We All Care

(****Disclaimer, I do not belong to either of the 2 major political parties.  I think both have too many extremists, and both are just trying to polarize this country.  If you don’t like that opinion, either prepared to accept that I don’t think you are 100% right, or quit reading right here.***)

Read an article tonight that was about people of a particular political party feeling that they were “demonized for caring.”  I could not help but to take on the “What the…..? Who is doing that?” look on my face, but then it made me realize something.

Something important.  Something that everyone should think about.  For WHATEVER their misguided reasons, the two major political parties in this country just want to split this country in two.  I’m not sure what scares me more, that, or the fact that most Americans are OK with that. OK, that’s a lie.   It scares me MUCH more that most Americans are OK with that.

But back to the article I read….

Democrats feel they are “demonized for caring.”  Republicans feel they are demonized because people say they don’t.  I think they’re all full of demons, because none can see the truth.

The TRUTH is, most people care about their fellow man.  They just have different opinions on how the best way to help is.  Most (and I’ll stick with “most”, because there are some people that truly scare me) people of opposing political parties don’t “hate” the other side.  They just disagree on methods to accomplish things.  That is a huge difference in concepts.

Some people trust government more than the average American, some people trust the average American more than government.  Some people are selfish, some people are not.  Some people are smarter than others, and some just think they are.  Some have learned that it’s rewarding to give, some have learned that people don’t appreciate it.  Some people grew up with life handed to them on a silver platter, some worked for everything they have.  Some think equality means equal opportunity, some think it means equal outcome.  That is where are real differences in opinions come in, and that is not defined by political party.  Your experience in life dictates the way you think is the best way to resolve matters.

Me, I probably care too much.  Probably why it hurts so much when someone tells me I don’t care because I don’t agree with them on the best way to help people.  Recently I had someone tell me I “don’t care” because my personal experience has led to beliefs that have shown me the most caring comes from those around you and not from government, and that is the way I choose to help.  The thing that really makes me mad, I can’t even personally help someone now without feeling that anger about being told that what I do doesn’t matter, it just keeps popping back in my head. Is that really the way to help ANYONE?  If we just take two sides, and tell the other that they are wrong, no one is going to want to help anybody!

We made a second Christmas today for someone just by giving them some old video games, and the look on that little boy's face made an impact on my son.  I am so happy for that boy, and so grateful it gave my son the opportunity to truly appreciate what he has.  But it’s really pissing me off that I can’t get the negativity of a friend’s words out of my mind that my charity means nothing.  I could so easily drop it if a stranger told me, but when a friend does, it really impacts you.

Every political issue, they have a MULTITUDE of sides.  We need to listen to ALL of them.  We need to find what is right for EVERYONE.  We need to leave political agenda and catch phrases behind, and actually use some logic.  We need to realize that it’s not just the people in YOUR political party that care.  Yep, there are people who don’t, but yep, they are spread among various beliefs.  When you are trying to work something out in your family, does one person’s opinion reign as supreme belief, or do you listen to what everyone needs and make some compromises?  My personal beliefs, in family and in politics…we are all individuals and all as equally important.  We may think different things, but that doesn’t make one of us more right.  Or more moral, intelligent, or in any other way superior.  We all have something worth listening to.  We all care.

And when it seems like there will never be agreement, that’s why they have wine.