While I've Been Away

It's been nearly three weeks of (mostly) staying away from reading anything on Facebook. When notifications show up in my inbox, I have usually checked in to see what's going on with wall posts and messages, but I have stopped reading most status updates, and I have commented very little. This morning, I spent a bit of time catching up. I discovered I miss many of my friends, but others....not so much. I almost posted something on a friend's status (he had shared something blatantly false), but I refrained, as it would have, no doubt, been construed as political. Because his post was anti-Obama, my pointing out the falsehood of the item would have been taken as a pro-Obama stance on my part. There is no point in me trying to convince him my problem is with the lie, not his political stance. (I know because I've tried.)

And that's one thing I probably should have made clear when I posted my initial "tirade" on September 3. The super-negative comments I referred to, the ones where reason and integrity seem not to be present, are never (or extremely rarely) connected to my blog posts. They are in conversations I've had on some of my friends' threads. Many of those exchanges are entirely pointless, as I'm arguing with those who are not open-minded enough to consider any view other than their own narrow focus. The friends I have who read and comment on my blog topics are wonderful, and even when disagreeing with my opinion, my blog readers are thoughtful and, almost without exception, reasonable.

And there's something else I've come to realize in the weeks I've been away; many people who read what I post (on my status updates and on other threads) likely think I'm writiing political commentary, when most generally, I am not. I think anyone would be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of comments I've made, anywhere, which are about political issues/the direction of our government. You see, I believe in the separation of church and state, so when I write things which might seem (shockingly, I'm sure, to many) to show my support of socialism, for instance, it doesn't have much to do with my stance on government. When I point out our individual responsibilities, my comments are not directed at those who claim no religious affiliation. 

What I blog about is (again with rare exceptions, I suppose) how those who call themselves Christians, believers in God or followers of Jesus, Jehovah, Mohammad, Buddha, Krishna, etc., live out our faith in the world.  How do we put the needs of others ahead of our own? How do we take care of the most vulnerable in society? How do we treat the "least of these"? It's about personal priorities and responsibilities within the context of our spirituality, not within a governmental framework. I do have political opinions, but they are complex and often-changing, quite honestly. I am neither a Democrat, nor am I a Republican. Politically, I am probably the ultimate flip-flopper.

Do a quick search of how much money is spent yearly on cigarettes, perfume, pet care, sodas or bottled water, for example, and it should become readily apparent there is more than enough wealth in the hands of individuals and the private sector to take care of the world's needs. (Examine how the super-rich spend their money, and it's even more sobering.) If each and every one of us lived simply, concentrating on necessities for ourselves and others, then politics wouldn't matter much at all. In fact, I don't think it really matters as much as many of us think it does now.