A Very Bad Word

I try not to swear too much on my blog. Yeah, there's an occasional "hell" or "damn" at times, but I was not brought up to say bad words. I never heard my parents say the mildest of swearwords when I was growing up so it isn't something I do much of.

I'm going to break that rule in this entry, because I have something to say and saying the word is unavoidable if I'm going to get my point across. I'm going to say the most evil word of all time: politics.

I went nearly my entire life following a strict personal rule to never discuss two things with people: politics and religion. I've broken that rule recently and see now how wise I was before. Arguing politics, in particular, is about as logical as punching yourself in the face. There is no hope of having a civil debate about it most of the time, and trying is more likely than not going to cause hard feelings.

My attitude toward political ideologies is that people can have whatever beliefs they choose, as long as they're not using those beliefs to hurt others. I feel that way about a lot of things, not just politics. I guess I am just a nurturer who tends to watch out for the little guy. I've been that way since I was a kid and I WAS the little guy. So this isn't a political issue. It's more of a personality trait.

Anyway, since I've been seeking inner peace, I've been backing away from political involvement. It comes as no surprise, I'm sure, that the two don't mix. I can see that I will need to accellerate that backing away. I see an awful lot of hate being expressed on both sides under the guise of political ideology and it's so harmful to the hater and those they hate that being exposed to it is causing harm to people who aren't even involved in it. Hate is utterly destructive. It has no other purpose.

This is the only time I will talk about politics in my blog. The more progress I make toward spirituality, the tinier politics' importance becomes to me. The urge to protect and watch out for others is very strong in me but, though I will keep track of what's going on in the world, i will be training myself to stop participating in political discussions, especially on Facebook. I will do this to preserve my peace of mind and to maintain my friendships with people I love whom I just happen to disagree with, politically.

Nasty word, politics. It can do a lot of harm if it gets too deeply embedded in one's heart.

I wish you peace of heart, kindess and love.