Several of my friends blow in the political winds like a sun-bleached and rain-worn American flag that perpetually hangs on the stoop of an 88 year-old retired ironworker’s home. She, being too tired and too old to take it out of the weather, lets it just hang there until the wind blows patriotically. This is what many of my friends do when it comes to politics. In other words, if the expression of popular political support blows “right” or “left,” they tend to flutter or flap in the same general direction, …unquestioning, oblivious, and trying to sound oddly virtuous.
Most times, not taking a real stand on a presidential race makes little difference. The stakes have not been high enough for it to matter, …that facts and truths about issues and candidates are marginalized for the sake of popularity contests. But, we are living in very important times of choosing. I love Barry Obama for the same reasons you all do, and I am suspicious of John Wayne McCain too, …and if I happen to forget why I like/dislike these two, the media is quick to remind me. And if I turn the TV off, I can always count on getting 14 emails attacking one candidate or the other, most created with some of the most vicious-vitriol-sans-truth available at the tips of tongues and fingertips.
Now that our backs are really against the wall, though, what happens? Major banks are foretelling, “something wicked this way comes.” When will you really pay attention to issues and agendas that are important? When will you take time out of your day to truly check out the candidate you like, the party this candidate is owned by, and the impact that this candidate’s election will have on lives?
Someone from Cincinnati said to me one day: “It might be hot, but at least it’s humid.”
Get a piece of peace.
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