Politics and, well, politics.

It has long been my contention that politics is nothing more than base humanity fully exposed. Look at the political headlines any day of the week, listen to talk radio (of any kind), watch the evening news, etc. Lying, accusations, sex scandals, threats, power lust, avarice, insults, hate, and a the list just gets worse.

Of course, almost all of the positions and counter positions, verbal attacks, and lies are driven by one thing, fear. And, it appears to me, as a novice onlooker, that people become so calcified in their positions and beliefs, that fear pushes them to the point of dreading a life under the "control" of their political opposites. I've heard people on both the political left and right state that they would be forced, supposedly out of conscience, to leave the country if their candidate did not win an election. (So far, I am not familiar with reports of this actually happening).

Politics, being a reflection of base humanity, must by its very nature then, infect everything that is human. Anyone who has attended school, worked in an office, been a member of a club, or a member of large family knows this to be true. Religious organizations are no exception, since they are, after all, groups of humans. Indeed, in the early years of Christianity, those who were not baptized and converted were believed to be driven by demons, while pagans believed that Christians would destroy the very culture of mankind. Justin and Origen's words in defending Christianity to the Romans could easily have been spoken my a Sunni Cleric defending Islam in this day and age. Roman persecutors used the same logic against Christians that Christians now use against non believers. And so it goes.

This political season promises no less than full scale hysteria, as once again, fear will be at the core of each side's political strategy. In a pluralistic nation where there is no single unifier, and now that patriotism has been diminished to nothing more than a cynical caricature of blind ignorance, fear will rule the day. How long until factions swell their ranks to the point of actually taking up arms against outsiders in this, the nation built on human rights? How long until fear driven race baiting brings back the days of violence against anyone who doesn't look like (fill in the blank) us? How long until the need to control everyone who is "wrong" by those who are "right" segregates this country into polar regions of groups claiming territories and fighting to the death to insure their protection within them?

Is all of this, as fundamentalists believe, a sign of the "end times"? Is there an invisible evil being capable of fighting for control of the cosmos against the Creator who has crafted this evil plan? Well, that's all really just fear too, in my opinion. Just ask the Muslims.

No matter how any of this turns out, my bet is always going to be on the Almighty and the teaching of Jesus that only through to surrender to God and living in His love will we ever see this state of humanity change. This and only this can allow anyone to see the folly of fighting for fear. It doesn't matter if you are a Christian, a Bhuddist, a Muslim, a Secular Humanist or just a wandering pile of protoplasm. There is no other answer.