Here's to the Whole Chicken

I think too much of my world view is formed by Facebook. Less so from TV, as I can discern pretty quickly what is going to drag me down. The black-and-white political posts on Facebook show that people care about this country, and they are passionate about fighting for it. How did that turn into fighting each other? Can we fight for our country and love each other at the same time? There must be a more loving alternative to all this right-and-left bashing.

No matter who our president is, there are many who believe he is corrupt and coming from ego, not love. A well-known blogger and author, Jim Altucher, checked into what it takes to run for a political office and could find no way to persevere without being false or lying in some way. In my experience, I've seen that in people who succeed in corporations too.

Books, movies, and television shows are rich with stories about the rare person of character who craftily navigates a sea of sharks to altruistically embody a position of power. We love underdogs who won't sacrifice their character. But how does that play out in real life? Do we really know our politicians? We know what they say, something about their behavior, how they vote, and what state our country is in. People are suffering and we want someone to blame.

I believe most Americans want to make this country better and are willing to sacrifice for the sake of the whole. I believe most of these bashing Facebook posts come from anger at injustice. We used to rely on the media to give us the facts. Now we have a much harder time getting at the truth. And it's frustrating. That is fuel for the bash-fest.

I wonder if any of these political Facebook posts have swayed anyone's opinion. I doubt it. So they say "here's where I stand."

Well, here's where I stand. I love my country. I love my fellow Americans. I believe in honesty, compassion, and respect for life. I believe in doing my part by working hard to get the facts and voting accordingly. People who do not do that, and rely on the media to inform them, are likely to be misled.

I like how one of my Facebook friends put it. "I'm not right-wing or left-wing; I'm for the whole chicken." Indeed.