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Another Day in the Country

Contributing writer

Nothing could ruin the atmosphere at the dinner table quicker than the discussion of politics or religion amongst my relatives. That’s probably why it was pretty much banned from the table. In a world that was dominated by Republicans and Lutherans, we talked about the weather, which we could neither choose nor vote on. It was part of minding our manners.

The world in which I grew up had newspapers and radio. Most folks considered them both pretty reliable sources of information. My father was a firm follower of Newsweek while my grandfather devoured the Saturday Evening Post. We were an opinionated lot, discussion abounded, and I remember as a child being proud of the fact that, according to my father, I could argue a point just like my grandpa (on my mother’s side, of course). Dad hadn’t meant it as a compliment.

When I was 6 years old my father became a minister, so now in matters of discernment, he had God on his side and the Bible as a standard — an unbeatable force in matters of discussion. Hot topics became black or white. As the years and his experience stacked up, Dad pretty much thought that his opinion was the Truth with a capital T.

Since Dad cannot speak for himself, I must say in his defense, that he did have a good head on his shoulders. He was forward thinking, progressive, had common sense, and business savvy. He was a good speaker, a respected pastor. For the most part his congregations loved him and his dedication to certainty of doctrine. It was his daughters who had trouble handling the hot topics around him, those differing opinions as they sought truth.

Politics and religion will most likely always be hot topics with politics being the most acceptable for debate. I’ve been hearing for years that newspapers would soon become a thing of the past and that instant digital information would become the standard way of life. We’ve also been told that religion has lost its hold in America, as we become a secularized nation. If the written word, both lower and upper case, are in decline, how, I wonder, will truth be recognizable? How will we learn the facts? Certainly not in blogs, tweets, and blips.

Truth is hard to come by, especially with hot topics. According to the dictionary, truth encompasses reality, honesty, sincerity, integrity, accuracy, faithfulness, and an adherence to a standard or law. I would wish that truth prevailed in the political realm, but during this past election, it seemed to me that the person (or party) who yelled the loudest, defamed the existing leadership, and distanced themselves from hard realities, captured our attention.

It seemed that protesting felt powerful and tearing down disguised itself as progress. Common sense did not prevail nor careful reasonings win. I listened briefly to a commentator the other night and agreed with his conclusion as he reviewed candidates running for national office in this election.

“This election is about ignorance,” he said. Ouch!

The television, on nonstop in most homes, blathers away, spouting ever more sensation, trying to get our attention. The hot topics in recent political advertisements seemed to be who created jobs here versus there, which was for or against the President, and all ending in, “I approve this message.”

I began writing this column before the election when political advertisements were more frequent than those for prescription drugs. Election Day came and went. There are new players on the field waiting for their turn to lead. Now, two weeks after the election, there’s a strange silence.

Democracy is a wonderful gift and I marvel that it survives with all this freedom to make unfounded accusations about whoever is running for office or whoever got the vote. Whoever won, whether you voted for them or not, I say, “Let’s give them a break!” Wanting to be in office and being the one responsible are two different things. It’s like the difference between wanting to have children and then actually parenting — a whole different ball game. (If you have children, you know what I mean.)

Let’s give our leaders a chance to do something positive. Surely, we’re grown up enough to know by now that we can’t have it all — lower taxes and more benefits.

The greatest benefit of our great Democracy, in my opinion, is that after all the rhetoric, the hot topics, and the claims, we are still free to uphold, support, cooperate with, and even pray for our elected officials.

Like manners at the table, let’s talk about the weather for a while on another day in the country.

Last modified Nov. 18, 2010

 

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