Tammi's World

Religion and Politics

Those are two subjects that I never used to talk about. Until 1980. That was the year I actively worked towards the election of Ronald Reagan. The response was not good. I got the snot beat out of me on the night of the election and quickly went back to my old mantra.

I grew up in a very religious (conservative) home with very liberal (political) beliefs. I didn't fit in so well. I learned early on not to argue religion with my family. It was a lost cause. Their ties to the church were generations old. I was not going to change anyone's mind, and the end result may have cost me my family. I wasn't going to let that happen. As to politics - first they were mostly pacifists. I never did understand that philosophy. And the Amish are a natural welfare religion. Everyone helps out each other. No need for insurance. Barn burns down...everyone pitches in and builds a new one. Sick? Not a problem. They have doctors and take care of their own. Many didn't use to even use banks. Truly - money went in the cookie jar or under the mattress. That's changed now, but back when I was a kid I know for a fact many didn't trust banks.

So....what's a mouthly, passionate, Italian kid to do surrounded by all these staid, cool headed Germans? Keep her mouth shut.

Over the years I've let up on that a bit. I will discuss religion with my family. We've had to agree to disagree. I show them respect for their views, and they me for mine. (I think most of them were just happy to know I have any and that I really do pray.) My faith is a very large part of who I am. But I just don't stand up and preach about it. If you want to know, simply ask. One of my most used phrases is "bless your heart" and I mean it, each and every time I say it. Often, instead of saying Thank You, I'll say God Bless You. Again, I mean that from the bottm of my being.

I don't believe in a vengeful God. In my heart and mind he is more like a Daddy. He loves me and cherishes me, but also I have rules I must abide by. Do I all the time? No, but I'm human. We all are. If we break the rules, there are consequences. For every action there is a reaction. Simple.

But my relationship with God is mine and mine alone. I don't expect you to agree with me. I won't condem you if you don't. In fact that's something that really confuses the family. I have a friend who is the High Priestess in her Wican (sp), group (not sure of the correct word.) She shares some of her ideals, I share some of mine. As you can imagine we don't agree on much, but what it all boils down to is we're both good people. We simply respect each others ideals and realize we won't change each other. Instead we are able to learn something outside of our own little worlds.

Same thing with politics. I have friends that are so passionately anti-Bush they work themselves into a frenzy just thinking about him being re-elected. You can imagine I don't follow that train of thought. BUT....I appreciate their passion. I appreciate their ideals. I just don't agree with or follow their logic. Since we can't avoid talking about it, we've agreed to "seperate" during these last few weeks of the election. We'll get together around Thanksgiving and it'll all be fine. We've been friends too long to let this completely tear us apart. We'll talk politics again once things calm down. We just know that we'll never agree.

It's all about tolerance. And respect. Some people have none. I've learned it from an early age. We are all humans. We are made up of pasts that bring us to who we are now. None of us have taken the same paths. We may have come to similar places, but in very different ways. It's important to remember that. It's important to enjoy that. Yes, we need to learn to enjoy, treasure those differences in us. It's what helps us all to grow and learn. By surrounding ourselves with others just like ourselves we have no opportunity to learn or understand things outside of what we already know.

I don't ever want to do that. I want to continue to learn until the day they say the final good-bye. I want to strive to be the best I can be. Always. And when I fall short, I never want to be so proud or arrogant that I can't say I'm sorry.

Posted by Tammi at November 1, 2004 09:30 AM