you too” was the best I had at the moment because he shocked me with his rudeness.  I should have told him that that was no way to get votes . . . shouldn’t insult the hands that have the power to vote. 

Politics suck . . . and, they suck even more when they interrupt my quiet time in the beauty of a perfect autumn day. 

I guess I should have given the guy some of the things that I would like to change in the United States.  The first thing I would have told him is that I would change the Republicans . . . and, the Democrats . . . because they have come to represent everything that is nasty and ugly in politics in the way that they handle themselves.  I would have told him that I would like to see politicians sit down and actually talk to and listen to each other and work together to solve problems.  I would have told him that I would like for our elected representatives to actual represent the people and not the corporations and industries that slip them money through the back door.  I would like to see politics become more civil and to remember back to what they learned in kindergarten about having to work together to succeed for everyone.  I would like to see politicians actual live up to the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule they so adamantly say that we are missing in our nation today.  And, I would like to see a ban on weekend politicking so that those of us who are tired of all the election year noise can have a nice and quiet weekend. 

But, I imagine that the guy would have looked at me like I had been out in the sun too long.  I imagine that he would have set me straight and given me a lesson in Political Civics 101.  Give me an education.

I am not a political person.  I am not a political person for several reasons.  The first reason is because I have chosen a call in life as a minister.  A minister is often seen as a leader within the community that he or she serves.  Leaders have the ability to sway people in the directions that they go . . . even in the area of politics.  That is not my role as a minister.  Thus I keep my politics to myself and listen to all sides of the political spectrum . . . and, trust me, there are a lot more spectrums than just the Republicans and Democrats.  It is not my job to tell people how to vote as a minister.  No, it is my job to remind people to do as Jesus would do.  Last time I looked, Jesus wasn’t a Republican or a Democrat . . . pretty much an independent who stressed doing God’s will.

Another reason I am not a political person is because it seems to do more damage to relationships than other parts of our lives.  Politics strike me as a deeply personal and intense belief in most people that are usually divided into black-and-white issues . . . right-or-wrong . . . my way or the highway.  Typically there is not a whole lot of conversation or discernment based on informed research in political conversations . . . usually calls me a name, flips me off, tells me I need to get an education, and doesn’t speak to me for weeks and months on end.  I thought we were friends.

I keep my politics to myself.  It is no one’s business how I vote . . . and, I do vote.  I vote because if I chose to moan and groan about the results of an election I can at least state that I voted . . . win or lose.  If a person chooses not to vote then I believe that person has no room to complain.  As I said, I do vote.  Over the many years that I have voted some of my candidates have won, some have lost . . . and, some of my choices have been mistakes in the end.  But, it does not matter how I voted as much as it matters that I voted.  It is a right and a privilege that I honor even if it is to decide a sewer increase in the little town where I live.  It is no one’s business but my own.

Unfortunately and sadly, this post will get a rant or a rave from someone out there who disagrees with me . . . or who see this as an attack on the Republicans or Democrats . . . or as being anti-American.  So, I apologize if I have offended someone with my own little rant; but, I really do hate when politics interrupt me on a beautiful autumn day.  Don’t promise me a conversation when you already have your mind made up.  As the picture above states: “You repeat a lie often enough it becomes politics.”  Politics suck.  There has to be a better way.  Maybe that radical . . . Jesus.  Maybe we all need an education.