I believe that the majority of people want the same thing.  They want to be able to live their lives with the freedom to be able to reach their full potential as human beings.  They want to be able to spend their time doing the things that are the most important to them, even if at times they don’t realize what that is.  When it comes to politics and religion, people often end up spending so much time and energy defending their position, and opposition, that they don’t realize that there is a lot of common ground between them.  They absolutely refuse to see any!

     There are fundamental differences between people and it’s a shame when people aren’t allowed to live their life without being judged or worse, ridiculed.  If you just take a political example, I have friends that have adamantly chosen sides to the point where their “side” can do no wrong.  They finger point as their political party dictates, often without even realizing they are doing it, and it ends up being hypocritical.  (And I am talking on BOTH sides here!)

     To me, politics and religion continually separate and divide people by making one person’s opinions – and I say that word very loosely – more important than anyone else’s.  Most of the time, the sharing of these opinions turns into an “I’m right and you are wrong fight” and feelings get hurt.  I think the reason for this is either that they are afraid that they HAVE been sold a political or religious load of you know what, or because they are so afraid that what they hold dear is going to be challenged that they go on the offensive.  And now I see a new trend of supposedly enlightened people who are clearly on one of the “sides,” claiming they aren’t but still attacking the other. 

     I believe that if you are truly happy, you aren’t going to waste your time with useless bickering.  And you certainly aren’t going to convert anyone who doesn’t want to be converted.  Why do people waste their time and energy?  If they would stop for a moment and find some common ground maybe we would have some political advancement and religious understanding.  So here’s to REAL hope…