I should say straight up that I am not a political animal.
I’m Amish.
That is to say, my usual response to politics is to shrug and say, “A plague of both your houses.”
My cynicism about politics springs from several instincts. The first is that anybody who wants to be in power probably shouldn’t be, while those who should be in power run the other way.
History has shown that ambitious men and women are all too often the product of a dysfunctional family. They’re unhealthy, unhappy people, and their addiction to power is much the same as any other addiction: a sickness.
My other instinct is a kind of paranoia which is probably a carry over from my fundamentalist upbringing. In our church we were forever hearing these sermons about the “one world government” that was coming. The United Nations were the baddies. The European Union were the baddies. The Commies were the baddies. Behind it all were the Bildebergers, the Illuminati, the Freemasons, the Council on Foreign Relations, International Bankers etc. and the they were all going to bring in the reign of antiChrist and the one world government.
Well, maybe and maybe not.
Nevertheless, this instinct dies hard, and when you see politician after politician who (no matter what party they are) essentially pursue the same policies as the other side you begin to think that maybe there was something in that “one world government” stuff after all.
In the United States there is scarcely a difference between the actions of the Republicans and the Democrats. The rhetoric is different, but the actions are the same. The emphasis might vary slightly and the ideologies might be a bit different, but for the most part it’s business as usual. Continue Reading
