Can of Worms

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"Your beliefs don't make you a better person, your behavior does." --author Unknown

A lot of people I know don't like to talk about politics or religion with others and if you've spent any amount of time watching the news or partaking in various forms of social media, it's easy to understand why...these two topics are a crazy, volatile, hotbed of a mess! It's also easy to find those on one side or another standing on a soapbox and loudly bashing others for "bad choices", "religious violence" "hypocrisy", etc., while blaming anyone and everyone for the choices of a select few. I think most people who are inclined to jump on a "bashing bandwagon" do so because they are frustrated and feel helpless in regards to finding a real solution to various problems (although I realize that some people are just mean). It's much easier to sit on the sidelines and blame others for, well, any number of things, verses standing up and doing something actually useful (and it's NOT always easy to know what that useful something might be). So, in the spirit of doing something useful, I'm going to use my own voice to share a few of my recent personal experiences along these topical lines, in hopes that I'm not alone in how I feel about them.

A couple of mornings ago, I was scrolling through my Facebook News Feed and reading various posts of friends and family (which I do daily, mostly in an attempt to keep track of my girls, while also following important things going on in various friends' lives who are far away).  I came across a rant session by one of my friends, who was going on about how "stupid" anyone who voted for President Obama was, and that "people like them" were the ones responsible for the current "nosedive of America". "Hmmmmmm," I thought. "Guess that would be me." I am a registered Democrat, which actually means absolutely nothing to me in the grand scheme of things, as it has zero bearing on how I vote in regards to anything or anyone. I also am one of those people whom he was referring to that voted for President Obama, both times. Do I think he's done a "bang-up job" as President? I do not. Is that my fault for voting for him? No fricken way! I will NOT be held responsible for the decisions others make and this includes the President, members of Congress, or anyone else! I made a choice to exercise my right to vote (and those choices were certainly limited, a fact I have an issue with but is an entirely different topic). The person I "chose" has made a right big ol' mess, in my opinion, but he didn't make that all by himself and there are plenty of FUBAR'd decisions made by ALL parties and more than enough blame to go around. I, however, am not responsible for his actions, anyone's actions but my own! Period.

So, as I continued to read the news feed, it didn't take long for me to find another "bash" session, this one about those of the Muslim faith and how the speaker thought it was obvious that they were carrying out a sinister plot to destroy the world (based on recent events by the ISIS extremist group in Syria and Iraq). To blame an entire faith for the actions of an extremist few makes about as much sense as blaming ALL of womankind for the sins of Eve (and I have to shake my head here because there are people out there who do just that)! From a historical standpoint, NONE of the major religions on earth is blameless for the irrational, violent, extremist behavior done in the name of their religion. All of them have a fair amount of blood on their hands. Does that mean that all persons connected with those faiths are equally to blame? Absolutely not! Does it mean that religion itself is inherently evil? Again, NO way! Perhaps a better (and more accurate approach) would be to hold everyone (myself included) accountable for the things they do instead of their affiliation. Perhaps we should practice tolerance for those who don't think like us, kindness for our "fellow man", and hold those responsible for the "bad things" happening in the world, on every level, truly accountable. And perhaps we should CREATE the world we wish to live in, instead of complaining about the one we've got.

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