Politics in America
One thing you can count on every four years, besides Feb 29th, is Americans obsessively and naively talking about politics; many of which for the first time. Politics are like the messy bedroom of a teenager, you want it functional and clean but you want to pick your battles so you only demand it be cleaned when it is absolutely necessary. Don’t believe me, here’s a screen shot I tweeted last year from Google Trends, tracking the search traffic of Presidential candidate Barack Obama in comparison to celebrities.
As you can see no one even cared who Barack Obama was until election were inevitable, because at that point it was “absolutely necessary”.
I’m not writing to scold the American teenager, heck I’m admitting that at times I’m part of the problem. I’m one of the first generations of “American Entitlement,” born in an era where as an American you can be unaware of the wars your country is part of; life just goes on like a Broadway musical for pop-cultured America.
Although, in spite of this HUGE flaw in American ideology, to some degree this fulfills Aristotle's definition of a good government, which he defined as:
“it is evident that the form of government is best in which every man, whoever he is, can act best and live happily.” -(Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2010)
Think about it, in what other country can you have so much opportunity in front of you that you don’t even care about issues that really matter all around you?
With that said, as we now approach the November 2016 elections I couldn’t help but consider Matt Walsh’s summation of this monumental moment in our soon to be history.
That’s a strong statement, and it should be questioned. Is it valid or is it just a venting rant? How much merit do you put in a statement like that? Also, what about the following perception?
“People get the leaders they deserve”
Personally I’ve constantly found this to be true. In business, culture, and even relationships, I have experienced leadership that reflects the people being led. If they didn’t then those people wouldn’t be following them; and what kind of leader would that be.
With that said, although I have a Christian worldview, I will say, that believing “America is Christian” is like believing the church building is the church. I understand the confusion, but the people are the church, and America is just a land that enables its people to pursue their beliefs. In the same way, we are not electing a pastor or a king, but a president whose sole job is to oversee that freedom so that we can be the change we want to see in the world.
Pastors need to step out side their church walls, and people need to step away from their anti-social networks so that compassion can fuel a better world
So much effort bent on criticizing our leaders but never realizing that they are a reflection of our culture. If we grasped this perhaps we would make the changes we hope to see rather than trying to vote on which mirror makes us look better.
Why does America’s hope come down to 2 dis-likable presidential candidates every four years? Because America puts it’s hope into these elections rather than putting it’s back into the task at hand.
How to Make America Great
They tell you early on “you can be president some day” (assuming they STILL say that), knowing 99% never will, but they said it to instill hope; to make a difference. That is what made America great, AMERICANS! Americans who believed they could make a difference in the world (yes patriotism has global influences but not at the cost of globalization).
This is more than some welfare game of survival, we’re talking about people striving for greatness! The politicians were not our hope before, they were our public servants whose duty was to help us achieve the greatness we strive for.
#UnitedWeStand
All of this to say that #WeMakeAmericaGreat. That #WeAreThePeople. And that WE need to believe in one another again rather than looking to some presidential Savior, or in 2016, some apocalyptic usher. No matter who sits in the oval office we still have a voice, but the more divided we become the more muzzled that voice becomes.
Our foundational rights give us the freedom to figure things out, and we can not avoid this responsibility by putting the pressure on our politicians any longer.
We must start by respecting each other enough to have an opinion, and then we need to begin a conversation in order to form an opinion. The “American teenager” needs to determine its ideals, taking into account the values that have been passed on to it.
References:
- Constitutional Rights Foundation: Bill of Rights in Action
http://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-26-1-plato-and-aristotle-on-tyranny-and-the-rule-of-law.htmlthe-rule-of-law.html
