This is the season of politics. I'm not a big fan of writing about politics - it's such a divisive topic (not that religious writing isn't). But - I'm pretty passionate about God topics - not so much with political speak.
However, I have to mention a pet peeve that I hear over and over again - from both sides of the aisle - that I don't want to ignore. The fear-mongering from both parties is a bit ridiculous. And the crux of the pet peeve comes down to stereotyping - or maybe generalizations would be a better word.
Right leaning people believe "government" is the problem. Left leaning people - "Wall Street and Corporations" are the problem.
What both sides miss is that there are actual people behind the "evil" scheming. Government - and huge profit businesses are run by people.
Government doesn't make decisions. People do. Government does not create problems - people do.
Corporations don't make decisions. People do. Corporations aren't greedy. People are.
I have friends that work in the government. They're awesome people - and try their best to make this place a better place. I know business owners that do the same with what they have worked for - amazing people both.
However - for whatever reason - when my mind just hears "government" or "corporations" - I tend to think of dark rooms and scheming. The reality is that this is just not the case. The propaganda machine is very effective and really does influence how we think. But illusion is far from reality. Actual people are the backbone of both corporations and government. And people make good and bad decisions. Here's a couple good ones I've witnessed from both business and government...
McDonalds. I don't know anyone in that corporation. I don't endorse their products (except for their friggin' fries - yummmm). But - I do recognize that they do wonderful things - and they're flexible to change. They have Ronald McDonald charities - look it up - it's awesome! And - after "Super Size Me" - the movie - they changed a lot of how they do business. People made those decisions. The public has the power to change how people run corporations and do business. Real people that make real decisions. Could they make some better decisions? Probably. Is everything perfect in their model? Probably not. But that's not the point...
I have a friend who works in the CCC (California Conservation Corps). He's awesome - and is helping a "lost" generation by giving them a job - and skills - to further their lives and careers. He's not taking advantage of the "system" - and is far from being a leach. In fact - his career is an honorable one - more honorable than most. A real person made this "government program" to help real people. And real people benefit from it. Is there government waste in the program? Probably. Is it a perfect government run program? Probably not. But - that's not the point either...
I guess the point is this: actual people break stereotypes and generalizations.
We can talk about motives - and good vs. bad - all that. And those are good discussions. But - that's not the point I'm trying to make. Stereotyping and generalizations come out of ignorance, not intelligent thinking.
Let's see if this hits it:
A person can HATE the Catholic Church because a group of their priests molested young boys.
Blaming the institution for the acts of a few - there's a HUGE problem with that line of logic. The Catholic Church had NOTHING to do with molesting boys. People (priests) did. And other priests (bishops) covered it up. People were the problem.
It'd be like saying "All teachers are bad" because one teacher molested some kid in some town.
Ummm...no.
YET - I hear it over and over again - with "Government" and "Corporations" and "Wall Street" (not about molesting - that'd be weird. I hear people making generalizations that create ridiculous fear laden arguments that lead people to make mind boggling conclusions). And no one's ever called out on it. It's sooooo annoying.
I made that mistake about God once. I thought all "Christians" were idiots due to a handful that were - and that God was irrelevant because of that. But - I was wrong. Dead wrong.
So - I guess I just wanna give a word of caution for those entering into this political season. Watch out for generalizations. And watch out that you don't make them. Just be careful in believing everything you hear.
There's that famous phrase:
"Ignorance is bliss."
Well, it might be bliss for some - but it's annoying for the rest of us...
Have a great day!
Jer
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