As a country, we are getting ready to inaugurate our new President in January of 2017. Amidst all of the hate from the election, some of us seem to forget what politics are truly about. Politics frame our economic, governmental, and historical perspectives of how the country should be run. Although, Americans around the world have confused politics with personal morals and religious beliefs.
As a college student, I have heard time and time again that people think all conservatives are hypocritical, “bible thumpers” while liberals are all "crazy extremists" who support the burning of the American flag. I know that not all conservatives are hypocrites who claim to preach from the bible, but not practice it. And I know that not all liberals are extremists in the least bit and the majority of them don't agree with burning the American flag.
Personally, as a Christian liberal, it hurts my heart to see people confuse my religious beliefs with how I think a country should be run.
I was raised in a Catholic church, experiencing baptism, communion, mass, etc. My mom intended for me to be able to learn and grow in my personal relationship with God. But, my mom also taught me the importance of being an open-minded individual. I was raised appreciating all cultures, religions, ethnicities, and political perspectives. I was never forced into my religious or political beliefs; I have developed them on my own.
I can proudly say that I believe in God. I believe there is a Heaven. I have seen miracles of God and I can attest to experiencing them myself. Along with more of my religious beliefs, I can proudly state my political beliefs. I believe a woman has the right to choose what happens to her impregnated body when her life is at the crossroad between life and death. I believe in legal immigration, simply immigration in general. I don’t think “a wall” is going to stop innocent people from trying to pursue a safer life for themselves and their families. I don’t believe trickle-down economics is the best way to run this country. I don’t believe in cutting taxes for the top 1% of Americans, who have enough money to monetarily sustain the next 5 generations of their family after them.
I have views and perspectives on all religious and political aspects and I enjoy discussing them. Regardless of what religion someone practices or what political party they support, you don’t know someone’s view on a topic unless you ask them. Therefore, next time you’re about to label someone as a Democrat or Republican, Christian or Muslim, conservative or liberal, hypocrite or extremist, wrong or right, just try thinking about things from their perspective.
Politics are not as black and white as people make them seem.
