Manipulating the political system

I know that there is so much stinkin' speculation as to how I will vote. I irritate people when I say that my main goal is to just love and encourage others as they make their own decisions. That's totally true. I believe that you can be Christian and be a Democrat. Heck, I believe you can be a Christian and be a Republican! You can also be like me - a Christian Independent. Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?

I don't believe that the person we elect this November is going to send us all to Hell in a hand basket. We don't need a president to do that. It seems to be our own special gift as humans. I also don't believe that our next president will be a Savior. I've already got one. Don't need another. It's not even humanly possible. Our next president will do some great things, and they will fail at others. They will make good decisions and poor decisions. They will be human, while working very hard at their job.

The political process in our country, in general, is so very frustrating to me. Your name won't end up on a ticket without a lot of money behind it. That's just the grand scale of things. Yet, the fact that it is a grand scale is what breeds dishonesty and manipulation and greed. You can vote a good person into office, and that position can rattle their moral compass. You may have a good person you want to vote into office, but there simply isn't enough clout and cash to get them there.

Someone recently attended a political rally:

"It was posted as we walked in absolutely no signs allowed, then to my surprise they handed out 100 hand written signs that said what they wanted them to say. Needless to say we turned down holding their signs."

It doesn't matter who said that, or which candidate was behind this. You know why? Because both parties do this. This is the norm. Things are orchestrated for the media. Things are manipulated to gain points in the polls. That's the goal.

What develops is a worship mentality. It's so easy to get sucked into it. It's even harder to try to step outside of it.

But try. We shouldn't live in fear. What do you fear? Why do you fear it? Who, do you believe, is ultimately in control? Can you remember this same fear in so many other elections, and yet the world kept on truckin'? It's never been pretty. It's never been perfect. But there is still good in the world. There is still hope. We are still all in this together.

Kum-ba-yah, my friends. KUM-BA-YAH!